Help End Shark Finning and the sale of Shark Products

[highdesert]

Worth reading/watching ...

... well, okay ... worth reading/watching if you feel that by doing so, it may help you to understand the subject better.

Shark's fin soup, China, and the GDP: Why protecting sharks is good for the economy. - Slate Magazine

Matt Rand from PEW - Bahamas Shark Tourism PSA - Shark Diver

 

[highdesert]

Here's a little lesson in "armchair activism" ... how a petition, signed by 27,000 people, helped a cause ...

27,000 Demand Governor Brown Approve Shark Fin Ban Before Sunday | Change.org News

... and here's the result ...

Governor signs shark fin ban

This was done with no physical confrontation, no ramming of ships (not that that's a bad thing), no riots. This was simply concerned people making their opinions known with emails, phone calls, and their signatures on online petitions, of all things.

This is a huge victory for the health of our oceans. Divers should, one and all, celebrate this, IMHO. The entire West Coast of the US, plus Vancouver, BC, have now taken the same stance. This area is also home to a huge Asian (mostly Chinese) population, and the majority of them backed this bill.

For those who think our only choice is to sit on our thumb, since we can't possibly affect anything with petitions, you might find a lesson here. We can't all be Paul Watson, but we can all do something, and I am personally damn satisfied that I've been sitting in my armchair signing petitions related to this issue, in many areas of the world, for the last six months.

 

[fisheater]

Here's a little lesson in "armchair activism" ... how a petition, signed by 27,000 people, helped a cause ...

27,000 Demand Governor Brown Approve Shark Fin Ban Before Sunday | Change.org News

... and here's the result ...

Governor signs shark fin ban

This was done with no physical confrontation, no ramming of ships (not that that's a bad thing), no riots. This was simply concerned people making their opinions known with emails, phone calls, and their signatures on online petitions, of all things.

This is a huge victory for the health of our oceans. Divers should, one and all, celebrate this, IMHO. The entire West Coast of the US, plus Vancouver, has now taken the same stance. This area is also home to a huge Asian (mostly Chinese) population, and the majority of them backed this bill.

For those who think our only choice is to sit on our thumb, since we can't possibly affect anything with petitions, you might find a lesson here. We can't all be Paul Watson, but we can all do something, and I am personally damn satisfied that I've been sitting in my armchair signing petitions related to this issue, in many areas of the world, for the last six months.

Well put.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Here's a little lesson in "armchair activism" ... how a petition, signed by 27,000 people, helped a cause ...

27,000 Demand Governor Brown Approve Shark Fin Ban Before Sunday | Change.org News

... and here's the result ...

Governor signs shark fin ban

This was done with no physical confrontation, no ramming of ships (not that that's a bad thing), no riots. This was simply concerned people making their opinions known with emails, phone calls, and their signatures on online petitions, of all things.

This is a huge victory for the health of our oceans. Divers should, one and all, celebrate this, IMHO. The entire West Coast of the US, plus Vancouver, BC, have now taken the same stance. This area is also home to a huge Asian (mostly Chinese) population, and the majority of them backed this bill.

For those who think our only choice is to sit on our thumb, since we can't possibly affect anything with petitions, you might find a lesson here. We can't all be Paul Watson, but we can all do something, and I am personally damn satisfied that I've been sitting in my armchair signing petitions related to this issue, in many areas of the world, for the last six months.

This 'armchair activism' was just too easy. There was pretty much no opposition. Its like creating a petition to ban eating puppies, or like getting Oklahoma to ban Sharia law, all you need is one person to sign a petition and it will be passed.

12,000 people sign petition for referendum to ban male circumcision in San Francisco, but they petitioned against a much stronger force and Gov Brown actually signed a law banning any attempt at banning of male circumcision in all of California.

Remember how easy it was to universally condemn female circumcision? Its like condemning finning.

Nonesense.

Sweet so lets all sit back and do absolutely nothing. Amazon removed shark fin cake from its site due to "Arm chair Activism". Petitions are not the only means used but just one. It's often from simple things like petitions that a wider awareness is gained and word spreads. How do you think word of the demonstrations in Egypt was spread, how do you think it began? I think you will find the majority of Japanese are not indifferent to the issue but largely unaware.

Nobody says do nothing, but clicking mouse buttons is not what will bring real changes. If Egypt has only been clicking Likes on facebook and go smoke hooka afterward, they would still be the same today. That is the kind of amrchair activism that most people in the US are doing. Anyway, the Egypt protest got to where it was only in part because of the way the media portrayed it. The Mu5l1m brotherhood has been protesting for decades, but because they are defined as 'terr0r1st' by the US State Dept, all media will just portray them that way.

Creating awareness is part of it. Whether by creating havoc so it goes on the news (although, almost always negatively), or the havoc being the spark of the movement. The battle in Seattle was the spark that brought awareness to globalization and eventually put a nail in coffin for WTO. The big 1 day protests before the 1r4q w4r all over the US changed nothing because much of the participant went back to their ipod the next day. The teabaggers bringing their pitchforks and muskets to their protest and wanted whatever their corporate honchos wanted them to want and they are getting it. Occupy W4ll St is a movement that involves people getting off their butt at home, although their outcome is unsure because they are facing against some real powerful invisible forces (this ain't about banning finning), not to mention the media blackout of any movement to the left of teabaggers.

 

[highdesert]

Wow ... you burned a lot of energy when you simply could have said, "I guess it worked after all." Instead, you talked around it by addressing other non-related issues. But hey, you got your last word in, and now you can continue down the road toward denial.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

LOL, if that is what you get out of reading what I wrote, then I think you can't grasp the overall picture.

I burned my energy saying your armchair petition could work for easy issues, like banning finning in your own backyard. Trying to get China to ban it is another thing (non-of your business would be the response, just look at Japan and its Whales). To get shark finning to stop, it will have to come from within China from by raising awareness.

 

[quikcolin]

To get shark finning to stop, it will have to come from within China from by raising awareness.

Here is a great article of efforts put forth by Chinese celebrities (former NBA player Yao Ming) in Shanghai..

Yao Ming, Richard Branson Join Shark-Fin Opposition - China Real Time Report - WSJ

 

[divergal65]

As I have mentioned before, I tell my family and friends back in Hong Kong about what I think of shark finning, and it seems to be gaining some traction in many of the younger ones , e.g., my nephew who eschewed shark fin soup for his wedding banquet.
All movements had to start somewhere. Wasn't it a Chinese proverb from 老子(Lao Tsu) that said

千里之行始于足下

a thousand li journey begins with a single step?

 

[quikcolin]

Wasn't it a Chinese proverb from 老子(Lao Tsu) that said

千里之行始于足下

a thousand li journey begins with a single step?

Exactly!!!

 

[highdesert]

LOL, if that is what you get out of reading what I wrote, then I think you can't grasp the overall picture. I burned my energy saying your armchair petition could work for easy issues, like banning finning in your own backyard. Trying to get China to ban it is another thing (non-of your business would be the response, just look at Japan and its Whales). To get shark finning to stop, it will have to come from within China from by raising awareness.

I have absolutely no illusions that the passing of this bill in California, or the signing of a single petition, will turn this issue around. Nor do I have the negative attitude (fine, call yourself realistic … I’ll go with negative) that you express about taking small but meaningful steps towards change.

Think back 50 or 60 years on the issue of whaling. Though whaling is still undertaken in defiance of international regulatory bodies, the scale of it has dropped off considerably. Yes, Paul Watson is famous for the physical confrontation which you claim is the only way to effect change, but he hasn’t turned the tide singlehandedly. International opinion and pressure has also been effective.

As much as I would like to see it, I don’t know that shark finning will ever be stopped completely. But when the likes of Maldives, Palau, Raja Ampat, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, California, Oregon, Washington, Vancouver, St. Maarten, Malpelo, Cocos, Galapagos, Bahamas, Honduras, South Africa, and others have declared shark sanctuaries, and there are active campaigns in Europe, Australia, Toronto, and many other places, there is a serious groundswell of activity. Taken as a whole, this activity can be shown as evidence to governments that the issue deserves some attention.

This is not to say all will jump on board willingly. Japan, Indonesia, and China will be difficult. I believe Taiwan will be swayed, perhaps in a couple of years. The Taiwanese mafia, which controls much of the fin trade, will not go without a fight. Even given China's media control, the common citizens of China will, in time, learn the reality of finning, and its effect on the world. This might be years down the road, but it will happen. If the increase in finning can be slowed, then stopped, and then turned into a decrease, that would be wonderful news. Now we see the beginnings of activity in China. Watch the following clip from a sitcom in Hong Kong, where half of the fin trade takes place.

Shark Savers Presents ... HK TV show saying NO to shark's fin soup on Vimeo

Perhaps if you were to be encouraged by these steps, you could feel that you've strengthened the campaign ... or is there some reason you wish that not to be the case? Failing that, perhaps you might consider ceasing the very unconstructive practice of telling everyone else why their positive steps will not work.