Crazy captain of the seas

Whale Wars is a discovery channel series about Captain Paul Watson, his crew, and their controversal efforts in saving whales.

I watched the show a few times during season one, and I contributed it with a large portion as to why I no longer enjoy television.  Simply put, the captain is blatantly irresponsible, the crew dangerously undertrained, and their efforts overtly catastrophic.  I had every intention of stumping this already sinking ship into the abyss, but after a little background research I find that I, simply put, can't.  While the methods of Captain Watson have several fallacies he has so far, despite appearances and critics, held to an idealogy and impromptu code that I find worthy.

Yes, shocking revelations I admit and one of my former strongest arguement against Captain Watson is that he is clearly risking the lives of his young, untrained, volunteer crew.  All those adjectives are, without a doubt, true.  Including the intregal volunteer part.  Call his crew what you may, brainwashed and stupid seem to be the norm of the debate forums, but they are individuals whom made a personal choice.  The fact that they are willing to risk their lives for what they believe in is in my opinion extremely noble.  I personally know strikingly few people who honestly have found something they would bite the bullet for.  On the otherhand I can't seem keep track of  all the people who critize other for acting on their beliefs...

Another presumption I had about the Captain is his methods or more so the legallity of his methods.  It came to my surprise that he has never been charged; though no country actively supports his efforts either.  Both of which are due to the fact that while risky he isn't doing anything illegal, just politically incorrect.  According to the International Whaling Committee, commercial whaling has been deemed illegal worldwide.  Which to me, makes captain Watson like the pesky environmentalist who makes sure you leave your campsite exactly like it was before you got there.  Sure, it is annoying and perhaps you wouldn't mind seeing him trip and fall in his own selfrighteous muck, but the reality is that if people simply followed the law or better yet their own moral compasses they wouldn't have to be bothered by him.

So the final arguement has to lay on the cultural aspects of the people/countries that continue commercial whaling.  Being big on respecting others traditions I find that this is the one topic where Captains Watson's noble ideas seem to flounder.  No individual or collection of individuals should be able to simply stop another group from an age old hunting tradition, but if the prey leaves their territory then tradition yields to practicallity.  Still, I have had the fortune to see whales up close and they truely are  majestic animals, but just because I feel they are of a higher intelligence doesn't mean I have a right to halt another from eating them.  I don't hold it against my friends for eating dog and I hope HInduist don't hold it against me for eating the occasional pig or cow.  This arguement is change when you threw in the global perspective.  What a country does within their own boundaries is one thing but when they cross into international waters then they should have to respect that laws of the international committees.  Since it is in international waters that captain Watson and his crew nonviolently advocate internationally recognize whaling laws I can't see why they can't continue as that pesky neighbor.

Captain Watson and his crew are acting on their beliefs and doing it in an way that the only people who can get really hurt are themselves.  The traditions of the whaling countries matters up till those countries wish to act in the international waters then they have to adher to those laws.  Furthermore, since there are laws prohibiting commercial whaling it is sometimes up to the people to enforce those laws.  This is what I think Captain Watson and his crew are doing.


Jeff