I don’t understand anti-whaling.
I don’t eat whale, myself. It’s not that I’m morally against it, it’s just that I’ve seen it being sold in a Japanese supermarket and it doesn’t look appetizing.
The way I see it, anti-whaling is just a bunch of politics, and some anti-whalers are so extreme that I consider them pirates. Pirate politicians, is what they are.
Here are some of the reasons for being anti-whaling that I’ve heard, followed by my own comments:
“They are valuable creatures that have as much of a right to exist as we do.”
No one said that they should be hunted to extinction, and in fact Japan has a non-endangering quota set before the annual hunt.
“They are unique and majestic creatures that should be recognized as something special.”
Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion, but we still eat a WHOLE LOT of them in the States. Every creature is some one’s favorite kind of animal. Even snakes. And horses. I ate raw horse in Japan. Horse consumption in Japan does not make international news headlines. Did you know that horse meat was legalized and eaten in New Jersey during WWII due to the low supply of beef? When the war ended, it was made illegal once more, most likely because of political pressure from the beef lobby. I suspect something similar is in action in the politics behind anti-whaling.
“Whales are part of a functioning ecosystem, and hunting them would harm that system.”
So are all of the other animals (and plants!), and man is at the top of that ecosystem eating it all, if it tastes good. Whaling has a very long history in Japan (records show whaling back in the 8th century), and I could counter-argue that whales are part of the evolved ecosystem for Japanese people. (and the Eskimos.) Up until the end of WWII, in fact, whale meat was served in Japanese schools at lunch. It was the American occupying forces that brought beef to the table, but even I stopped eating American beef when the Mad Cow cases started popping up…all over the place…and still are, even here in Korea. Yet America still bitches about the poor quality control of imports from China. Double standards in super-hero action!
Oh, wait - One more thing. Native tribes in Alaska, Greenland, and parts of Russia are allowed to hunt whales non-commercially. Why? Because they’ve been doing it for centuries. Just like Japan.
3 Comments
November 12, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Amen!
I agree. Wholeheartedly. This is my go-to guy on whaling information for Japan, by the way.
I also love the sociopolitical hypocrisy of people who claim that we should stay out of other countries’ business (ahem…virtually any military action by America, etc…
but we should forcefully stop them from doing these particularly loathesome fishing activities. What gives? (Tangentially, “hero” Hayden Panettiere and her dolphin saving activists bothered me, as well. Though I imagine they won’t be returning to protest once the fingerprinting and photographing system is up and running, eh?) Strangeness. You’re right though - it’s highly political, not particularly logical, and in my opinion - a case of the wealthy whiny white kids telling other countries what is and is not acceptable. Uncool, guys. Especially when resorting to violence.
November 13, 2007 at 12:20 am
Lets think about this.
The government is in charge. The Japanese government. Strike one. I hope I don’t have to explain that one further.
Next, the hunting is done in a deceptive (it’s for research!) way. Is anything built upon a lie a good idea?
Finally it just make Japan look bad. People can debate whether or not whales need to be protected and how to appropriately stand in the way, but the fact is Japan only endangers its international image.
Just like the fingerprinting issue, it is easy to find disagreeable things without looking too hard.
November 13, 2007 at 4:05 am
cool graphic
I’ve never seen…(or eaten) a whale.
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