I fell asleep late yesterday afternoon while watching Season 1 of Whale Wars. Sleep as avoidance, surely, for I got very riled up when Paul Watson and Peter Brown started dissing Greenpeace and didn’t really want to watch much more.

Why is it that two organizations with the same goal (that is, to save whales and other animals) cannot work peaceably together? Yes, of course there is “bad blood” between GP and Watson since he was asked to leave. Still, Watson should understand that GP was founded largely on the Quaker beliefs in bearing witness and non-violence.

And GP should realize that there is more than one way to save whales, recognize Watson’s intentions as good, and stop withholding important and potentially helpful information.

It seem so dramatic, this rivalry. I thought both organizations would help one another in any way possible, agreeing to disagree about the “how’s.” Seriously… it’s not like Watson and his crew are doing anything that GP activists would not do also.

Truly, what is the difference between tossing stink bombs onto whalers’ decks and painting signs on the roofs of office buildings? What is the difference between peacefully boarding a harpoon ship and handcuffing oneself to an office door? How is one tactic more or less aggressive than another?

Hostility between to the two groups seems quite petty to me.

One of the Sea Shepherd crew members told an Esperanza (Greenpeace) crew member to “get (their) head out of (their) ass.” Why? To what end? How did that exchange help either party? It seems to me that it only damaged both.

I was also disappointed with myself. I had taken the word of former GP colleagues against the Sea Shepherds and Paul Watson for granted. It seems the hostility has spread throughout GP, even down to the lowest ranks. I used some of my colleagues’ words against Watson and his team when canvassing without doing an ounce of research. I told potential donors that Watson was violent and that the Sea Shepherds used tactics which hurt the movement.

What a shameful thing to do!

I’ve spent hours looking into the “power facts” of our pitches, making sure that everything I said against companies and politicians was correct. Why did I not do the same for Watson?

In truth, I watched 6 1/2 of the 8 episodes of Whale Wars. I doubt I missed much in the last 1 1/2 episodes that would have changed my mind about the first 6 1/2 shows. What I saw made it quite clear to me that Watson and the Sea Shepherds deserve very little of the criticism that has spread down the ranks at Greenpeace. Watson seems passionate, dedicated, and determined to do anything he can to protect both whales and humans. I never once witnessed him thoughtlessly putting lives in danger. In fact, I felt, as the South Park episode on Whale Wars indicated, that Watson and his crew did very little at all.

I actually agree with Watson that simply “bearing witness” to the slaughter of hundreds of whales each season just isn’t enough. However, are the Sea Shepherds truly doing anything more than Greenpeace?

I have the feeling that both organizations use the rivalry between them as a media spring board as well as a fund raising talking point. But if the two cannot have peace between them, how can they promote any sort of peace anywhere else? I am completely stunned that such animosity exists after nearly 30 years of separation. That is longer than most of my ex-colleagues have been alive! It’s ridiculous and disappointing.

This topic has made me look at my own grudges from a new perspective. Am I using past hurts to justify present actions? Why else would I hold onto them? Why do I carry so much negativity into the present when I have the choice to let it stay in the past where it belongs?

I also have to look at other situations in which I may have taking someone’s negative opinions/feelings about others for granted and then spread that negativity myself. How many times have I formed opinions in third person? How many times have I held fast to those beliefs without investigating the situation?

It’s gossip. It’s that simple. And transcending gossip is one of my New Year’s Intentions.

My other Intentions include:

  • Thinking before speaking/acting
  • Being mindful that nothing/no one is against me–I can only be against myself
  • Being present for friends/family in pain/turmoil rather than letting my attention wander toward “fixing” the problem
  • No longer avoiding conflict, but instead facing it compassionately and openly head-on
  • Listening to my body
  • Truly dedicating myself to a local/sustainable diet
  • Creating more
  • Laughing at myself more and ridding myself of defensiveness (again, no one is against me)

These intentions come free of self-doubt and self-criticism. Though they are high mountains to climb, I recognize their loftiness and will not despair should I stumble on the journey.