howardpark/animals

When I first saw this picture, I was filled with outrage and disgust. But then a great ambivalence overtook me. On the one hand, there is no question in my mind that whales are just as capable of feeling pain, fear, grief, and many other emotions as humans are. In that light, the hunting of whales is an act of brutality, pure and simple. The hunting of whales with industrial weaponry is in addition cowardly and venal. The hunting of whales by Japan is, on top of everything else, cynical and deceitful (how many "tissue samples" do they need, and what exactly do they learn by eating them?).

On the other hand, who are we to tell other countries how to behave? Are our values and customs really so superior to theirs? Let us all remember that what we are doing in Iraq is also an act of brutality. And Iraqis are not merely "just as capable of feeling" as humans--they ARE humans, whose lives are every bit as precious as those of American soldiers (though some people seem not to recognize this)! When you start a war on false pretenses, invade and occupy another country, torture your prisoners, and slaughter civilians by the thousands, you can't expect other people to take your moral objections very seriously. And if you then make it crystal clear that you're going to keep on behaving however the hell you want, you have no right to criticize others for doing the same. That's what it means to be the bad guy.