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Originally Posted by MMM
Innocent until proven guilty? They claimed responsibility.
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They claimed responsibility... but their defence was that it was lawful. They haven't been charged for unlawful behaviour so they are "innocent" in that regard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
Tenchu, the problem you and Ronin have is that you feel like you can excuse violent acts when it is for a cause you believe in. I feel separated from either side of the issue, really. I can see merits and holes in arguments on both sides. I would consider things like sinking ships, destroying facilities, ramming ships, boarding other ships for the sake of a greater belief to be terrorism. I do think they are trying to promote a message, or else they wouldn't be so overt in their activities.
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Well it's one of those grey areas for me. I really don't know enough about past contexts to say whether or not I agree with their actions then.
But when I see the sea shepherd getting things done NOW while the Japanese government stalls any diplomatic effort to get them to stop, it is very easy to feel sympathetic to the sea shepherd's mission and dismiss their less than appealing tactics.
The Japanese lost a lot of money here.... if they continue to pursue whaling they will continue to lose money. Add to that a global recession and the Japanese will soon have no choice to stop.
The sea shepherd's tactic's seem to be working. And while this issue is big enough for Japan to remain somewhat defiant... it's not a big enough issue for them to turn this into a major political issue on the world stage.