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From Beatles to Seals or “That's No Lady, That's My Wife”
By Myles HigginsWednesday, March 8, 2006
We all know an ant can't move a rubber tree plant, but can a Beatle save the seals?
The answer is probably not.
Late last week ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Heather visited the gulf region near PEI (although they thought they were in Newfoundland and Labrador). The photo op played itself out as those things usually do with doe eyed baby seals in the foreground being fawned over by even more doe eyed celebrities in the background.
The McCartney visit to the ice is the latest in a string of many others of its kind that have taken place over the decades with everyone from Martin Sheen to Brigitte Bardot. Although there was really nothing new about the visit, one that has become an annual right of passage for every eco-centric, “hurray for everything” activist on the planet, the publicity following it was perhaps a little more pronounced than most.
The level of attention isn't really surprising however since that was obviously the intention of the Humane Society of the U.S. when they invited the McCartney's to, as Paul said, “Witness the event.” Of course nobody is quite sure exactly to which event he was referring since neither he nor Heather actually witnessed anything except perhaps for some questionable film footage and a few cuddly looking seal pups. As a side note, one of those cuddly looking seals proved it wasn't really that cuddly after all when it tried to bite the hand of the latest Missus M.
During the visit both Paul and Heather found the time to hook up with CNN for an appearance on the Larry King Live program where the former Beatle and the former guest host of the program were both given the royal treatment by the obviously liberal leaning Larry. Although King was very careful to not appear as a proponent for either side of the issue, he and his producers did see fit to allow the McCartneys a clearly unfair advantage during the broadcast.
For the first half of the program the pop pseudo-royals were given free reign to discuss their personal point of view while multiple clips of seal hunt footage ran both before and after multiple commercial breaks. All of this took place prior to the McCartney's facing any sort of rebuttal from the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Add to this Larry King's repeated reference to the McCartney's as “Sir Paul” and “Lady Heather” and then addressing a Canadian Provincial Premier as “Danny” and the outcome was a forgone conclusion.
They say you can't fight feelings with logical facts and by the time Premier Williams hit the airwaves the minds of most viewers had no doubt already been made up. When you add to this the elevated status given to the McCartney's, the disrespect shown to Premier Williams (I bet Larry wouldn't address a U.S. Governor on air as “Jimmy” or “Tommy”) and the un-lady like, argumentative and controlling manner of “She's no Lady” Heather, and her constant interruption of the Premier and it's obvious that the truth didn't stand much of a chance of actually being heard.
Given the reality of Premier Williams being confronted with an obviously biased situation where he was intended to portray the villain of the piece, all in all he comported himself quite well and actually managed to score a few small points despite the eye rolling, facial expressions and total lack of volume control exhibited by Heather McCartney.
To the argument that most seals were clubbed, Premier Williams replied that 90% are actually taken by firearms not clubs. To the view that the hunt has no purpose but to supply the fur industry. Williams replied with a list of products for which seals are used, including fur, food, oil and omega 3 fatty acids (used for medicinal purposes).
Perhaps William's best shot across the bow of the HMS McCartney (after clarifying that they weren't actually where they thought they were) was when he invited them to take up the cause of protecting the Atlantic Cod, which, unlike the healthy seal population, has actually been teetering on the brink of extinction for years.
Williams asked the McCartneys for assistance in curbing foreign fishing by European nations that has had a major impact on cod stocks for decades. (Isn't Paul from somewhere over in Europe, hmmm?) McCartney's response was less than stellar on that request when he replied, “One cause at a time Danny, one cause at a time.” I guess cod just aren't quite cute enough, but in McCartney's defense, it really is difficult to take a good publicity picture with a doe eyed cod fish, believe me I've tried it.
Of course the “pro-seal” arguments were nothing new, in fact they've all been used before, including using emotion to negate actual facts. That said I did find the McCartney's comments about the boycott of Canadian seafood by some U.S. restaurants slightly interesting. The McCartney's quoted lost sales to Canada as over a hundred million dollars and said they couldn't understand why the Canadian government wouldn't simply shut down the seal industry (worth an estimated 16 million) in order to save those sea food sales. As I said, I found those comments interesting but certainly not mind changing.
The McCartneys are correct when they mention a restaurant boycott, but I question if the actual losses quoted are correct. Yes, I concede that government sources say the boycott has resulted in lost sales in the U.S., but living in a fishing community where fish harvesters were on the water all of last season I have to say I haven't actually seen any crab, lobster or shrimp rotting on wharves or piling up in fish plants. This is likely because U.S. restaurants aren't the only market for these quality products and like any valued product when one market shuts down another one isn't too hard to find.
No, I'm quite sure the Canadian sea food industry will survive despite a U.S. boycott, although the inferior products some of the restaurants may be forced to serve to their patrons could result in more than a few of them permanently closing their doors.
The truth is that even if there was a huge economic impact to Canada from such a boycott, that impact in and of itself wouldn't be a valid reason to allow special interest groups to shut down a legal, sustainable widely accepted industry.
With the mind set of many U.S. citizens in mind, I'm sure many (even those who oppose the seal harvest) can understand why you don't back down when you honestly believe you are not doing anything wrong and you certainly don't back down simply because someone is attempting to blackmail, intimidate or coerce you into doing so. An example of this is easy to find. I, for one, don't like the fact that Heather McCartney is referred to as a Lady but I bet if I started a national boycott of steak and kidney pudding the Queen wouldn't actually revoke her title. (Or would she? Hmmm, now there's a thought.)
The visit by the McCartney's didn't do much to change opinions on the subject either in Newfoundland and Labrador or within the Canadian government. The aftermath of the event was also pretty much the same as it always is.
On my own website at www.freenewfoundlandlabrador.blogspot.com the comments are pretty much the same as always. The pro seal hunt folks continue to quote un-listened too facts to the activist contingent while many of the same people who cringe at the thought of harming any animal use vulgar language and threats to further their cause. According to the Premier's office government email has been flooded with thousands of correspondence. Most of it is supportive of the Premier's stance while some of it (I'm betting un-supportive ones) includes threatening and even violent comments.
If nothing else was accomplished because of the Larry King Live program, at least it woke up our federal politicians. Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has since extended an invitation to Sir Paul to actually visit Newfoundland and Labrador (for real this time) and meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper (or as Lady Heather refers to him, “Steve”).
I like the idea of federal representatives finally stepping up to the plate. In reality the seal harvest is a Canadian industry taken part in by other Atlantic provinces and Quebec. It isn't just a Newfoundland and Labrador issue. The appearance on Larry King Live by Premier Williams was simply evidence that there is at least one government official with enough intestinal fortitude to take it on the chin for the national good.
I doubt the McCartneys will actually take the government up on the offer since they've probably already moved on to more pressing business like saving children in Haiti or stopping child prostitution in Thailand (oh that's right they aren't involved in those less important causes are they?). Nevertheless, I hope they do accept but maybe this time around Paul should try doing what he said he was open to doing, listening to all sides of the issue. Perhaps he might also want to consider leaving Heather (or as I've come to refer to her: Yoko the Sequel) back at their humble home in Switzerland. That way someone besides the good lady might actually manage to get a few words in side ways.
Myles Higgins is freelance columnist, who lives with his wife and a terminally lazy Terrier named "Molson" in the beautiful town of Portugal Cove - St. Philips, His website can be found at: Web Talk - Newfoundland and Labrador. Myles can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com
