Banned by Facebook — Planetary Capacity — an eco-poem by Sea Shepherd Captain, Paul Watson
On March 14th, Sea Shepherd Captain, Paul Watson, posted his poem Planetary Capacity on Facebook. The masters of Meta removed the poem and “restricted” him from going live or advertising — just in time for Earth Day.
“No explanation provided except that the poem is a violation of FB Community standards and that somehow this is a violation of their standards on “human exploitation” without any explanation of what that means,” says Watson. “Last month Facebook removed one of my posting about salmon farming.”
Here’s the message he got from Facebook: “ This post goes against our standards on human exploitation, so only you can see it. Repeatedly violating our Community Standards can cause further account restrictions. If you think we’ve made a mistake you can disagree with the decision.”
Let’s see if you disagree with the decision.
I asked permission to share it here for Skaana fans. And if you’d like to hear more from Paul Watson, be sure to check out our two part interview in the most recent episodes of the Skaana podcast on iTunes and Spotify.
Planetary Capacity
The capacity of the planet to absorb our contempt is immense,
For everything we do to nature is contrary to common sense.
Diminishment is the current state of our global ecology,
And yet from so very few is there any indication of an apology.
Faced with threats of self-destruction we choose to ignore,
Escaping into realms of fantasy, we stare at truth, and then close the door.
The trees are falling as the animals disappear,
Coral reefs vanish without fear or tear.
Destruction shielded by apathy, fueled by greed,
The planet is a trough from which we feed.
We need to raise awareness, the critics bleat, and screech,
The sheep must be taught as eco-gurus speak.
Saving the Earth is now the new economic enterprise,
Optimism is nurtured with stunts and lies.
Join this group or that group and celebrate Earth Day,
Petitions and meetings are the acceptable way.
Don’t rock the boat or upset the apple cart,
We can save the planet through music and art.
Selling carbon credits to a gullible public,
Building a new oiliocratic republic.
Eco-groups market the latest green fad,
Activism tends to make them quite mad.
Too little, too late, is the epitaph of humanity,
Verity once again defers to human vanity.
Corporations finance and control the University,
With programs that diminish diversity
In defense of oil wells we can kill, destroy and maim
But sit in a tree and “terrorist” will be your name.
Save a whale and go to jail
Kill a whale and be free to sail
Big game hunters kill without remorse,
We have laws that we cannot enforce.
Human populations out of control,
Excessive consumption takes its daily toll.
Diversity is the key to survival,
We need a new ecological revival.
Interdependence must be the rule,
Or will humanity choose to play the fool?
We forget that carrying capacity is finite,
How much will we destroy before we see the light?
