Richard Moore's Straight Talk Columns

Good men doing nothing as evil triumphs

2/2/2011

THERE is a marvellous quote that sums up why so much of the world faces an epidemic of abuse, be it physical or mental harm, starvation, torture or murder.

It is this: ``All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.''

I always thought it was said by British philosopher and statesman Edmund Bourke, writing around the times of the American and French Revolutions, but it turns out that probably no one ever said those words.

They are, more likely, a boiling down of Bourke's ideals and beliefs into a wonderful, resonant phrase that should be heeded by all.

Like the leaders of nations who allow tyrants to degrade and massacre people of different ethnicity or religious belief.

Or those who allow their citizens to starve while building military forces to use against equally poverty-stricken neighbours.

Or the silent neighbour of a woman being cruelly beaten by her partner.

Or anyone who knows and does not report cases of terrified children brutalised by their caregivers.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

In the past week there have been two things that have had a big effect on me.

The first was watching a documentary called The Cove on Rialto TV.

The Cove focuses on the slaughter of dolphins by fishermen in Taiji, Japan.

What these guys do is round up huge numbers of dolphins and herd them into a small bay. Once they have blocked off the exit points they stab and hack the dolphins to death.

It isn't an instant death.

These fishermen hate dolphins, which they blame for eating all their fish. The killers don't accept Japanese fishing fleets raping the oceans are helping to denude fish stocks. In the fishermen's eyes it's all down to dolphins and so they take great delight in the massacre.

We only get to see the shocking scenes in Taiji because a group of activists evaded police, authorities and security guards to place hidden cameras above the cove.

It is appalling to witness.

The horror got worse with images of one of the beautiful creatures desperately trying to get away, only to succumb to its wounds and sink below the scarlet surface.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

The second experience came two days later when my children and I went to see dolphins with Tauranga's Dolphin Seafaris.

To be out on a boat, only a matter of kilometres off Mauao, and witness pods of dolphins hunting, surfing and cheekily cavorting around us was soul enriching.

We could hear them communicate with one another as they followed alongside the boat and came up for breath. They joyfully swam under and around the bow, then sped off to be with their mates, only to circle around and race us again.

Everyone aboard the Guardian was enthralled.

During our encounter with a second pod of about 30 dolphins I was standing at the bow grabbing as many photos as I could. Mostly I was watching the dolphins through my viewfinder but on one occasion I lowered my camera and looked at one of them. To my surprise it was looking back, its eye firmly fixed on me.

I could almost hear it say: ``While you are enjoying being with us, and we with you, your kind in Japan is slaughtering 23,000 of us each year. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.''

I am not too sure how many people in Tauranga would agree with killing whales or slaughtering dolphins, but recently our city council refused to pass on letters to our Japanese sister city Hitachi protesting against hunting whales.

The request from Greenpeace was reasonable, as were the written objections.

All they wanted was Tauranga's mayor to stand with other civic leaders and say, ``Hey, we would prefer you didn't kill whales or dolphins.''

The city council's stand tells people that Tauranga, known for its dolphin covers on street drains, doesn't care enough about the plight of whales and dolphins to put its hand up and be counted over the appalling mass killing of stunning sea mammals.

Council can hide behind the false curtain of not being political, or not wanting to offend, but, in fact, it just shows a lack of fortitude and endangers future eco-tourism.

The killing of whales and dolphins has to be brought up, politely, with our Japanese friends.

By passing on the letters our leaders will be seen to have strength rather than being embarrassingly obsequious.

Mayor Stuart Crosby needs to rethink the sending of protest letters.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

richard@richardmoore.com