Bloke who sat on whale carcass provokes range of reactions
Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, November 2, 2014
I'm sure you've heard about this boatie who sat on a whale carcass off Rotto as humungous sharks circled around it. There was an interesting range of reactions to this stunt. Not surprisingly, most people thought he was an idiot.
Post by Perth Now.
Nonetheless, some opined that he was a champion and a legend, or at least not in any danger. Not surprisingly the ongoing political battle over the shark cull was a persistent theme in comment threads.
Some of these reactions illustrated the green tinged incoherence and nihilism that I find so worrying. Take this one from the Facebook post above:
Kelly Marie Smith: Mans stupidity and if he got attacked it would be a hunt to kill another shark!
Clearly, she doesn't care about the man's life. She's more worried that a shark might be offed. (This sentiment was echoed in other comments endorsing the "culling of idiots" by the way.)
This misanthropy is disturbing for a start. Then there's the naivete of it: If he was an idiot for sitting on a whale carcass surrounded by sharks surely anyone who takes a dip in the ocean is being reckless, too. That's because massive noahs like the ones photographed chowing down on chunks of whale blubber are cruising up and down the coast all the time, happy to chow down on chunks of less fatty white meat (that is, us) if the opportunity presents itself.
Which is to say that if we do nothing another fatal shark attack is inevitable. So there will be a hunt to kill another shark -- sooner or later. It might take a while but the public will demand nothing less.
My advice to the shark huggers who said the whale sitter was an idiot is that they should think long and hard about what they actually believe and really want. If they think the shark threat has been overblown, then maybe that adventurous boatie wasn't such a fool after all.
But if they agree there is a serious threat they have to accept that something proactive must be done about it. If they don't like the so called "cull" then they should offer a clear and undeniably effective alternative. And they certainly haven't done that yet.
Nonetheless, some opined that he was a champion and a legend, or at least not in any danger. Not surprisingly the ongoing political battle over the shark cull was a persistent theme in comment threads.
Some of these reactions illustrated the green tinged incoherence and nihilism that I find so worrying. Take this one from the Facebook post above:
Kelly Marie Smith: Mans stupidity and if he got attacked it would be a hunt to kill another shark!
Clearly, she doesn't care about the man's life. She's more worried that a shark might be offed. (This sentiment was echoed in other comments endorsing the "culling of idiots" by the way.)
This misanthropy is disturbing for a start. Then there's the naivete of it: If he was an idiot for sitting on a whale carcass surrounded by sharks surely anyone who takes a dip in the ocean is being reckless, too. That's because massive noahs like the ones photographed chowing down on chunks of whale blubber are cruising up and down the coast all the time, happy to chow down on chunks of less fatty white meat (that is, us) if the opportunity presents itself.
Which is to say that if we do nothing another fatal shark attack is inevitable. So there will be a hunt to kill another shark -- sooner or later. It might take a while but the public will demand nothing less.
My advice to the shark huggers who said the whale sitter was an idiot is that they should think long and hard about what they actually believe and really want. If they think the shark threat has been overblown, then maybe that adventurous boatie wasn't such a fool after all.
But if they agree there is a serious threat they have to accept that something proactive must be done about it. If they don't like the so called "cull" then they should offer a clear and undeniably effective alternative. And they certainly haven't done that yet.
Tags: sharks politics whales
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