MovieChat Forums > The Cove (2009) Discussion > So what?

So what?

posted 13 years ago by Kugashira
15 replies | jump to latest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVBuM3FBjiA

http://www.fishingnj.org/artdolphagress.htm

Extinguish any foolish thoughts you may possess that revere dolphins as majestic or morally superior to humanity. It is pure fantasy. Dolphins are killers, rapists, and child molesters. The same as us. Many animals are similarly aggressive. Chimpanzees in the wild are known to form tribes and slaughter each other in territorial warfare, raping and cannibalizing the young. Elephants are known to rape and murder rhinoceroses. Ducks engage in necrophilia. These are only a few examples. Nature is nature, and we are a part of it.

The core attribute that differentiates humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom is our capacity for logic. Our unique mental complications and conscious self-awareness allows us to supersede and reject nature. We have, within our various cultures, developed moral standards of right and wrong. Though our bodies may send certain signals, we have the ability to recognize and deny them. I personally believe that sentience is a responsibility, and logic a tool. With these gifts, we are able to identify flaws in nature, of which there are many, and solve difficult problems beyond the grasp of other creatures

When you see such horrific plights as these dolphins endure, it causes strong emotions. That is instinct. Empathy is embedded within our genetic code. It keeps us alive. Emotions are wonderful and necessary, however, they must be balanced with logic in order to solve problems. "Fight or flight" is black and white. In our world, there are shades of gray, and we must be thinkers in order to survive.

The problem with animal rights activists (along with the majority of mankind) is that they think with their emotions. What I mean to say is that they let their emotions dictate the course of their actions. You aren't supposed to "think" with your emotions; you are supposed to feel with them. Afterward, we must then use ingenuity and logic to first interpret our emotions, and then design a plan to deal with the cause of them.

The average emotion one might feel when they witness a film such as this is first horror, and then anger. The branching thought from this emotion is the desire to change it. The concurrent, perceived solution is to stop it, by force if necessary. "If we could only force them to stop." --That is the ultimate conclusion to which most will arrive. It isn't reasoning. It is the shrouding of hypothesis as fact. The human mind, untrained to rational thought seeks out simple solutions to complicated problems. In the case of protecting dolphins from brutality, we seek out regulation. We want someone to intervene and protect our emotions. "There should be a law!"

This path of thought assumes that dolphins enjoy equal rights with us. Whether or not you think they should, they do not. We cannot assign dolphins rights, for we are not dolphins. We are human, and we are only responsible for ourselves. Rights are not natural; the ones we do enjoy were paid for with the blood of our ancestors and can be easily taken away from us should our desire for them be dulled. That said, we are at the top of the food chain, and it is our right as individuals to capture or eat dolphins should we see fit. Once you begin to regulate another person's will, you open a door for others to regulate your own. You don't want someone to eat a dolphin. Someone else doesn't want you to make your specific life choices. By denying a person one freedom, you allow someone to deny your own.

When something becomes law, it instantly becomes punishable by death. You break the law, you might be fined. You refuse the fine, you'll be arrested. You resist arrest, you will be assaulted. You further resist, you will be murdered. The message that a law sends reads "Conform or perish."

"Good!" you might say. "Let the dolphin killers receive the same fate!" --Only remember that it is a fate you shall share, for by denying the rights of others, you have forfeited your own. Shame is another emotion a lot of people might feel watching this movie. They become ashamed of a human race responsible for such atrocities (and I've previously discussed that humanity doesn't hold a patent on atrocity). The emotion is only natural, yet it is self-defeating. You are a human, and you do not commit those acts. We are all individuals who make our own choices whether they are good or bad, but we must respect humanity in order to respect ourselves. Only through self-respect may you achieve anything worthwhile, and as a whole, humanity has achieved a great deal worthy of admiration.

"So, what do I do?"

Realize that you are not a god. Your beliefs do no conform with the beliefs of others, and they shouldn't. Your desire to save the dolphins, the whales, or whatever else is your own, and in order to meet your goals, you must bring that desire into the hearts of others. The cause is not that "evil people" are killing dolphins to make a few bucks. That is the solution to the desire others have to consume them or to observe them in an aquarium. The market is only meeting the demands of the people. Therefore, change the desires of the people, and you change the flow of the market. The answer won't be found in the creation of regulation. That hurts everyone. If you want it to stop, take the time to educate people about your beliefs. Tell them why you think it's wrong. Tell them why they should reject it. Tell them why they shouldn't visit aquariums or zoos. Then, you hope your message takes root. Forcing that message upon another is a destruction of its meaning, and one of the only true evils in the world.

My specific message to anyone with interest enough to read this far, is to reevaluate your goals and beliefs. Question yourself. Is the plight of a marine mammal the most important issue you face? With so many human beings in perpetual torment... with your own freedom being stripped away with each passing day... is there not so much more at stake? Isn't this just a distraction?

It is my personal belief that the lives of every dolphin on the planet aren't equal to one starving human child crushed under the weight of fascism, and I would personally herd every last one of them into a cage and rip out their hearts to save that child.

Wake up. That child is your own.

I'll leave you with this:

A man wants to believe, so he does. A smart man wants to believe, but he can't.

[–] CarrieAnnSux 13 years ago

*yawn*

There's nothing wrong (in fact there's often everything right) with being moved by the plight of others―for those who can't empathize include sociopaths.

[–] JPfanatic93 13 years ago

That whole post was a waste of effort. Silly person!

I'd kill every starving child on the planet just to save a single dolphin. There's too much people already and there are only getting more to the point where the quality of human life will become unbearable. All the while, all other life wil severely go down the drain.

[–] chaoscoyote 12 years ago

here here! I will go you one better and change it to "prevent the births of 1000s of starving children" I am far too empathetic to kill any living thing. Though I did smash a man in the head with a hammer who was committing a violent home invasion on my family...sadly he didn't die, my husband nearly did though
but clearly you are dead right. We breed and breed and breed and have no forward thought whatsoever of how to feed and care for the children we make and the rest of the animals on the planet must suffer for our greed. It seems you have read Sherri S. Tepper's work as she has covered the same ting you mention; that quality of life for humanity will get worse and worse as we dumbly keep wanting to both live forever and have huge families
just sign me; Miss Ann Thrope
"Mom's gonna fix it all soon. Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it oughta be."

[–] JPfanatic93 12 years ago

I didn't read that work, I just have common sense and am aware enough of nature and the enviroment to see things are rapidly spiralling out of control in just a few hundred years. I just hope there will be any life left, when humanity has fianlly annihilated itself, to get normal natural evolution going again. But IMO, it's too late for mankind. Good riddance!

[–] Tomthespacetraveler 12 years ago

I completely agree. We need a natural predator to prey on us, like in Reign of Fire, only without all the fire.

[–] chaoscoyote 12 years ago

what do you do just copy and paste that into whatever message board you're on? At least we are spontaneous enough to make up an answer on the spot based on the knowledge n our heads and not studiously (and tediously)put together one long-winded post compiled of various stuff and nonsense
here's a quarter go buy some originality
don't quote George, man come on! he is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF YOU-smart, quick and ORIGINAL

"Mom's gonna fix it all soon. Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it oughta be."

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] defy-ordinary 12 years ago

Inhumanely slaughtering animals like this is an INSULT to our human spirits. Why? Because it DESTROYS life and shows how little regard people have for it. Our TRUE nature is Creation; if that were not true then we would not be alive, standing here today, given the gift of choice. People can choose whatever they want because of that gift, but everyone reaps what they sow sooner or later. Personally, I believe the mass consciousness of destructive energy in Japan contributed to the earth quakes, tsunami, and nuclear explosion(s) that wreaked havoc in their country. Everything is energy and we are ALL tied together, ergo, there is a reaction to every action taken.

Any person who so egotistically feels that "the world is his and he can do whatever he wants in it" is sorely mistaken. The more a person embraces the destruction of life the weaker they become and the more they assist in the DECLINE of humanity. But this doesn't just apply to animals, it applies to what we have done and still do to our earth (stripping it bare and polluting it), and also what we do to each other as well. We are ALL living beings and should be treated as such. When it comes to energy, no one being or thing is above the other; we are all equal. Anyone who believes differently and feels they are superior to the rest of LIFE is in error. The GREAT teachers of this planet weren't telling us to love, take responsibility for ourselves, and live peacefully for nothing. They didn't pull the information out of their arse for any negative intention - they tried to guide us back to what our TRUE loving and creative nature is. Making the decision to destroy life in a senseless massacre is the complete opposite of who and what we truly are. You don't have to agree, but I strongly urge you to ask yourself if any of what I've said resonate with you. If you can filter past the hate, greed, and need for control that has been instilled in us from various sources, you'll see what I'm saying is true. But don't take my word for it, go have a chat with your best friend and guide... yourself.

[–] lucky_duc 12 years ago

Anyone else notice the user's name is Japanese?

[–] chris-4114 12 years ago

I did....... it's probably "Private Space".

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dbosityalpha 12 years ago

I love it when people who think themselves to be intelligent and logical and perhaps superior to animals ( and probably other people who disagree with them ) over use the logic over emotion argument.

First off, logic does not trump emotion. Yes, logic is a good tool for progress and accomplishing tasks. However, ask virtually anyone who works for a living in virtually any field where logic is key to their work and I bet they will tell you how often they use a hunch to move past difficult problems. Police men work on that hunch to track down criminals and they use their logic to find evidence to prove their hunch. Scientists use their emotions to guide them through solving nature's mysteries. Granted, they still use logic to ultimately prove their theories, but they mostly use their instinct to know where to aim their intellect instead of wasting too much of their efforts at dead ends.

Secondly, how many times have you heard people rationalize the
commission of committing atrocites. The Germans believed killing
Jews was righteous because Jews were considered parasites to
Germany. The Japanese Scientists rationalized the use of live
humans for medical research in unit 731. In this particular case,
they refered to the subjects as wood logs instead of human beings,
probably to make it easier to rationalize live vivasections on
people. Every country probably has some atrocity commited by their people and their government and each one is probably defended by some rationalization where logic triumphs over emotion.

Can you imagine how many of these atrocities could have been stopped had even one person said," Hey, this doesn't feel right, I'm not sure I believe the logical explanation why I'm doing something that just feels wrong."

And yes, overly emotional thought processes can result in terrible things as well, such as religious wars, etc.

I don't advocate being overly emotional and not using your head. Nor do i think pure logic is superior to some emotion. Human beings have been so successful in the progress in science and the arts because we have to capability to balance logic with emotion, and curb emotion with logic. One fills the gap where the other fails to cross.

Kugashira, I think you need to rethink your stance. If all you got from watching this movie was people are way too cuddly about dolphins, then you failed to get the message of this movie both emotionally and intellectually.
Saving dolphins was the proximate message, questioning humanity's actions toward the earth and ultimately to ourselves is the underlying message. We reap what we sow. I wonder how many of us truly understand what we are sowing?

[–] blackurbanprince 12 years ago

Sad to think so many people responded to a obvious troll. Don't argue with a brick wall all you waste is time.

[–] GreyCadillacs 12 years ago

I think Kugashira works as a dolphin fisherman