In the 1960s, this man was the trainer of the dolphin in the television show, Flipper. Ric O'Barry has not rested since leaving that job as a young man. He has felt extreme guilt for his role in the show. He's seen how that TV program opened up the abuse of dolphins around the world, even though that was obviously not the intention of the show.Like many men who grow more enlightened with age, stunned that they did the things they did as young men, O'Barry has lived with a lot of pain and regret. But he's also taken action and dedicated the rest of his career to protecting dolphins, freeing them from captivity and raising public awareness about why human beings should not pay admission to any attraction that confines dolphins. He knows a lot about these animals and is worth listening to. Nightline did a piece about him this week. I can't link to it directly, but you can go to the Nightline site and look for a video titled "Under the Sea."
This Sun
day, there is only one film that I will be rooting for during the Academy Awards. It's a documentary called The Cove. The story behind this movie centers on one of the most horrible abuses man has ever inflicted on the natural world. One particular mass killing of dolphins in Japan is horrific beyond any words I could use to describe it. While I have not seen The Cove, I have seen the actual video clips of what Japan is doing to dolphins in an otherwise serene cove used to trap them as they are then butchered alive in the water. O'Barry was involved in exposing these murders that the government of Japan refused to do anything about until it was caught on film. Now The Cove is bringing more exposure to the killings, so I am hoping Hollywood does right by the film on Sunday night. The fear is that once the publicity moves away, however, the killings will resume. It's baffling to me how human beings can be this cruel and how a country that prides itself on being a world player can be this backwards and barbaric.Read a short Q&A with O'Barry.
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