"Environmental Activists"

Ah, "environmental activists".

You know, people like those morons from the Steve Irwin are the reason I left The Wilderness Society. The way they parlay indignant self-righteousness into behaviour that is both illegal and, face it, stupid made me want to disassociate myself with anyone "campaigning" for the environment.

I mean, "Let's board a vessel in the high seas and then accuse them of kidnapping and/or assaulting us if they dare do anything about it"? Please.

I don't care if the Japanese whaling vessel was, at that particular moment, engaged in an illegal whale hunt in protected Australian waters (well, actually, I do, but that happens to be irrelevant to this rant). You don't get to do something stupid and illegal and then take the moral high-ground.

Were they the Coast Guard? No. The Australian Navy? No. The Australian Federal Police? No. Anyone with any kind of legitimate authority or jurisdiction? No. So they don't get to board other vessels without permission. If they do, that's an act of piracy.

Oh, so you had an important message to give them and they weren't returning your calls? Bully for you. Stay on your own boat until given permission to board. We have Federal Police and a Navy, and both of them can do their jobs better without worrying about your illegal behaviour at the same time.

If someone breaks into your house, you have every right to tie them to a chair and wait for the police to arrive. If someone boards your ship, you have the same rights. I don't care if the "chair" in this situation was a mast and the weather was bad. If you engage in piratical behaviour you shouldn't expect to be treated like welcome guests.

When Greenpeace starts acting less like a bunch of piratical villains, I'll start to gain some sort of respect for them. Right now, though? Not much respect. Just a big helping of annoyance.