...probably being very naiive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7190957.stm

i don't know whether it's my age, my indifference, my priorities, my distance from the problem/problems, my ethics/values, or my white, middle class, (reasonably) affluent position .....but...... this type of thing sometimes vexes me.

you board a boat that you have no right to be on so effectively you're a trespasser, on board which are people you fundamentally object to and who fundamentally object to you and then get upset when they don't treat you very well. well, i'm sorry but on one level (while clearly stating that what the whaling ships appear (on a superficial glance at least) to be doing is not right) the protesters have no room to complain about their treatment given they have no right to be where they are - on the ship, that is.

one of my problems with this is that while these acts are undertaken to raise awareness any awareness raising gets lost in the turmoil and the news worthy bit of the story is about the treatment of the protesters and not the thing they were protesting about.

i think there are better ways and my concern is that people engage in these acts to bask in the the "glory" of being the person that did it while little is achieved for their cause. other than raising in the minds of the vast majority of people the opinion that such people are maverick idiots. ....and they're not. but very little is achieved.

i know that doesn't make it wrong (that nothing is achieved) and protesting has no doubt made real changes in our world. i just think we have other options at our disposal to make a difference now than say the suffragettes had in their era. i think the acts against the japanese whalers achieve little in the long term and to be honest little of any real note in the short term.

why not diplomacy
why not government lobbying

.....as ever.... happy to be wrong..... happy to be further enlightened