Simba wrote:Greenpeace don't do enough for my liking, they talk a good game and their message is on point but petitions don't really change anything.
I have supported Greenpeace since it started in the early 70s, it has had its success stories during the last 50 years but change has been very slow. I still have my 'Rainbow Warrior' badge and can vividly recall the time the ship was sunk by the French intelligence service. Initially the French government covered this up but eventually the French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius summoned journalists to his office to read a 200-word statement in which he said: "The truth is cruel," and acknowledged there had been a cover-up, he went on to say that "Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders." A photographer on board 'Rainbow Warrior' was killed.
Sea Shepherd is more pro-active, disruptive & confrontational than Greenpeace. Their direct action has had more success. Sea Shepherd claims that their tactics are necessary to uncover and impede actions that violate international laws protecting wildlife, as the international community has shown itself unwilling or unable to stop species-endangering whaling and fishing practices. This is hard to disagree with.
Disruption is often necessary to bring about change; you sometimes have to upset people. To paraphrase the stand-up comedian Kae Kurd (because dark humour gets us through dark times): 'If the people you’re protesting against is happy with your means of protest…then that’s not really a protest, is it?'.
From the 14th century English Peasants’ Revolt, to the Suffragettes sticking it to the patriarchy in the early 20th, to Martin Luther King proclaiming 'I have a Dream' in 1963, the story is the same. Black Lives Matters has challenged the status quo & reached parts of society that were unaware of the existence of unequal opportunity in society.The Establishment disregards the protesters until the downtrodden cause a sufficient nuisance that they can no longer be ignored.
I respect those who believe Sea Shepherd goes too far on occasions, but also feel it is fitting that FGR, the most radical football club in the UK, associates itself with such an organisation. And do remember we say 'No' to many businesses & potential sponsors who cause far more problems for the environment & society than Sea Shepherd.