I don't think Elton John is going to be clubbing baby seals any time soon.
It's likely he remains a pretty unreconstructed liberal - one who, however, is unwilling to shun and demonize those who he disagrees with.
And for that, he deserves liberal praise. ;)
Speaking of clubbing baby seals...
--- (long semi - OT ramble follows) ---
I believe at one point or another I revealed that I worked one summer as a fundraiser for Greenpeace; this was about thirty years ago now. While I appreciate the rhetorical trope, I'm pretty much against clubbing seals and harpooning whales, all things considered.
What's changed with me is that I no longer believe those who do these things to be (necessarily) evil; they just have different priorities. In particular, the Japanese continue to hunt whales in part out of a deep seated sense of identity, which I've learned to respect.
They can keep their priorities - and I can keep mine. That I understand their motivations does not require me to acquiesce unconditionally.
So it was with some substantial bemusement that I ran across "Whale Wars" on the Discovery Channel a couple weeks ago.
The boats of Sea Shepherd - founded by Paul Watson, who was thrown out of Greenpeace for being criminally violent (also about thirty years ago), vs Japanese factory whaling ships.
Gee - do I have to chose sides? I refuse.
Sea Shepherd speedboat fouls Japanese propeller, Japanese ship dead in the water. Awesome! Somewhere, some whale probably got away.
Other Japanese vessel rams Sea Shepherd speedboat and cuts it in half. Awesome! Right there, one smug d-bag just got the smirk wiped off his face.
Playing at Rush's wedding, now this. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Elton John is going to be clubbing baby seals any time soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's likely he remains a pretty unreconstructed liberal - one who, however, is unwilling to shun and demonize those who he disagrees with.
And for that, he deserves liberal praise. ;)
Speaking of clubbing baby seals...
--- (long semi - OT ramble follows) ---
I believe at one point or another I revealed that I worked one summer as a fundraiser for Greenpeace; this was about thirty years ago now. While I appreciate the rhetorical trope, I'm pretty much against clubbing seals and harpooning whales, all things considered.
What's changed with me is that I no longer believe those who do these things to be (necessarily) evil; they just have different priorities. In particular, the Japanese continue to hunt whales in part out of a deep seated sense of identity, which I've learned to respect.
They can keep their priorities - and I can keep mine. That I understand their motivations does not require me to acquiesce unconditionally.
So it was with some substantial bemusement that I ran across "Whale Wars" on the Discovery Channel a couple weeks ago.
The boats of Sea Shepherd - founded by Paul Watson, who was thrown out of Greenpeace for being criminally violent (also about thirty years ago), vs Japanese factory whaling ships.
Gee - do I have to chose sides? I refuse.
Sea Shepherd speedboat fouls Japanese propeller, Japanese ship dead in the water. Awesome! Somewhere, some whale probably got away.
Other Japanese vessel rams Sea Shepherd speedboat and cuts it in half. Awesome! Right there, one smug d-bag just got the smirk wiped off his face.
Keep at it, boys - all of you!
lewy - the way you put it, it sounds win-win.
ReplyDelete