this morning, off the coast of wash. state, the makah tribe of neah bay killed a grey whale.the us gov't sanctioned and encouraged this whale hunt and the makahs claim it their traditional right to hunt whales. i am just sickened by the sight on tv this morning of the actual harpooning and then final killing with a 50 caliber rifle of this beautiful and majestic animal. for 70 yrs., the whales weren't hunted and were protected, and now their trust of man has been destroyed.the world has gone crazy, and we seem to be going backwards by allowing this to happen. i know this is off subject, but i read this forum everyday and feel a kinship with many of you. thanks for listening.

-- dory (crtwheel@eburg.com), May 17, 1999

Answers

Well then, thank God for Y2k! After the date change all those non- compliant harpoon guns won't be able to fire, right gang?

-- J.X. (JXD29@hotmail.com), May 17, 1999.

Sure glad that whale hunting is now sanctioned. That means that another source of calories will be available next January! Does anyone know of a web site that has plans for a whale harpoon and recipes?

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), May 17, 1999.

Just like they used to for thousands of years... and get this, the Dine still eat MEAT!!! Some of them even grow corn and eat that too (how shocking!)

And dont forget those poor innocent locusts that ended up in locust tacos.

Not to mention those backward Lakota who sometimes kill thousands of cotton plants to make tipis (since there arent enough buff hides available)

So they killed one (or a dozen) whales? There's plenty more. It's not like the white bozons who nearly wiped out the salmon in less than a century. Not even 20 pacific northwest nations managed to do that even given millenia.

I predict the earth's karma will manage just fine. The Makah arent exactly starting a japanese fast food "WhaleBurger" chain.

-- sillywasichus (burger@eatcrow.com), May 17, 1999.

Dory,

maybe it's a crazy world where tribes that survived by killing whales for thousands of years aren't allowed to do so because they happen to be "beautiful and majestic animals," and it upsets some people's sensibilities.

maybe it's a crazy world where we have removed ourselves so far from the workings of the food chain, that a truly natural and beautiful event like taking life to keep life going is viewed as destruction.

maybe it's a crazy world where the empire has to "sanction" the natural order of things.

maybe it's not not going backwards, dory, maybe it's going back TOwards they way life on the planet is meant to be.

I say good for the makah. I say they have as much of a "right" to the planet and their chosen approach to sharing in its fruits, as I have to going into the supermarket and buying a box of Fruit Loops...

-- . (.@...), May 17, 1999.

More Kill-a-baby, save-a-whale, hug-a-tree coverage by our media. Great, just great.

-- Dian (bdp@accessunited.com), May 17, 1999.

Sorry Dory, I got to rule in favor of the indians on this one. The environmentalists seem to go to far with their "save the earth" shit.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), May 17, 1999.

Dory I understand how you feel. The whale is a beautiful, majestic animal. But I find it even more sickening that the Japanese and some other countries violate the laws governing international waters by taking many more whales than are allowed of those that are legal to hunt.. The ocean overfished already.

But when corporations take the lions share of everything, and pollute every country they do busines in, I understand why the Makah's feel they have a right to five whales. But my personal belief is that we should harm NO living thing.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), May 17, 1999.

Just keep the little guys (and animals) fighting each other while the big boys stay on top -- it's worked for how many centuries now?

First things first.

-- moi_encore (regular@thisplace.nu), May 18, 1999.

The Makah's should be good little boys and sign on to the "System" just like the rest of us. Get a credit card Number, Social Insecurity Card Number, Drivers License Number, Business License Number, Gun Permit Number, Checking account Number, Federal Business Tax Number, Auto License Number, a Parking Permit Number, a Property Tax Number, (which did I miss?) Get your number now and them pick a number and stand in line like the rest of the sheep and buy your processed box of Fruit Loops for $5.00 and taste the fine mixture of sugar and 2 cents worth of left over grain puffed up to fit in a fancy box that likey cost more than what you are buying for [FOOD?].

Kinda makes my lips number.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), May 18, 1999.

Next time you whine about a whale being killed, take a look around your house and think of all the living things that died in order that we might live comfortably.

Leather shoes and clothing. Meat for the table. The food chain poisoned by pesticides. Beneficial insects and birds are killed by that crap everyday. We don't see this shit happening so we don't associate ourselves with it.

Only when it is shoved in our faces, like the whale killing, do we get it into our thick skulls that something dies every second so we can live.

-- Anti-Chainsaw (Tree@hugger.com), May 18, 1999.

Don't like eating much, do ya Gilda?

The dying of living beings so that others can eat is part of the cycle of life. It's natural! I thought that was supposed to be a-ok with everybody these days. Human beings have canine teeth for a reason, dontcha think?

The animals on my homestead live a happy, healthy, care-free life. They die a quick and painless death. I'm thankful to my animals for the nourishment they provide my children. Is this way so awful compared to the squirming rabbit watching its own guts torn out by a hawk, or the hamstrung and terrified deer slowly picked apart by coyotes? Nope. But at least my children understand what it means to eat meat; something has to die, it doesn't just appear magically wrapped in cellophane in the supermarket.

They understand the cycle of life.

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), May 18, 1999.

Gilda: << But my personal belief is that we should harm NO living thing. >>

Hence your support for Planned Parenthood, right Gilda? Sheesh!

-- David Palm (djpalm64@yahoo.com), May 18, 1999.

Couldn't pass this one up! We have a kinship with mammals. Whales are mammals (as we are), not animals. Sorry guys, they think, they dream, they even have feelings. Killing this whale was senseless at best. NONE of the participants of this sensless murder have EVER been on a whaling boat before today. Some tradition! Yeah, they did it 70 years ago, but they ran out of whales. Plenty of other options out there, natural and synthetic.

I hope the whales get a little revenge one day soon.......I bet they do.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), May 18, 1999.

Dory,

I bet you didn't expect the kinds of responses you got here. I am with you. The whole thing makes me sick. There is no need for anyone to kill Whales. Or Dolphins. They seem to have a higher intelligence than your average cow that people raise for food. They should be protected. There is nothing that is so vital as a commercial product that whales need to be killed to supply it. We should learn what we can from them, not kill them.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 18, 1999.

Butler, the people who claim whales are so smart have never bothered to study pigs. Pigs are the most intelligent animals I have ever come in contact with - they don't get credited for it simply because they are neither majestic nor cuddly. But a pig will figure out how to open a gate just by watching you do it. A pig will KNOW an electric fence will hurt - but run at it squealing all the way and slide under it (accepting the hurt) to get to the patch of sweet corn on the other side. A pig will generally NOT follow another animal into a slaughterhouse - unlike cows and sheep they seem to know that animals going in and no animals coming out is bad news. Dolphins will stay in a net with tuna when they could easily escape - a pig will get out of holes you would swear a rat could not get through. Of course the hole is a mite bigger AFTER the pig goes through. Pigs are awfully smart - the cute dolphins and whales just get a better press IMHO.

And yes, I do still eat ham. In fact I am planning on smoking one this weekend - want some?

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), May 18, 1999.