Sunday, July 23, 2006

READERS IN COUNCIL

By ROBERT LEZZI

Chiba

Over the years I've seen many unlikely adjectives attached to whales. One rather common term is "intelligent"; another that's amazing in itself is "cute." (A cute cetacean?) The most recent addition to this list of modifiers is "glorious," which appears in Barry Fockler's June 25 letter, "Of all people to kill whales."

Fockler also probably outdoes most whale lovers when, with literary theatrics, he wonders, "How can a people who have suffered so much (alluding to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II) plot to bring the wanton suffering and death to this glorious mammal that inhabits our seas?"

Shame on Fockler! Is there any connection between incinerating the populations of two major cities and the state of marine mammals? Of all creatures in the world today, why isn't Fockler more focused on mankind? There are enough plights of misery, war and deprivation to keep whale activists endlessly active in, of all things, humanitarian efforts.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

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