I was chastised by someone who told me I should not use the word “killer” in my blogs. What exactly should I call those who perform heinous acts? Fishermen catch fish and dolphins are not fish so I really struggle with calling them fishermen. The clients of the Cove Guardians are the dolphins and if they could speak, I am sure they would be fine with my use of the word “killer”.
I was also told that I probably don’t understand the “cultural intricacies”. I have absolutely no respect for anyone who kills whales or dolphins and uses “culture” as an excuse. Killing a dolphin is murder and I have no intention of calling it anything else.
Killing dolphins in Taiji started in the 1970s. The dolphin genocide is driven by greed and big business; not culture. The killing would probably cease entirely if it were not for the captive dolphin trade and the captive dolphin trade is not “culture”.
Most people in Japan have never eaten whale and extremely few people eat dolphin. One of my colleagues regularly talks with school children and they were shocked to learn that people in the next town kill dolphins and were horrified that they actually eat them. Saying that people in Japan grew up eating dolphin would be the same as saying that everyone in Toronto and Montreal was raised on Polar Bear meat.
People take pride in their culture. They are willing to share it with others so that we can all understand their traditions, but the killers of Taiji have gone to great lengths to hide their monstrous acts.
If anyone has any ideas regarding how to end the dolphin slaughter, by all means, come on over and give it a try. Until you have spent time here, please don’t judge or criticize the strategies of those who are living with this horror on a daily basis. We are hard enough on ourselves because we have not yet been able to stop the dolphin slaughter and we should not be judged from afar by those who do not understand the situation.
For the Oceans,
Janice
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| Hiding the victims under a tarp |
Janice, you owe an explanation to absolutely NO ONE! You all are doing some of the most difficult work known to mankind. Let anyone who criticizes stand in your shoes for even a moment. The fishermen of Taiji brutally wipe out whole families. They stab them, they paralyze them, they butcher them. Whoever thinks this shouldn't be called murder is a fool. The murderers are also rapists. They are raping our oceans of their beautiful marine cetaceans. Let's call a spade a spade and not be embarrassed to do so.
ReplyDeleteJanice, I think of you and the dolphins everyday. I wish I was there to help. I wish you a Merry Christmas,and I pray for the ocean's living beings. I'm very proud to say I know you. Be safe. -Donna Hearn
ReplyDeleteThank you for being in Taiji.
ReplyDeleteAll of us behind our computer screens will never fully understand what it's like to view hundreds of dolphins killed in front of you and listen to their screams?
You are so brave, strong and a hero!
You ROCK Janice!
ReplyDeleteCulture smulture, I'm Irish and I don't drink. Times change, cultures change with them. I believe the Haida used to hunt and eat their enemies. Should they bring back that culture?
Thanks for being there for the dolphins!
I feel so much better today because of all the great feedback I have had on my blog and on my Facebook page, Janice Oceans. I wish I could hug you all!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice! You have inspired me. From now on, I refer to the Taiji devils as the "Killers."
ReplyDeleteThat is funny you should say that Janice because I stopped calling them killers, I now call it murder!
ReplyDeletespare no words for those Japanese who kill dolphins
ReplyDelete"Japanese perverted molesters diabolical killers from hell"
Wasn't human slavery at one time considered to be part of many nation's "cultural intricacies?"
ReplyDeleteBack then, people killed their own slaves for multiple reasons, and then wasn't it equally inappropriate to call them "killers" and "murderers?"
My point is, the time of killing and enslaving cetaceans is long past, just as the time of human slavery has long past.
They kill highly intelligent creatures with no regard to what it is doing to themselves or the environment, and in essence, killing the oceans... so, please, by all means, feel free to use the term "killers."
Well what they do is certainly not euthanasia--it's killing. Some people just want to put their head in the sand and pretend it's not as bad as it is, and can't face the truth of the trauma. If we soften our words when describing these acts, what good does that do the dolphins?
ReplyDeleteBravo to you!!