Kelly Slater, shareholder activist
Kelly Slater has been spreading himself pretty thin of late. Aside from the ongoing title asprations, there's his yet-to-be-seen clothing line, sustainable furniture gig, majority ownership in Firewire, Purps and chia seed gigs, and acquisition of movie rights to an infamous book. Yeah, aside from all that he's just added the moniker of shareholder activist to his resume.
Tomorrow, Slater - who recently commissioned artist Kevin Ancell to adorn his boards with Orca-inspired art - will give SeaWorld a spray at their annual meeting on behalf of PETA. PETA owns stock in SeaWorld and they plan to "educate other stakeholders, propose policy changes, and demand the release of its orcas, who have been enslaved by the company for more than 40 years."
The full text of Slater's question for SeaWorld on behalf of PETA is as follows:
Good afternoon.
My name is Kelly Slater, and I'm here on behalf of PETA. The veil has been lifted on SeaWorld. All the ads in the world won't change what the public now knows to be true: that the company imprisons highly intelligent, emotionally complex, social animals in tiny, barren concrete tanks, which leads to aggression and disease.
SeaWorld is experiencing declining attendance and revenue, and dozens of companies, including Southwest Airlines, Panama Jack, and Mattel, have recently ended partnerships with SeaWorld. As a professional surfer, I'm lucky and privileged to be able to spend the majority of my time in the ocean—it's the place where I feel most at home, and thus, I feel an obligation to protect that which I have a voice in influencing.
Please, tell us, when will SeaWorld allow the animals it holds captive to return to their home—the ocean—by retiring them to a seaside sanctuary? And wouldn't this at least be viewed, if nothing else, as a public relations win for you?
By righting the wrongs you have committed in the name of corporate profit for so many years, you may actually be able to recoup some of the respect that has been lost in the eyes of the public and work toward an end to the problem of animal suffering.
Thank you.
Comments
O.K. Kelly, lets ban all your products ..Firewire and any thing you are affiliated with from entering or being sold in Japan until the sickening dolphin slaughters stop too.
You've never bought anything Japanese yourself? No Sony, Toyota, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Seiko, Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Hitachi??? And even if you say no I'll guarantee you've bought lesser known Japanese products without being aware.
Of course I have...but im a fucking nobody the Bald one has the power to make change.
People of much higher profile than Slater have already addressed, and continue to address, dolphin slaughter. Why would a surfer have more success in an issue that's grounded in centuries old custom?
Better to focus on one issue and get called a hypocrite then take the scattergun approach and achieve nothing.
Now thats a great call UDO !!!!!!!!!!
curiouser and curiouser
yes the world has many problems at least he is addressing one of them. At least the dolphins are killed, the orcas are prisoners for life. There's also a real chance to facilitate change. Ending marine mammal consumption in Japan isn't likely to happen during this lifetime.
He's not perfect, but who is? It doesn't mean that what he's saying is untrue.
Everyone's a hypocrite to some degree. We're all compromised.
It's a handy excuse for inaction, but at least some of us are trying to do something about it.
I'm with ya, Baldy - Free willy!
PETA actively campaigns against Fishing of any kind. If he's in all the way with LBJ on that issue he might find it's sometimes good to choose your friends carefully.
Being an activist is tricky business, is it not? So many peope to offend and in so many ways.
Noble cause, sure. But the question remains - what became of the Ardrossan 7?
Yes, what did become of the Ardrossan 7?
Anyone...?
'Cos I wouldnt have a clue what Clivus is talking about.
Clivus..?
And now I'm just talking to myself.
See..?
I know how you feel Stu
So do I, Gary
no Gary no. Nooooooooooo Gary!
http://www.justfuckinggoogleit.com/
search for the Ardrossan 7
So true bro. So true.
Their sonarish cries for help went unnoticed until the bakers dozen was removed from the brick kiln at 39 first street with one of those giant metal spatulas, but by then, it was too late.
There is another pressing question - will Kelly surf in a wave pool now that all his boards are orcas? Would be a hypocritical move one would think. Conflict of interest perhaps, with his wave pool ventures? These are the questions Clivus. You cant scratch the belly of one orca with one hand, while the other smacks its calf over the head with a canoe paddle.
It is an all too familiar story, MF. Baldy threads a fine tube and treads a fine line. Both on the wave face and in his activist slash business ventures. The contradiction is as obvious as the meeting of black and white on the very Orcas he seeks to protect. He's proven himself in the cut and thrust of modern surfing, but I suspect the scratch and smack combo wont cut it this time. He needs to make a sane rational decision at an appropriate time that reflects PETA's mandate. He's got time.
Will he also be representing F.A.G alongside Alec Baldwin in the upcoming Team America release?
Geez he looks a bit like Billy Corgan with his mug in there with all that black and white.
Would you consider Kelly to be an 'Elite' activist? Or aren't his legs strong enough?
Gee, I would have thought when a guy comes along that revolutonises the way waves are ridden, dominates a sport for three decades, schools about five generations of pros, wins eleven world titles, speaks eloquently and intelligently in a sport where all most can say is "I'm stoked", leads the way in experimenting with new ideas and equipment since the early nineties, writes himself into history as the greatest surfer of any era.....I could go on.....I would have thought that someone like that, doing something like trying to free some imprisoned, exploited Orcas would be a reason for other surfers to compliment,endorse and support. I was wrong. It seems that I forgot a lot of the guys on these forums are fuckwit keyboard heroes.
Udo and you other dicks need to show some fucking respect. Bet you couldn't make it through a heat in the U/12 girls at your local boardriders, but you can bag this guy.
Fuckheads.
Matt Damon
Your comments are the only rays of light in this whole thread. We all know what happens when P. Diddy's posse gets to the PETA camp...
Yeah right on adman12. These guys should be down on there knees praising Kelly's greatness and keeping their opinions to themselves because they probably can't even surf like little kids...and girls at that, we all know how hopeless girls are. Good onya mate.
Really well put Adam 12. Every surfing forum unfortunately that I've visited is the same (and I've browsed through most of them in the hope of reasonable discussion.) They're usually dominated by a small group of wannabe, never was internet surfer heroes. It's not a tragedy just a shame and this forum is really very, very good considering some of the nut cases out there. If just one of those people finally has an epiphany, then it has been a successful effort for Kelly's movement. Partially it has to do with our culturally ingrained pre-disposition towards the tall poppy syndrome and also unfortunately the psychologically inherent habit of finding reasons to denigrate people who have acheived success by those who have not.
I only have one word to describe PETA and their ethos: extremism. This is the same group that believes people should not have pets and that they should all be set free into the 'wild'. I would tread very carefully when becoming involved with this group. IMO they use use bullying tactics and often spread misinformation - even straight-out lies - to push their views on to other people. I don't think this is a good way for society to move forward.
Nonetheless, I can appreciate Slater has good intentions and hope that it helps encourage (positive) awareness of animal welfare issues in general.
Dumb move by slater to be associated with PETA.IMO...most of the time they run right wing campaigns based on mistruths and over the top falsehoods.did anyone see their latest lamb/shearing campaign?
And what about japanese whaling and dolphin slaughters? Its fine for them to endure hours of pain being speared or bashed to death but have and animal in a cage or pool...
While your at it kelly have a go at Australia zoo or any other venture with captivated animals.
Old baldys losin it i reckon...cant win an event..gettin amnesia..his wave pool is shit..hop on that high horse and ride off in the sunset with some dignity left..be a shame to ruin his legacy with stupid business decisions
I suggest we respect the man for what he has achieved - may more than most of us. Remind ourselves he is asking Sea World to respect the lives / free the animals it has captive. He feels he has credibility and his voice will be heard.
So Bob Kelly Slater and his impeding brand is fully a Blue pilled SJW nutter co.?....
Ah ha ha ha ha! Stick still stirring that swill bucket.
Other than his GF, wonder if he owns a pet?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=activist
Bob Slater tag teams it up with the PETA kooks.
Will Bob soon flog trunks that cost $199 per to fund such prog nutters?
Bank on it.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/PETA
What a surprise, the Roller is backing The Man!
And I don't mean the man Kelly Slater but the symbolic, nameless, faceless, corporations-are-people, Man. Always on the side of money, how could it ever be wrong?
Money always wins. Roller is not a gambler.
This is typical. It's another nail in the WSL coffin!
Corporations are people. Without people, money just sits there.
Sorry Bob Kelly, when it come to people, more Red Pill less blue pilled people would do wonders.
whales are mammals like us
God, you're boring Bob.
Bob Kelly Slater is a dude who not only rolls but cashes his checks exclusively on emotions.
Unless you're the type that flogs shite, pulls their checks based on emotions, how do you salt your stew?.. numbers, or emotions?
Numbers rule over emotions. ... Always.
Hahahaaaa ... fuck, I can't believe I'm baited into writing this, well, like the rest of you.
Robert has done his job folks, he's got us "talking" about it, commenting on it, and creating a buzz around it. Job done.
Without a high profile spokesperson to ask the question(s) PETA would be a whimpering mess ...
Fuck. I've given it energy. Well done Mr Slater.
Yea. You've been well done.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6c1_1361968754
Whether it's a dog or a whale we are discussing here, and according to Peta's own blue pill bullsite, Bob Kelly Slater is a full on hypocrite!
Yew!
http://blog.pbteen.com/pbteens-dog-of-the-month-kally-slaters-pup-action/
Heads up Roller: that there is a dog. Four legs, bit hairy, goes woof woof. Orcas are big, they're black and white, swim in the ocean and don't go woof woof.
It's an understandable mistake.
Stu,
yea? and when it comes to dogs and human ownership as pets or otherwise, there is no mistake what-so-ever in that world of the blue pill Peta nutters, stirring their swill bucket with their bullshite stick.
Roller,
Yea? So PETA are against pet ownership, what's that got to do with Kelly Slater? Does he advocate everything they do or are you just assuming that?
Is Blue Pill Bob Kelly flapping his lips on a subject on the behalf of the proven absolute nutters and kookmerys at PETA?
Uhhh, yea.
http://takimag.com/article/parting_with_peta_gavin_mcinnes/print#axzz3ct...
So asking for orcas to be freed from captivity is "absolute nuttery and kookery"?
Can you explain why?
Whales. Dogs..... Clearly PETA and BKS have a hidden stance on it all...
heres' a suggested compromise... We save the animals but euthanize the animal-rights activists. ;-)
On a second similar PETA note, having trouble "accepting the idea that Hitler was a vegetarian. He just didn’t seem that pushy...
Apparently others feel the same way. When I started typing “pushy vegetarians” on Google, it auto-filled the rest after “pushy v—.”
Of all the annoying identity movements under the giant rancid rainbow, what is it that causes militant vegetarians to be the most obnoxious? What is it about the Vegetarian Personality that makes me wish someone would cannibalize them? What is it about being lectured by vegans that makes me want to drive straight to Wendy’s and order a Classic Triple?
Is there a chemical in bean sprouts that causes self-righteousness, or perhaps an enzyme in beef that minimizes sanctimony? If you are what you eat, radical vegetarians must be eating something very unpleasant. They bare their tempeh-nibbling fangs to reveal the rabid hostility that always seems to be a hallmark of those who feel compelled to make a grand public display of their “compassion.” But hilariously, a recent study suggests that “exposure to organic foods” leads people to be less altruistic"...
The world of reality is passing you and swellnet by Stu brah. and to fix this mess you are going to need a whole new breed of writers. Yew!.
http://takimag.com/article/the_vegetarian_personality_jim_goad/print#ixz...
My best mate was raised as a vego from birth. I have never seen him ever push his thoughts onto someone else.
His ex-wife however is a different kettle of fish. She 'became' a vegetarian after a stint frying her brain in Goa in the 90's. At dinner parties she never held back at telling people how disgusting they were, calling them/us 'corpse crunchers' and the like. She was the life of the party.
An old hippy once told me that it's all just food. Eat it with love and be thankful for it.
JIm Goad takes these nutters apart.
Logic and facts win again!
"Like the most dedicated anti-abortion crusader or Holocaust devotee, they’ll flash poster-sized images of one ghastly atrocity at you after the next. It’s like some inverse form of porno to them. They hate what they’re seeing, but they can’t seem to see enough of it.
The only difference is that the pictures they’re showing you are of animals rather than humans. They claim not to see a difference, and they’ll accuse you of “speciesism” if you disagree.
Because it’s based on wishful thinking, radical egalitarianism inevitably leads to insanity. And because “animal rights” lunatics hyperextend their definition of things such as “social justice” and “equality” to embrace every life form below Homo sapiens, that’s why they’re more annoying and militant than all other egalitarian activists. They’re proposing something even crazier than those who strain to argue that all humans are equal.
Such lunacy causes them to liken themselves to abolitionists and refer to the honey industry as “bee slavery.” It’s why they equate slaughterhouses to concentration camps. It’s why animal “liberators” compare their actions to the Underground Railroad.
It’s why you find permanently aggrieved nitpicking splinter groups such as Vegans of Color, whose website explains why they “don’t have the luxury of being single-issue.” (Hey, no one’s arguing you don’t have multiple issues!) That site also stresses “the necessity of anti-racist and critical whiteness analysis within veganism (in order to help build coalitions and solidarity).…”
As we all know, nothing builds solidarity more than constantly criticizing white people.
Ironically, it’s all merely an underhanded form of pure animal aggression. It’s yet another way to act superior in the name of equality.
Is a lion who kills a gazelle somehow “exploiting” it? Does the gazelle have a “right” not to be eaten?
Would the whales save you?
Once the Buddha died, wasn’t he eaten by worms?
If life is so sacred, why does everything die?
Here’s a new concept for you: It’s called the “food chain.” Or the “web of life.” You could learn a lot from it.
I can think of one case in which animals are superior to humans: Animals don’t project their daffy delusions onto us:.
http://takimag.com/article/the_vegetarian_personality_jim_goad/print#ixz...
What can I say? Roller, that was a fucking brilliant exposition of might is right and White Man's Burden. Who but the most deft of debaters could turn orcas in captivity into an argument about "constant criticism of white people", despite the fact that Kelly Slater himself is white. Most people would go WTF?, but not me, I take a bow.
Slavery, torture, wanton destruction of nature, colonialism, all get a pass mark - hell, they get actively encouraged! - in the mighty Republic of Roller.
Ha ha!
Stu, name one culture in history that did not torture, destruct nature, or force people into slavery, etc...
oh, and Similar to Bob Kelly Slater himself, we are both half white.
The diff?... He's a blue pill liberal proghead. And 'm not.
That makes it right then, does it? So why do we have all these pesky laws stopping us from smiting each other?
This being another, Bob has gone all in with all sorts of modern day blue pilled luddites. It's his audience/customer base.
Orcas are trained to perform tricks and use their natural ability in a water setting to entertain crowds of people who clap and cheer and pay money that goes into the coffers of a listed for profit company. Kelly Slater trains to perform tricks and uses his natural ability in a water setting to entertain crowds of people who clap and cheer and pay money (through various channels) that goes into the coffers of a for profit listed company (formerly quiksilver). Irony.
iamlegend,
Not Irony, just an act of compassion for your fellow trained monkey.