And So It Begins. Again!

Today, Japanese whalers have left harbor for another winter of slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. And therefore Operation Devine Wind begins.

But there is more to this story. A new element which makes it infinitely more disgusting than the whaling itself. The Japanese government is issuing $28 million in earthquake recovery funds to the whalers! Yes, you heard me right. The money people around the world shared with Japan to help them get back on their feet is being used for whaling.

ABC news reports:

The Japan Fisheries Agency says the trip’s use of $28 million from the earthquake recovery fund is legitimate, because one of the towns devastated by the March earthquake and tsunami was a whaling port.

Legitimate? Because one of the towns hit was a whaling port? FUCK! YOU!

I am one of the millions of people who donated their hard-earned money to help Japanese citizens rebuild their lives. And now, as it turns out, I have inadvertently helped to fund this winter’s whaling campaign.

I am beyond words to express how absolutely absurd this is. Let’s examine the enormity of this decision:

1. That’s $28 million that won’t be used to rebuild schools, hospitals, and homes; to help rebuild the Japanese economy; or even to research, improve, and build new electricity solutions that can withstand future natural disasters.
2. This is a huge “fuck you very much” to everyone who donated to disaster funds. “While we appreciate your money to help rebuild our country, we’re going to go ahead and use it to continue our whaling industry which is disapproved by most of you who donated money.”
3. Japan’s whaling industry has no funding because there’s little support and few who care about its survival. So while this thievery enables them to have a campaign this winter, it’s but a desperate attempt to keep a dying industry alive. Come next winter they will again be scrambling for funding. Especially because this winter Sea Shepherd will most definitely again kill their quota.
4. When the next natural disaster hits Japan, many will be reluctant to donate money, concerned about how it will be spent. This will screw Japanese citizens in their time of need next time around like they’re being screwed right now.

So thank you, Japan. You have officially cheated your citizens out of trust, money, and support. Disgusting.