Thursday, February 17, 2011

Saying Goodbye

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals...In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.  They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."--Henry Beston

The Cove
Today our fellow Cove Guardian Greg left to return home to Melbourne.  While I've only known Greg for four days, his absence in the ride to the harbor this morning was definitely noticeable.  It's like you forgot something back at the hotel.  Things just seemed different.  That's the kind of impression a passionate person can make when you meet them.  I never really got to know Greg, but he was always smiling, always upbeat, and always had the right thing to say during a conversation.  Since the boats didn't go out today, our stay in Taiji today wasn't too long.  We observed one dolphin being moved from one holding pen to another, but not much else.  Plus, it started to rain.

Taiji Harbor
When we made it back to the hotel, I stopped by Greg's room to see if he wanted to join us for some breakfast.  He said he still had some packing to do, and wouldn't have enough time, so we wished each other well and I joined the girls for breakfast.  After breakfast, as I was settling in to get some much needed editing done, there was a knock at the door.  It was Greg, and he was now on his way to the train station just down the street.  We said our goodbyes one more time, hoped to see each other again under much better circumstances, and then he was gone.  Back to Melbourne.

The dolphin molesters at work
The last two days, fourteen Pacific White-Sided Dolphins have had to say goodbye to their home in the ocean, and to their family; including one juvenile and one infant.  While there's been no slaughter in Taiji since I've been here, it's not easy seeing these marvelous creatures have their freedom so maliciously taken from them.  The men and women that participate in this atrocity are an embarrassment to our species.  They show no compassion, they have no empathy, they give no respect.  All they exhibit is the greedy, dirty, destructive side of humans.  They're order takers for the dolphinariums and abusement parks.  Sea World breeds their mammals for a life of captivity, and these douche bags pull them from the ocean.  And why?  So ignorant people can watch dolphins jump through hoops, push a trainer through the water, and then wait for their dead fish.  I've been to these places, when I didn't know any better.  When I thought the Bottlenose Dolphin I saw was smiling because he was happy to see me.  And maybe he was happy to see me.  Maybe he thought I was going to be the one to set him free, and I didn't.  It's not guilt that I feel for visiting those places, I just didn't know then what I know now.  It's like so many other things in history.  Sometimes, we just didn't know any better.  But the time for claiming ignorance is over.  Here in Taiji, I don't think it's ignorance.  I legitimately believe that the dolphin killers will do anything for money.  They don't care, they don't think about the consequences.  One day, there won't be anymore dolphins for them to capture, slaughter, and sell.  And then what?  Will the future generations hear the stories of the great whale and dolphin killers and wonder why they did it? 

I only have two more full days here in Katsuura, before I have to head back to Osaka.  While I'm anxious to get home and be with my family, I also find myself wanting to stay here longer.  It's been such a long time coming for me to be here, and it's gone by so fast.  The people I've met here are incredibly selfless.  There's a connection to this place that I haven't had since I stepped foot at Ground Zero six months after 9/11.  I remember thinking how awful people can be.  How destructive we can choose to be.  And yet, people from all over came together and helped however they could.  That's how it is here.  While some people will be in Taiji for three months, there are countless others who have come for just a few days, maybe a week, maybe two.  They've helped out however they could.  Some people have come with friends, and some have come by themselves.  I hope somehow, someway the dolphins that we've seen have known that somebody cared.  That we're trying to change things.  

Be sure to follow my video updates on my Vimeo page.  You can also find updates on my Facebook page, and be sure to follow follow the Cove Guardian reports on the Sea Shepherd website.
DO NOT but a ticket to any attraction that advertises dolphins.  When you support captive dolphin facilities, you are supporting the slaughter in Taiji.

Thanks, but no tanks...
 






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