Media Cheers Convict

A Badly Bent Moral Compass

Media histrionics over the "plight" of Peter Bethune, self-appointed martyr for the white man's burden for whales, have been laughable. Firstly, Stuff initially declared that Bethune was a returning "war hero". This from Kiwiblog:

So much for neutral reporting

The article on Stuff gushes:

New Zealand’s anti-whaling war hero Pete Bethune landed in Auckland this morning, shaken and slightly subdued – but with no regrets.

Excuse me while I vomit.

And people wonder why readers are deserting mainstream media. If this is an example of impartial neutral reporting, then I’d hate to see a biased story.

UPDATE: A few minutes after I posted this, the story was changed from “war hero” to “activist”. Good. But how the hell did such a loaded description get through the sub-editor in the first place?

Then there was the breathless prediction that a "huge crowd" would turn out to welcome the conquering hero home.

A huge crowd is expected to turn out at Auckland Airport this morning to greet the protester when he sets foot back in the country.

The actual turnout? Fifty-five media gropers and three members of the public. Yes, three. Ah, but remember how we used to be told that "two's company, three's a crowd." See, there was a crowd there. We told you so.

Now, we do not mean to disparage Bethune's zeal, his energy, his willingness to "go where no man has gone before", etc. But we need to keep everything in perspective. Bethune is now a convict. He broke both Japanese law and international laws of the sea. He was convicted and sentenced. His judges were exceedingly reasonable and fair. His extremism has driven him to desert his family. He has become involved with an environmental organization which consistently prevaricates, and openly boasts of it. Bethune is unbalanced and has lost his moral compass.

He displays now the hallmarks of a fanatic. His alleged high moral end of "saving whales" apparently justifies any means, criminal or unethical. He is not only misguided: his moral compass has become perverted. There is no honour here. Rather there is room only for pity upon a benighted and misguided soul, together with compassion for his misled and neglected family.