Another bill against marine fish: H.R. 6447

[jda]

I don't agree with this for the most part. The "other side" of many issues are rabid ideologues that can't be compromised with and any attempt to do so just cedes ground for the next round. One side, in effect turns the other side into the same thing. You put 10 kids in a room and walk away, one will end up with all of the lunch money all of the time. It is human nature. Resisting the bully does not make you the bully, but compromise usually has you bend the knee while the bully stands on your hand.

If your point is that the people in charge of the aquarium trade are children, then I mostly agree. Rabid Ideologues don't get their way without help. They need the other side to be ignorant, standoffish and otherwise fools. If the industry does not know how to deal with this, then they might need to hire some help. So far, the industry fools from ReefBuilders, and the like, are the like are more like useful idiots to the other side with their opinions and articles. What they want is a refusal or to stand fast and hope that they get everything... and they will since they are more organized, have more resolve and are usually better funded.

I don't agree with the notion that bullies always win. If myself, or any of my girls were in a room, nobody would walk away with any body else's lunch money. Although we are not children, you can stand up for yourself and others without taking everything. We could get all the other 9 to go against the one, which most good leaders can do.

I had about 4 hours of phone calls with this whole stupid Banggai thing and all that was wanted to begin with was some more oversight into wild collection (a merge of the different world org finding and opinions) and some accountability for some people in the US who KNOWINGLY imported wild fish as aqua cultured. The inability of the aquarium industry to compromise or negotiate led to a potential full-blown ban - who knows where this is going to end up, but negotiation was the desire and did not happen. Soooooo stupid. There are people on this board who deny this, but I have seen some evidence to show that these folks were not lying. The industry are morons, IMO. Sucks that the hobbyists will pay the price for it. I guess that in the end if more people want a ban than a fish, then that is the price of democracy... we can always move to another country.

 

[jda]

The message was not intended as humorous. From my viewpoint, there's no disadvantage in making an effort to communicate our stance. Remaining silent allows Congress members to only be exposed to the perspective advocated by the proposed bill. While I can comprehend if you view this approach as futile, I ultimately disagree with that sentiment.

I am a proponent of speaking your mind to any rep at any time. I am only saying that it is futile to believe that any of them think that this will be an issue when the votes come in. I wish that it were and I see this as one reason to get back to where integrity, honesty and the issues drive the polls, but this is not our world. If you have a republican rep, they have a good feeling that you have already decided how to vote based on how you feel about their cult of personality. If you have a democratic rep, then they KNOW this is the case. I hope the days come back when this might matter, but it is not this year.

Again, is there anything that a rep can say that will make you change your mind on how you vote? If one just flat out says that you are a fish killer, you going to vote the other way? Maybe in a primary or locally, I guess... but not likely in a national election.

 

[dandi]

Certainly, there are matters of greater significance than the reef hobby. In response to your question, yes, there are issues that could prompt me to alter my vote, but this bill is not among them. This doesn't imply that I believe we can't attract attention to our cause. That's simply my perspective.

regards
Dan