Yesterday on the AR Social Hub we were lucky enough to have as our guest Mr Pete Bethune, the captain of the Ady Gil sea vessel which was sank by a Japanese whaling ship during a Sea Shepherd Campaign early 2010. he then single handedly boarded the Japanese whaling ship responsible for the attack on the Ady Gil which led to his arrest and trial by the Japanese authorities. now he is back and proving himself as a worthy speaker and campaigner for a number of issues including Animal Rights. before the chat I had heard from a certain group who had entertained Pete as a guest on their site that he was a hypocritical meat eater out to make a quick buck off the back of his sudden fame within the environmental and AR communities. To be entirely honest I would not have asked Pete to be a guest on the hub so soon after he had been a guest on another site. However pete had been invited before by the WAAR administration and I fully respected that.
The guest chat with Pete didnt get off to the best of starts since due to a misunderstanding about times Pete was late coming onto the Hub. As always with these open chats (no predetermined questions) it was a little chaotic at the beginning but once things had settled down hub members asked Pete some excellent questions and I have to say he gave respectable answers.
There were questions about his time in Japanese custody to which Pete told us the Japanese were excellent hosts and very friendly, all apart from a sergeant who was a little rough with him. Then came a question about whether or not there would be an Ady Gil 2, Pete explained the problem of the costs of such an undertaking for Sea Shepherd but he was unsure at the present time whether this would be possible. he did say SS were trying to secure another ship to the value of $1 million at the moment. Then the issue of Pete's dietary lifestyle came into play, he was asked to comment on how he could be so emotionally attached to the plight of other living beings when he himself is not vegetarian or vegan. At first I have to admit his answer surprised me, he stated he had only eaten meat twice since his liberation from Japan. There was a definite silence in the hub chat after this and I am pretty sure most activists in there where thinking the same thing. How could Pete say this as if it were a good thing, how could such a prominent figure in the world of AR have such views. Pete then continued to explain that he was trying very hard to lead a full vegetarian lifestyle which would eventually lead to a fully vegan diet for him. I am sure there were still mixed emotions about this in the chat but for me if its a case of encourage or depress I always think it best to encourage. Pete said he was trying to be honest with us and I must admit I admired his bravery to come into a dedicated animal rights site like the hub and yet still announce his struggle with his dietary lifestyle. As I said in the chat yesterday I fully believe veganism to be a stepping stone journey which has to be given encouragement throughout the journey by those who have made that journey, to ridicule or repel such travellers only serves to alienate possible vegans from completing that journey.
Before I knew it we were well over the hour mark and although Pete was willing to hang around an unfortunate incident occurred with other activists (not loyal members of the hub) who decided to make the situation difficult.
Overall the guest chat with Pete Bethune was highly interesting and I am glad I was able to attend. I found Pete to be both an admirable and honest person who I hope makes that journey to veganism to enhance his AR activism. Thanks to Pete for being the Hubs guest and to the members for making it a remember-able guest chat.
As the hubs first guest chat I look forward to more :)
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