Commentary by Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

What I like most about death threats is that they are entertaining.

They don't worry me very much and for two reasons. First the number of death threats received indicates the effectiveness of our tactics. Only angry people make death threats and we make plenty of ocean rapers and animal killers very angry. Our enemies are literally legions of whalers, fishermen, sealers, poachers, polluters and politicians who hate Sea Shepherd and who hate me personally. I'm actually quite flattered that we can arouse such emotions.

The second reason is that death threats are issued by cowards and posers and not by determined people. A determined person will simply kill without warning or threat. The death threat is simply a wimp's rant, a sniveler's posturing and the desperate ravings of a craven bully.

 

We received this particularly entertaining piece of drivel this week;

Date: August 18, 2008 4:46:22 PM PDT 
Subject: Information

Quote from the "Shit Shepherd" Site

"It's a mystery to me why the Japanese police would target three relatively minor crewmembers," said Captain Paul Watson. "As captain, all Sea Shepherd crewmembers act in accordance with my orders. All activities opposing the illegal actions of the Japanese whaling fleet are my responsibility, yet no charges have been filed against me. This is absurd and makes no sense at all."

Do not worry Watson your day will come, trust me 

See Australian SASR and Commandos are in Afghanistan killing Terrorist as Terrorist are BAD, and now as the Japanese Government has classed your group as TERRORIST, and as we know terrorist are BAD, we need to do the same to you as to the TALIBAN ... REMOVE YOU FROM THE PLANET with a 7.62mm round to the head!

Mercenaries are good for removing Terrorist, Ask BlackWater Tactical(USA) and their killing of Iraqis for no reasons.

And what bullshit

Quote from the "Shit Shepherd" Site

"Sea Shepherd Conservation Society actions are legal and non-violent. In over three decades of operations, the Society has not injured a single person and no crewmember has ever been convicted of a felony crime."

Funny I was reading on the net about your VIOLENT history, ... You(your terrorist group)  have THREATEN TO KILL 2 Canadian Government Delegates and you have shot at FAEROE ISLAND POLICE. .................So you are a LIAR 

What a brainiac!

A 7.62 round is an Ak-47 round, not the weapon of the U.S. or Australian military. He refers to himself as "we" and that coupled with his bad English suggests he may be Japanese.

Of course I don't recall threatening to kill anyone myself and we have never shot at anyone, especially the police but hey if it's on the internet, it must be true! I bet this bozo believes that real aliens come through the Stargate and that George Bush is a genius.

This reminds me of when I was doing a talk show way back in November 1986 and some wacko whaling industry defender called in a bomb threat to the station to protest my "violence."

Or when some Newfoundland sealers were being interviewed by the CBC and were accusing Sea Shepherd and I of being violent terrorists and a threat to the safety of the public. When the reporter asked what they would like to see done about it, one sealer responded, "those violent terrorists should all be taken out and shot in the back of the head."

Ahh the paradox of the nature of humanity. People seem to want to violently oppose the non-violence of protestors by accusing them of violence and suggesting that violent non-violent actions should be punished with "extreme prejudice."

What we have here are whale-killing whalers and baby seal bashing sealers denouncing Sea Shepherd crew as violent despite the fact that no Sea Shepherd crewmember has ever injured a single person. These self-righteous killers have beaten up and have threatened non-violent activists for being violent by blocking clubs and harpoons.

What we have here are meat eating and fish devouring necrovores denouncing peaceful vegans as violent. The reasoning being that cutting the throat of a lamb or bashing in the brains of a cow for a lamb chop or a hamburger is okay but eating lentils and tofu is an act of terrorism.

And it does not always come from the right of the political spectrum. We also have left leaning environmentalists denouncing the sinking of a whaling ship or the destruction of a hunting rifle as violent yet they support abortion, mainly because it is the politically correct position to take. I support a woman's right to choose myself but I cannot rationalize it as a non-violent act. The destruction of fetus is far more violent than the destruction of a whale killing ship. As Dr. Martin Luther King once remarked, "you cannot commit an act of violence against a non-sentient object."

But we all justify our beliefs. Killing for real estate, oil wells or Christianity or Islam is okay with many but refraining from eating meat is considered radical.

The Muslims do not eat pork, the Jews don't eat shellfish and pork, the Hindu's don't eat beef, the Mormons don't drink coffee and the Catholics once refrained from eating meat on Fridays (although fish was OK) yet veganism is considered "unnatural" and "radical" by many.

I guess one description of "radical" or "extremism" is behaviour practiced by others and not practiced by oneself.

In Stuart Townsend's new movie Battle in Seattle there is a scene where an anarchist throws a brick through a storefront window. Two peace activists witnessing the action shout at the man for being violent. He responds by saying, "you don't see anyone hurt, do you?" Then one of the peace activists jumps the anarchists and begins beating on him to denounce his "violence."

We humans are really a silly lot. We support, respect and tolerate a President who is responsible for the horrific deaths of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people yet we get worked up if "violent" protestors boycott tuna fish sandwiches.

We praise military troops with idiotic phrases like "we oppose war but we support the troops."  The fact is that without troops there cannot be any war.

I was once asked if I supported women and gays in the military and I immediately replied, "of course not."

I was then denounced as a sexist and a homophobe yet why would I support having women and gays in the military when I don't support having men in the military?

Does equality for women and gay men reside in being allowed to be trained as killing machines?

If the women's movement believes they should have the equal right to be killers than they have won nothing and instead have surrendered to male immorality.

As for death threats, I've got files of them going back decades and I'm still very much alive although there is some silly memorial to my death on You Tube by someone who thought it was funny. Strangely enough I thought it was funny also, and it's even more humourous to argue with the MySpace people who insist to me that I'm dead.

Not one of the cowards who sent me a death threat over the last thirty years has made good on the threat so I don't lose much sleep worrying about being shot by some self righteous defender of whale and seal killers.

But hey, we all have got to die some time and I'd rather be shot for defending life than to die of old age or of some terminal disease without having stood up for my beliefs. Everyone dies but not everyone lives, and to live fully means to live a life devoid of fear.

But I have to chuckle when I think of some confused alienated guy who has just munched on some decomposing flesh from a cow, who supports the war, whaling, sealing, hunting and vivisection condemning me for being violent because I snatched a club out of the bloody hands of a serial baby seal killer.

At least I live in reality and it could be worse, I could be like one of them.

Ahh the first step to marginalization and demonization. Maybe I should send out some death threats myself?  Ohh get thee behind me Satan and slap myself silly because on second thought I don't think so. I don't see myself doing something as cowardly as that.