AttentionMax - Latest Comments in Let Beached Whales Die

Re: Let Beached Whales Die

maxkalehoff — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:37:13 -0000

Bob, all of earth's creatures eventually die.

Re: Let Beached Whales Die

bob — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:26:07 -0000

this is discusting! maaan how could you let one of the earths mmammels die off!?

Re: Let Beached Whales Die

maxkalehoff — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:46:45 -0000

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.

Re: Let Beached Whales Die

David Churbuck — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:10:21 -0000

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.