As an activist who marched in support of a ban on whaling in 1977, I find it curious that I have recently had a limited change of heart. I am now reasonably sympathetic to the concept of small-scale whaling. There are two reasons why: The first is that a limited catch of certain whale species is clearly ecologically sustainable; the second is the exhibition of the seeming arrogance and frat-boy childishness by those who presently head Greenpeace, which many people still view as a respectable organization.
Several weeks ago we were informed that Greenpeace had "seized" some whale meat that it claimed Japanese whalers had stolen. "Well, excuse me," many of us thought at the time. "What branch of the Japanese government awarded Greenpeace the power of seizure?"
None it now seems, and the Greenpeace activists concerned have rightly been arrested by Japanese police as if they were petty criminals. I find it gratifying to know that while Greenpeace's emotion-driven activities resonate in the West, the Japanese are less than impressed.