Interesting and contrarian point of view, but something that has troubled me for years since seeing postcards from the turn of the 19th-20th century showing massive pilot whale (blackfish) strandings inside of Cape Cod Bay (where many occur today).
Now the Cape has its own "Stranding Network" -- a great community service that helps rehab cold-stunned turtles, de-tangle right whales from fishing gear, and ... as you say, return beached whales to the water -- only to see them return.
I think a driver of the service mentality is the belief, perhaps guilt driven, that man is responsible for the strandings -- submarine sonar, pollution -- I saw in the local paper an article about the restoration of an injured swan to a local pond, but swans are considered invasive species in the Northeast.
It's human nature to be both cruel and kind to animals, but you hit a fascinating point of when that kindness is out of synch with the natural reality and order of the world.
maxkalehoff
· 8 months ago
Thanks for your comment, David. I was going to expand on the analogy in my essay, but I I'll do it here now. It is my understanding that many years ago -- say pre-1940s Western values -- human guilt would have been driven less by humane treatment and more about waste. For example, the norm would've been to quickly kill a beached whale to produce oil or food. To do otherwise, would've been wasteful. My analogy in my essay tied beached whales to modern day industries and institutions. I firmly believe our attempts to avoid gore and pain (for short-term humanity?) often brings with it tremendous waste in the end.
bob
· 5 months ago
this is discusting! maaan how could you let one of the earths mmammels die off!?
All Comments
Now the Cape has its own "Stranding Network" -- a great community service that helps rehab cold-stunned turtles, de-tangle right whales from fishing gear, and ... as you say, return beached whales to the water -- only to see them return.
I think a driver of the service mentality is the belief, perhaps guilt driven, that man is responsible for the strandings -- submarine sonar, pollution -- I saw in the local paper an article about the restoration of an injured swan to a local pond, but swans are considered invasive species in the Northeast.
It's human nature to be both cruel and kind to animals, but you hit a fascinating point of when that kindness is out of synch with the natural reality and order of the world.
essay, but I I'll do it here now. It is my understanding that many years ago
-- say pre-1940s Western values -- human guilt would have been driven less
by humane treatment and more about waste. For example, the norm would've
been to quickly kill a beached whale to produce oil or food. To do
otherwise, would've been wasteful. My analogy in my essay tied beached
whales to modern day industries and institutions. I firmly believe our
attempts to avoid gore and pain (for short-term humanity?) often brings with
it tremendous waste in the end.