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Ben White: An Extraordinary Activist
By Taffy Lee Williams
How does one define “activist?” One might simply say: “Ben White.” Working tirelessly
for the environment, wildlife and social justice, Ben repeatedly risked his life, leaving a legacy of decades-long direct
action that has become a standard to which many activists aspire.
One of Ben’s earliest “hardcore”
actions was at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Thanks to insider information, hearing that aquarium staff
were taunting and teasing a male beluga whale, Ben headed for NYC. Aquarium staff members were allegedly taking bets as to
who could last the longest in the beluga tank with the “vicious male.” Ben put on a white lab coat and transformed
himself temporarily as “Dr. White from Sea World.” When Ben demanded, “show me the beluga!” he was
taken to the tank where he withheld his anger and appraised the situation. Then, in the dark early morning hours, Ben found
his way to the whale and in a leaky wetsuit jumped into the icy beluga tank.
Ben waited in the almost freezing waters and shivered, for several hours, before aquarium personnel and the
Coney Island police were able to retrieve him. Now this was direct action at its finest, NYC-style, by a Seattleite none-the-less.
Ben cared less for his own well-being than for the oppressed, maltreated and pitiful beluga whale, a prisoner in a sterile,
concrete soundless world. Ben, the hero. Ben, the activist. The media jumped on the story, and the aquarium oppression was
exposed to a previously gullible, non-judgmental public. Direct action was just something he had to do.
It was a dark night in Taiji, Japan, where a group of 25-40 dolphins were trapped in a shallow
bay by the infamous Japanese “drive fisheries.” Just a small group of whalers in a dozen or so boats “drive”
pods of dolphins, often hundreds at a time, into the shallow bays where nets are dropped and a bloody carnage begins. Aquarium
owners, who subsidize the events, pick out the prettiest, unblemished few, while those not chosen are slaughtered, left to
die or sold as cheap meat.
That night, with wire cutters
in hand, Ben found his way to the water. While armed guards patrolled on the cliffs above, he dove down in the blackened seas
and cut through the barriers to free the dolphins. Had he been discovered, this master of self-giving would have been stopped
literally dead in his tracks. That wasn’t to be. More direct action beckoned.
To stop loggers in ancient forests, Ben slept in old growth trees, and trained others to do the same. Using
his skills as an arborist, Ben scaled buildings to hang banners exposing circus cruelty. In full view of a Navy warship he
jumped into the Pacific Ocean waters to stop the testing of military sonar so powerful it can cause the brains and lungs of
whales and dolphins hundreds of miles away to literally explode. Once again, Ben could have been killed had the sonar been
turned on. Later, Ben plunged into the depths of the Delaware Bay attempting to save 300 dolphins during calving season by
covering another navy acoustical seismic killing machine.
Ironically,
it wasn’t these almost deadly actions that Ben is most known for. He received world renown as the creator of the marching
Seattle WTO turtles, a symbol of the environmental destruction sanctioned by multi-national corporations and international
trade agreements. Whether it was making dolphin costumes, fighting for indigenous rights, or working to protect whales during
International Whaling Commission meetings, Ben continued a quiet but resolute heroism that shows how powerful and important
activism is. The tradition must and will continue.
Ben’s
life was that of a powerful warrior, a character rarely seen among human beings today. How very few are willing to take these
kinds of risks for the things that need defending, for the wrongs that need to be made right. In Ben’s case one can
honestly say that the world is a better place for his being here. This great man and heroic activist will not be forgotten.
We stand in memory of Ben White today.
Taffy Lee Williams is
Director of the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League. A writer and environmental (cetacean) advocate, Taffy has appeared
on many programs discussing her involvement in the litigation between the U.S. Navy and NGOs regarding the use of LFAS (Low
Frequency Active Sonar). To learn more about To learn more about the Japanese dolphin massacre
known as drive fisheries, visit www.ny4whales.org.
IDA gives 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award to Ben White Suzanne Roy posted 07/15/05 On Sunday evening, In Defense of Animals (IDA) gave its prestigious Lifetime Achievement
Award to longtime champion of Animals and the Environment, Ben White of Friday Harbor. Ben, who worked for IDA in the 1990s,
follows a list of esteemed award winners including the late David Brower and Cesar Chavez, and the eminent Dr. Jane Goodall.
The
presentation of this award was bittersweet, for White could not receive it in person. In Spring he was diagnosed with an aggressive
and terminal form of abdominal cancer. Devastatingly, he is not expected to live more than a few weeks. In presenting
the award, IDA's president, Dr. Elliot Katz, stated, "Ben White is a very special individual who symbolizes what
is the very best in all of us, working tirelessly to make the world a more just and compassionate place for all our fellow
beings." Ben has spent a lifetime defending animals and wild places, not only through words, but also through
bold and often death-defying actions. From tree sits in ancient redwoods, to daring, middle-of the night liberations of captured
dolphins in Japan and Mexico, to his famous invasion of cardboard turtles at the World Trade Organization protest in Seattle,
Ben has never backed down from a challenge to help animals or the earth. Over a decade ago, Ben traveled to Japan on behalf of IDA to document
first-hand the horrors of the drive fishery, in which hundreds of dolphins are herded ashore and brutally slaughtered. The
youngest and best-looking dolphins are set aside for sale to marine parks throughout the world. Ben's handwritten journal
and eyewitness testimony helped convince the U.S. government to ban a northern California amusement park, Marine World Africa
USA, from importing false killer whales captured in the drive fishery.
Ben was not content to stop at just witnessing the atrocity, however.
The night before he left Japan, under cover of darkness, Ben dove into the water where dozens of dolphins were confined in
a netted off Bay. With no diving gear to assist in his underwater adventure and only his inner light to guide him, Ben cut
the nets and watched an estimated 40 dolphins swim free. Back in the U.S., he laid his body down in front of buses filled
with travel agents visiting Marine World, stopping traffic and making a strong statement about that park's complicity
in the bloody slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
Ben's decades of activism have not left him weary or cynical. His indomitable
spirit, boundless creativity, and fierce bravery continue to inspire generations of activists. In his final fight, the one
against cancer, Ben is again teaching us a lesson about courage in the face of adversity. He is facing death with grace and
honor.
Ben White is a most worthy recipient of the IDA Lifetime Achievement Award, and we are honored to bestow
it on him. Our thoughts go out to him, his children and to the large extended family of friends and fellow activists whom
he calls his tribe, during this difficult time.
From the Sea Shepherd: Ben White, former bosun of the
Sea Shepherd II, former director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and one of the most tactically-imaginative
strategists in the environmental movement passed away from cancer at 1500 Hours on July 30th. Captain Paul Watson was at sea when he heard the news by e-mail. In a message sent back to Sea Shepherd headquarters,
Captain Watson said the following: “Ben and I had many adventures together,
some were dangerous and some were fun. We shared many of the same interests and loves. When I think of Ben, I will remember
him walking across the heaving, buckling ice floes alongside of me as we made our way over thirteen miles of open sea ice
to rescue seals. I will remember him swimming with dolphins off Key West. I will remember him walking with me on the lonely
beaches of the most remote Aleutian Islands. I will remember him swimming with me with the pink dolphins in the Amazon. And
I will remember him clad in the cardboard armor of a turtle as he took to the streets in Seattle. He was a lover of life who
lived life with the joie de vie that was both rare and inspiring. He leaves this planet having contributed more than he took
from it, which is also both rare and inspiring. He will be remembered and he will be recognized as one of the great environmental
warriors of his generation.”
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