From hell’s heart I stab at thee
Whales are awesome, and a whale themed post shall now ensue!
If you have never encountered a whale in it’s natural environment (read: outside seaworld) then you really should. If you ever want to get out on the water around Vancouver Island in a non-touristy kind of way and really learn about whales, then I recommend this guy: http://www.hurricanejackadventures.com/. All the other tourist whale tours and the such are tourist oriented and can start to feel like a Disney ride. Jack just loves being out on the water and teaching folks about everything out there.
Iceland has stopped its whale hunt. Not because they give a damn about whales, but because of slow sales. I guess you got to take the little victories where you can get them. Hey Iceland, if you read this, tourism is more lucrative than whale hunting! Just saying that folks might want to visit your beautiful country now that you’re not being complete dicks for a while.
If I were to ever punch anyone in the face it would be whatever jerk in the Makah tribe came up with the idea that they should be allowed to hunt whales. You know, for tradition sake. This isn’t new by any means (1999), but since it’s in the news this week I am yet again pissed off about it. This past Saturday 5 members of the Makah tribe harpooned a gray whale. They then shot it 21 times. They then spent the next 10+ hours watching it suffer before the coast guard finally cut it free so it could sink and die. Reports vary on whether they used a .50-caliber machine gun or rifle. Either way I think the decidedly untraditional point gets made here. For the record, these are the 5 men who did this:
Theron Parker
Andy Noel
Billy Secor
Frank Gonzales Jr.
Wayne Johnson
Let’s call a spade a shovel, or whatever that saying is, and just admit this “traditional whale hunting” spiel is bullshit. Some traditions die off because they are absurd or savage. It’s called the progress of society and not every possible tradition you can think of needs to be dragged along.
“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!”
- Moby Dick, Herman Melville
- shawn
[source: image from hurricane jack adventures]
Filed under: Animal Rights, Ethics, Miscellany
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Whales have been shown to be intellegent and gentle creatures. How anyone can hunt them is beyond me.
Do we really want a world where there are no large mammals left (polar bears and whales as examples)?
This would leave man as one of the largest and as we know he is the most dangerous predator of all.
You need to search alittle bit more on this news. The Makah had the RIGHt to whale via their Treaty with the US Government. They stopped around 1920 due to the whale population whih went down to white commercial whalers.In 1994 the Grey whale was taken off the endangered list.
The 1999 whale hunt the Makah wanted it to be a full Tradition hunt but they were told by the IWC and Feds that they neede to take a High powered caliber rifle to finsih the job (After Harpoons) so the whale died quicker. They DID use the canoe in 1999,any motor boats you may have seen in the 1999 hunt may have belong to the Sea shepherd or protestors.
The latest news the 5 Makah tribe mmbers wer wrong for going agaisnt Tribal and federal law, BUT it was not them who let th whale suffer,they wanted to finsih the job bu the US Coast Gaud said no. They were under arrst and in handcuffs before able to finsih the job.
In the 1855 Treaty it gives the Makah Tribe the right ti hunt whale.If you think the 1855 Treay is too old and doesnt mean anything perhaps that goes the same with the conttition, after all thats even older. right?
Yes M, I think everything old is wrong. Not really, but it’s a hilarious generalization. I don’t think the US Constitution was written specifically just for killing whales. Whale hunting is an outdated practice that needs to go away.