At 10:49 AM 8/15/97 -0700, you wrote:

> And yes, in opposition
>to another view given, we all, as sentient beings of this planet, have a
>stake in this hunt. It IS our business!

Whaling is our business. The purchase of legal hardware by the Makah
tribe, even if they're weapons, is not.

While whaling is our business, the issue still remains as to whether
or not we tackle that by trying to convince them that they should
not take this step, while respecting their limited sovereignity
and cultural heritage, or should we simply adopt the notion that
we can declare their hunt to not really be aboriginal because we're
better placed to decide than they are.

>The behavior of these whales has evolved to include people as part of
>their social structure. The Makah should consider doing the same.

And there's nothing wrong with trying to convince them to do so.

It seems, though, that Sea Shepherd wants to make that decision for
them, which is a very different thing indeed, isn't it?



- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net