We recently discovered this show on Netflix. By the second episode, I felt myself rooting for the whalers. IANAL, but my understanding is that they are not violating international law, they are exploiting a loophole in it. To me that difference means that if anyone is breaking laws out there, it is Captain Bumble and the Sea Shepard folks.
And yes, their cause is noble enough, but they just seemed so…unlikeable. Like when “Potsie” got aboard the whaling vessel and then Captain Watson told the press that he was being held “hostage.” No he’s not. The Japanese certainly didn’t want him on board, but now that he’s there on their ship in the middle of nowhere what they hell else can they do with him?
Feeling that way was my guilty secret, and I thought I was alone in that view, but wow, I guess not…ignorance fought!
I’m not sure how I feel about the name “Gojira” - isn’t that a little immature? I equate it to the Japanese renaming their refueling ship the “Scary Scary Big Foot Watch Out!”
Well, it did lead to one of the harpoon ships issuing an amusing distress call - “We have been disabled by Gojira.” Now they only need Gamera and Mothra.
muldoonthief, exactly. I’m not expecting them to sink a ship, or even damage sailing fleet property - then they’d really earn the ecoterrorist label and totally lose me. But I am expecting a certain level of competence. Not being able to launch one of the smaller boats? Why didn’t you practice this? Deploying a prop fouler line - why didn’t you practice this? You all look like morons.
I usually watch this right after I’ve watched Deadliest Catch, which only heightens their buffoonery. Now those are ships that are actually run, by competent people and in worse conditions.
Snickers, I’ve had the exact same thought - if Sig & Edgar or the Hillstrands signed up with Sea Shepherd, all the bleeding hearts would be broken down in tears within the first hour, yet every whale south of the equator would be perfectly safe.
The other side could be funny too - I’d love to see Watson try to stop Keith from catching crab.
That’s the fine line they claim to follow with their “non-violent” action. They claim they won’t do anything that can directly injure a human being. That’s why they throw paint and butyric acid, but not grenades and sulfuric acid.
So they’re willing to disable a ship by tangling it’s prop, since that won’t directly lead to its sinking, but not put a limpet mine on it and blow a big hole in the hull.
Now disabling a ship in the Antarctic hundreds of miles from assistance certainly can lead to the deaths of everyone on board, but they apparently haven’t thought that through - this season we saw what I think was their first completely successful fouling of a harpoon ship, and what happened? The ship issued a mayday, and by international law the Sea Shepherds were required to stop and offer assistance.