Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson could face up to 15 years’ prison in Japan if convicted - eviltoast
    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 months ago

      He doesnt like being called a disgusting freak for slaughtering whales, letting them slowly die after dragging them on land to maximize their suffering. Thats the only reason i can think of for why a faroe national would be mad at him.

      I dont like him either, but this level of hatred only comes from people who got caught in the act and dont want anyone to talk about it.

      • sandbox@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        As long as you’re vegan or happy with being called a disgusting freak for eating animal products I think that’s fine.

        • BestBouclettes@jlai.lu
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          3 months ago

          It’s not about being vegan or not in this case.

          The Faroe islands have a traditional whale/dolphin (I don’t remember which exactly) slaughter every year.
          They drag dozens of them on beaches and kill them. It used to be one of their main food sources for the year, which is respectable.
          But nowadays they don’t need to do it anymore, yet carry on with this super cruel tradition.

          It’s a bit like bull runs and bull fighting, I get the traditional side of it, but it’s something that should not be performed anymore because of the suffering and cruelty it causes.

          • sandbox@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            You are capable of subsisting without the consumption of animal products, and I assume you choose not to do so. You know that animal agriculture causes suffering. You choose your taste preferences instead of choosing to reduce suffering.

            You don’t need to do it anymore, yet carry on with this super cruel tradition.

            • barsoap@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Please, go ahead, tell us about your grand plan of growing enough food on the Faroer. And then go ahead and tell other native populations all over the world to stop living off the land sustainably, and instead go in debt to buy HFCS from Nestle.

              • sandbox@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Hey so there’s this crazy thing called a “boat”, and you may not believe this, but it’s like a big truck which can go over water. And you can basically put whatever you want on it, so you can grow fruits and vegetables in Scotland, and then move them to the Faroe Islands.

                They actually worked this one out a little while ago, and they’ve got these big buildings now just full of food, just shelves upon shelves with all kinds of foodstuffs. I know it sounds unbelievable, but here’s a photo of a supermarket on the Faroe Islands!

                A photo of a supermarket on the Faroe Islands

                Now, I know you might be thinking, “well, hang on, doesn’t having a big boat like that cause climate change?” and the answer is “yes, but waaaaay less than animal agriculture.”

                You also mentioned something about Nestlé HFCS, which I’m happy to reassure you about - It’s pretty rare over here, it’s really more of an American thing. We do have sugary foods as well, of course, but less so. But you can just choose not to eat those - it’s not like it is in the US where they put it in everything. And they’re not putting HFCS into the raw fruits and vegetables that you’d use to make a plant-based meal.

                But you know what? Even if there are people living off the land sustainably - as in, fully providing for themselves and their families in whatever way they can without actively farming animals - and we’re okay with that, it doesn’t justify those of us who don’t live in that way to consume animal products.

                Hope this helps!

                • barsoap@lemm.ee
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                  3 months ago

                  Even if there are people living off the land sustainably - as in, fully providing for themselves and their families in whatever way they can without actively farming animals - and we’re okay with that,

                  So you’re ok with what the Faroese are doing, got it. Wait no you want to stop them letting sheep graze the parts of the island which aren’t suitable for agriculture, and instead whale more.

                  it doesn’t justify those of us who don’t live in that way to consume animal products.

                  Go on, tell me more about how the Faroese are living. How much of their economy, do you think, is food production in one way or the other? How, do you think, is the whale hunt organised? Is it commodified?

                  Having looked at that data (I trust you already have since you sound so sure and knowledgeable) one could of course say “well they could stop exporting fish then they wouldn’t need to whale”. There’s something to that, and it would also mean that they couldn’t afford to import machinery any more, couldn’t afford gas any more, no textile imports, and with them again sitting in row boats in sheepswool clothing maybe they’d look “primitive” enough for your tastes to be allowed to whale, again.

                  Seriously WTF. “This reservation has a supermarket, that means they should not be allowed to hunt any more”. Are you hearing yourself. Read this.

                  • sandbox@lemmy.world
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                    3 months ago

                    Could you please check the comment thread, look at who I replied to, what they said, and what my response was? If anything, I have been defending the Faroese, not criticising them. I have been criticising people who are being hypocritical about the Faroese whaling while also supporting traditional western animal agriculture.

                    I’ve not really taken much of a position on the Faroese themselves - except in my last message where I said that I don’t really have a huge issue with subsistence/survival consumption of animal products, as much I do with industrialisation of those products.

                    For what it’s worth, I’m sure the slave industry made some societies and cultures economically viable which are no longer so. I don’t think “but then this culture/tradition/religion/society would have to adapt to changes” is a particularly strong argument against abolishing cruel or immoral systems of oppression. But that’s not really the argument I’m interested in, right now, and it’s not the argument I originally made.

                    My argument is that the average person, who is absolutely capable of living a life without the consumption of animal products, with little or no impact to their quality of life beyond their taste preference, cannot justify that behaviour beyond selfishly prioritising their taste preferences over the suffering of others.

            • BestBouclettes@jlai.lu
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              3 months ago

              What’s not accurate about my comment?

              Faroese whaling is a century old tradition that used to be about survival and used whale parts for food and other things like light, fishing material, clothing, etc.

              Nowadays, we have replacements for pretty much all these things right ? Whale meat doesn’t seem to be widely consumed much anymore, it’s also dangerous because of mercury levels in the whales.

              Yet the Faroese kill around 700 whales a year, and in a pretty cruel fashion. They force the whales to beach themselves, have their spinal cord and a few major arteries severed and left to bleed out and die over the course of minutes.

              I’m all in for traditions but not for cruel and pointless ones.

          • Saljid@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Still nothing WHAT they allegedly lied about, only what the effects of said pictures were.

            • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
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              3 months ago

              https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands

              • been going on since the 9th century
              • Faroese cuisine is generally dominated by the use of animal products, as only about 2% of the 1,393 km2 of land on the islands is at all suitable for arable crops
              • a 2008 paper in Australian Archaeology said conservationists find Faroese whaling particularly offensive because it does not conform to traditional Western perspectives on “primitive” tribes
              • ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml
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                3 months ago

                But, you see, I think my culture is superior so they should stop.

                Anyway, who’s up for an ethically* slaughtered cow that I’ve raised in a box?

                • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 months ago

                  Wow I didn’t realize that cows were endangered. I also didn’t realize that we slaughtered cows by drowning them.

                  • barsoap@lemm.ee
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                    3 months ago

                    Both long-finned pilot whales and Atlantic white-sided dolphins aren’t endangered, they’re least concern. They’ve always been hunting sustainably.

          • brbposting@sh.itjust.works
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            3 months ago

            So if Sea Shepherd’s attacks were all honest, there would be less vitriol?

            Does he lie in a specific way that implicates innocent people? (vs. lying in a way that garners broader attention and the attention is what drives the additional hate) Curious for some examples as someone low-information on the subject.

          • LordGimp@lemm.ee
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            3 months ago

            Paul isn’t out harassing inuit communities. Do you know why? Because inuit communities practice ACTUAL sustenance hunting, not a tradition of slaughter dressed up as “culture”. Do not disgrace actual caretakers of the land to cover up your barbarism

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            3 months ago

            "how dare you call us out for the horrific things we’re doing ". Like you don’t even pretend it’s fake.

            Hey, you don’t like people shitting on your country? How about you make them stop slaughtering whales for no fucking reason.

            Like, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel bad that people are rightfully calling you out for that shit? Is your country not a modern, functioning society? Are you really incapable of shedding these pointless barbaric traditions, and would rather just cry about it when someone dares to call you out?

            Let me guess, “I refuse to discuss this with you” or whatever. Like you response to the other person.

            I’m beginning to think you have more at stake in this than just being from the same country. I’m from the US, dude, my country is shit and there’s a million things to criticize it for… And you can’t even admit the one thing your home is known for is barbaric

            • barsoap@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Is your country not a modern, functioning society? Are you really incapable of shedding these pointless barbaric traditions, and would rather just cry about it when someone dares to call you out?

              Have you actually looked into the topic or are you simply assuming? The Faroese regulations on whaling are extensive, from what methods are allowed to beach the whales to how the killing is to be done so it’s quick.

              I’m from the US, dude

              Then you should really focus on the complete absence of any animal protection laws in the US, instead. The Faroese didn’t even blink when outlawing the traditional way to kill the whales in favour of spinal lancing, yes of course whales bleeding out in shallow bays is a gruesome sight. And they own that, while risking their lives driving the whales in small boats.

              Meanwhile, US consumers are safely isolated from the absolutely abhorrent conditions their food is produced under. The bloody bays aren’t avoidable, they come (literally) with the territory. Chicken rotting while still alive because they’re so tightly packed and hygiene isn’t an issue because you’re chlorinating them anyway is avoidable.

              It’s you, here, who’s alienated from how food is produced, not the Faroese.