I am angry today. Angry at ignorance. Angry at injustice. Angry at violence. Angry at huge agri-business and corporations who put profits above the health & safety of people and animals. Angry at people who live and breathe, yet have lost their soul. Angry at lying governments, and angry at myself.
I finally watched "The Cove." I knew what it was about long ago. I consciously decided "I cannot watch it" and denied myself the information the movie would help me acquire. Until now.
I've seen more animal rights movies than I wish. I read books, magazines and online information focused on green living, animal rights, human rights, ecological concerns, health & wellness, and more. I liked to think I was fairly educated on topical events. I stand corrected, because after last night, the bomb has been dropped on me that I live in denial of too many things, and turned my head away from distasteful atrocities lockstep with the majority of the world.
The Cove is an Academy Award winning documentary that exposes a terrible slaughter that occurs in Taiji, Japan every year beginning September 1. "Fisherman" (I use that term here only because its the term used in the movie) trap tens of thousands of dolphins in a cove hidden from public view. After some dolphins are chosen and purchased for entertainment parks, the remainder of the cetaceans are brutally slaughtered. All of them are violently killed by hacking, stabbing, slashing and torture. The babies, the adults, none are left alive. Nothing could have prepared me for what happens in that cove, the brutality of it, the violence, the senselessness and injustice. The water runs pure red at day's end. And then it all happens again the next day, the next, and the next for months. Its sickening.
In addition to the dolphin slaughter, the movie exposes a conspiracy within that countries' government about mislabeling dolphin meat as other meat. Dolphin meat is not safe for consumption, it is highly contaminated with mercury. Ingesting dolphin meat results in mercury poisoning, but it takes years for the poisoning to occur. So, in Japan, people are buying meat that is really dolphin, but labeled as something else. In the future, there will be a health crisis never seen before due to mass ingestion of mercury laced dolphin meat that people don't even know they are eating.
As I was watching the movie, I began to realize more and more that despite my prior belief I was more enlightened, I am not. I became angry at myself. I must live a life with more consciousness, and will find more ways to better aid animals in need, to better heed the call to be a voice for the voiceless.
I'm not sure what lies ahead because of my shift in thinking, but I am not alone. The other happy vegan here who already tends to be quite a bit more outspoken than me seems to have also decided more involvement is crucial for him as well. At the very least, I will no longer say "I cannot watch that, read that or listen to that" when an opportunity to learn important information exists.
I feel like a small step has been taken by us here in the establishment and success of our business. Deer Run Bed & Breakfast is a vegan inn, run by vegans, promoting a vegan lifestyle. We expect respect of this lifestyle from all that pass through our doors. In return, guests experience an oasis of peace, and an opportunity to learn about being vegan, in a non-hostile, non-confrontational environment.
Once you learn something, it cannot be unlearned. Ignorance is not bliss. The slap in the face I received in the form of a movie called The Cove was long overdue in my life. I'm grateful to everyone who had a part in that movie, and the continued work being done to end the slaughter. I have some new heroes in my life now.
Today is September 1. The slaughter is scheduled to resume today.
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