Posted on 02/07/2010 12:22:01 AM PST by myknowledge
Because I like whales.
Some people like whale, some people like beef liver, some people like tofu.
I have lived in Japan for the last 25 years. I can count the number of people I know who like whale meat on the fingers of one hand. I’ve tried it. It has the texture of extremely tough beef and the taste of fish. It’s also oily.
All that means nothing. Anyone who eats a cow is on the same moral level as a person who eats a whale. Period. There is no virtue in shunning whale if you are going to eat other meat. It’s just a matter of taste.
I predict the whaling industry in Japan will die a natural death in the next twenty years as the oldsters who do like it, and who run the industries that support it, retire and die out. There’s just not much of a market for it.
Not that that is a totally good thing. What people seem to forget is that whales are predators themselves. Baleen whales feed primarily on krill, but so do many types of fish, penguins, birds, seals and other sea life. When a huge pod of whales go through a section of ocean, they pretty much strip mine it. Any other species in the area are going to have to look elsewhere for their lunch.
Some harvesting of whales may actually be ecologically sound, if not now, certainly in the future.
“Screw those poachers”
Glad somebody on this forum gets it. Maybe the others should do a little more “research”.
That was marvelous. Thanks!!
It makes little difference to me why the whalers are harvesting their quarry. What they are doing is LEGAL and that means they have a right to harvest.
The same can be said for those "activists" who enter the woods during deer season and raise a ruckus to spook the deer. Pop a few of them and let them feel the sting of the consequences of their actions.
These are the caliber of posts that some can point to as hate speech. Advocating murdering some PETA nut in the woods makes you someone that might need Japan’s special type of research.
Some animals are more equal than others.
That only applies to humans as far as I am concerned. And it is strictly cultural. I despise cannibals and if we have some weirdo in America like Dalhmer who is killing and eating people, that person has obviously got to be stopped.
However, if we are talking about a tribe in the jungle or on an island in the South Pacific that makes it a habit of eating their enemies (and any strangers they catch), don’t go on vacation on their turf.
Now substitute the HMS Hood for Yushin Maru 3 and the Bismarck for Bob Barker.
Consider it an manifestation of the “Darwin Principle”. Those stupid enough to be where they ought not be, doing things they ought not do, interfering in the legal conduct of others for the purpose of intentional confrontation forfeit the right to be seen as gilded heroes furthering a noble cause. How about I come to your house and intentionally disrupt your lawn mowing since I believe that even the simple blades of grass or the hopping aphids have a right to live freely without any hindrance to their life cycles? Gonna call the cops on me or exercise your “Neanderthal” concept of right to private property?
That the nuts didn’t sink and cleanse the gene pool is a testament to the Japanese being either respectful of human life or inept at taking out the trash.
BTW, they aren’t “PETA” nuts, but close relatives. Perhaps you’d like to donate some funds to help them rehabilitate their ship or maybe even arm themselves to better defend against the whalers?
lol!
No, I don’t get to take the law into my own hands even if someone is trespassing on my property. I call the cops. On the other hand, if I lived in a country where it was against the law to hide people that were being rounded up and gassed it is my moral obligation to break that law and hide the persecuted.
I am glad you support the vital research the Japanese are doing with their research ships. It is good you swallow whole their research justification for the slaughter of hundreds of these magnificent mammals. Can you please cite what impressed you most about their research? Is it the almost total lack of publication in respected journals, or killing the objects of their research when their is no justification for doing so. Otherwise it is commercial whaling banned by the IWC decades ago.
I have been in awe of whales since one surfaced next to my sailboat many years ago. My suggestion for you would be to go whale watching, develop a little reverance for these magnifent species, and root for the westerners over the Japanese who you feel such a kindred spirit with.
As for the "research" issue....I am under no illusions that the whalers do bonafide "research". However, what they do is legal, is it not? Since it is, those who interfere with the legal whaling are, by definition, criminals. I do not see high seas law enforcement doing much to prevent the do-gooders cum criminals.
Now, you may think it's just dandy to ignore rules when the "greater good", in your own mind, is served. I don't. Can we assume the next person caught shooting an abortion doctor might be you? If not, then why do the lives of whales take greater precedence than the lives of unborn fetuses? Therefore, I reiterate: Too bad the ship didn't sink and all hands be ripped to shreds by voracious sharks and man-eating octopi.
"These are the caliber of posts that some can point to as hate speech. Advocating murdering some PETA nut in the woods makes you someone that might need Japan’s special type of research." Some can point to anything and call it "hate speech". Do you worry about what others may think of your political or social beliefs? To some, your mere presence on this board is indicative of one who practices "hate speech". I don't subscribe to the politically correct canard of "hate speech". I reject it, out of hand. If what I say is "hate speech", too bad. Deal with it.
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