Hi again. Thanks for your reply. You say “the Japanese are in a better position to stop Japan’s barbaric slaughter of whales than any other people.” Perhaps they are, perhaps they’re not. Many are trying. Greenpeace has a presence in Japan. I, myself, have spoken to their Tokyo representatives regarding whale meat sold in a super market, labeled, “Whale from Alaska”, an impossibility, as you may be aware. I also spoke to the manager of the market and explained how this could not be true. He told me he would relabel the meat, but not remove it from sale. I’m getting off the track here. The point is that the Japanese are fighting to stop whaling. Besides Greenpeace, there are a number of organizations in Japan whose goals are to preserve our natural resources, including whales. However, lobbying against and fighting the big corporate whaling business is a major challenge and at times a seemingly insurmountable, indestructible wall. Some have given up after continuously banging their heads against this wall, but others fight on. Yet, still, a large portion of the population is indifferent. They may not eat whale meat, but they are uneducated as to the reasons why whales should not be killed and eaten. The government is, to a degree, sponsored by these large corporations, like big oil companies in the US. In league, they don’t want the people educated. They want them to remain ignorant. So, in this case, the Japanese are not in a better position to stop the slaughter, we are, you, me, and the rest of the world. We need to educate the Japanese populace. This can be done through music, film, books, etc. Also, the UN and World Court should have a major hand in prevention. Why are they so weak? All they’ve offered is a slap on the wrist and a not so firm word of reproach. Why aren’t we, you and I, lobbying the UN? Not such an easy thing to do, you say? Aha! You see my point? You ask why don’t the Japanese lobby their politicians? Well, they are, but the whalers are too, and they have a lot more money that the politicians need in order to remain politicians. It’s the same in the US with the oil industry. Burning fossil fuel is not good for the environment. That’s a given. Many groups are lobbying against big corporate oil, but they haven’t the money or resources to compete with the oil lobby. The same with guns. It is my understanding that the majority of US citizens are for gun control and many groups are lobbying against guns, but they haven’t the power or wealth to compete with the NRA. So should all Americans deserve the label of gun toting, baby killing, environment polluting ass holes? Nay, I say. Big corporate business deserves that moniker, not I, not the individual, be he either fighting against them or indifferent due to lack of knowledge. It is up to all citizens of the world to educate and reprogram wrong doers. We can’t just sit back and hope the Japanese will educate themselves. That naivete is a dream that shall not come to pass. If your neighbor is doing something wrong and his brother knows nothing about it, then you can’t sit back and expect the brother who doesn’t know to tell his brother to stop. Since he doesn’t know, we’ve got to tell him. You and I and the rest of the world have to educate them. We’ve got to show them that it’s wrong. We’ve got to stop believing that the Japanese can stop the whale industry by themselves. They can’t, and they won’t. You say that “the Japanese are hiding behind their belief that it has nothing to do with them.” Actually, they are not hiding at all. They are just ignorant, kept in the dark by their own politicians who are payed by the whale industry. They don’t even have any idea that they are labeled as “whale killers”, no matter how unfairly prejudice that label, (and how ignorant the labeler) may be, as, for the most part, they are not. You say you don’t practice racial profiling. Was not your poster, “Save a Whale, Kill a Jap”, that very thing, as well as bigotry and prejudice, for you have, indeed, prejudged a whole nation of people for crimes committed by a very small minority. I assume you’re right when you say not everyone can see the humor in substituting pickled rams testicles, which is considered a delicacy in your country, for whale meat, which is a delicacy in Japan, for I fail to see the humor. When offering a substitute, I might suggest offering something a bit more mouth watering. However, I can’t say from experience whether rams testicles are tasty or not. You, I’m guessing, are more experienced with balls in your mouth than I (Sorry, couldn’t resist that.) This brings me to my last point, my unanswered question from my previous letter, you stated that whale meat “tastes like crap”. I ask again, how would you know? Have you tried it? If so, then this will expose you as a hypocrite. If you haven’t tried it, then you can’t say how it tastes. From what I’ve heard, it’s a bit dry and chewy, lacking in flavor, but doesn’t taste like crap. Now, you might ask how I would know what crap tastes like. Have you ever eaten a durian? Well, I have. Mmmmm, dog shit custard. It’s an acquired taste. I happen to love durian. Once again, I seem to be getting off the point and rambling. In closing, I’d just like to say that you and I are in the same boat, so-to-speak. We both agree that whaling is wrong, and Japanese whalers should cease and desist the practice. Where we seem to disagree is on who’s to blame and how to prevent it. However, our hearts are in the right place, so I suggest we put our hearts and minds together and try to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, getting Whale Wars to air on Japanese TV will never happen
Doc