Japan and Dolphins
By Lena Domroese, Earth Island Journal
During Japan Dolphin Day events in San Francisco, I visited the local Japanese consulate. I was curious what the response would be to an average citizen voicing concerns about Japan's annual dolphin slaughter, so I posed as a potential tourist who was affected by the protest and went to the Japanese Consulate's main office with an information package, including graphic files showing dolphins being killed, to speak with the Consulate staff.
The person in the visitor's information center nodded knowingly when I showed her the pictures and expressed how shocked I was.
"Yeah, it is a shocking picture, but you know, in my job, you sometimes have to set your personal beliefs aside," she said. This wasn't a satisfying statement to me, but she obviously didn't want to delve the subject any further. Instead, she offered to let me talk tc somebody who would.
Another woman entered the room. She looked very "official" and a little reserved. Nevertheless, she was very polite, and was willing to listen to what I had to say.
We sat there for about half an hour, often talking at cross-purposes. She said the Japanese didn't do anything that violated international whaling agreements. I reminded her the demonstration was about dolphins, not whales-1 referred to the NY Times ad in the package that supported the accusations of the activists - namely the senseless killing of thousands of dolphins in the process of selecting the "best-looking" ones for marine shows. The more we talked, the more she became interested in the matter, attempting to read the newspaper article with one eye during our conversation.
I apparently hit a sore spot by saying I was so shocked by all this that I was not sure anymore if I really wanted information on Japan as a future travel destination. She seemed very embarrassed and almost personally ashamed about the perception of Japan that other passers-by and I might have gathered from the pictures. She asked me to also look beyond this facet and see the culturally rich and beautiful aspects of her country. I almost felt sorry for her as she seemed to adopt more and more personal responsibility for the things happening in her country and looked quite distressed.
When we said good-bye, she thanked me for talking to her and for not being judgmental towards the country as a whole. She asked me to leave her the package (which I gladly agreed to do) and told me to contact her with more information or questions. When she handed me her business card, I learned that I had just met the director and consul of the Consulate General!
During Japan Dolphin Day events in San Francisco, I visited the local Japanese consulate. I was curious what the response would be to an average citizen voicing concerns about Japan's annual dolphin slaughter, so I posed as a potential tourist who was affected by the protest and went to the Japanese Consulate's main office with an information package, including graphic files showing dolphins being killed, to speak with the Consulate staff.
The person in the visitor's information center nodded knowingly when I showed her the pictures and expressed how shocked I was.
"Yeah, it is a shocking picture, but you know, in my job, you sometimes have to set your personal beliefs aside," she said. This wasn't a satisfying statement to me, but she obviously didn't want to delve the subject any further. Instead, she offered to let me talk tc somebody who would.
Another woman entered the room. She looked very "official" and a little reserved. Nevertheless, she was very polite, and was willing to listen to what I had to say.
We sat there for about half an hour, often talking at cross-purposes. She said the Japanese didn't do anything that violated international whaling agreements. I reminded her the demonstration was about dolphins, not whales-1 referred to the NY Times ad in the package that supported the accusations of the activists - namely the senseless killing of thousands of dolphins in the process of selecting the "best-looking" ones for marine shows. The more we talked, the more she became interested in the matter, attempting to read the newspaper article with one eye during our conversation.
I apparently hit a sore spot by saying I was so shocked by all this that I was not sure anymore if I really wanted information on Japan as a future travel destination. She seemed very embarrassed and almost personally ashamed about the perception of Japan that other passers-by and I might have gathered from the pictures. She asked me to also look beyond this facet and see the culturally rich and beautiful aspects of her country. I almost felt sorry for her as she seemed to adopt more and more personal responsibility for the things happening in her country and looked quite distressed.
When we said good-bye, she thanked me for talking to her and for not being judgmental towards the country as a whole. She asked me to leave her the package (which I gladly agreed to do) and told me to contact her with more information or questions. When she handed me her business card, I learned that I had just met the director and consul of the Consulate General!
posted by James at 11:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home