Over the weekend, I caught wind of a growing boycott against the band Tyr, from the Faroe Islands. Why the boycott? There has been an up uprising over a picture of frontman Heri Joensen cutting pieces of dead whales along with the rest of Faroe inhabitants. Since the picture surfaced, many have retaliated with harsh comments and even campaigned against the band touring.
I’ve been a fan of Tyr since their inception, have hung out with Heri many times, and have gone on record to call Tyr "the truest viking metal band in the world". So his involvement with hunting for food comes as no surprise to me, but I was more than happy to see him post a response video to his Facebook page, where he goes into detail about whaling restrictions, his involvement, the Faroe way of life, and my favorite part, the general hypocrisy of carnivores who buy store bought meat.
“People get this disney fairy tale like relation to meat, where livestock is willingly and painlessly slaughtered behind closed doors, and wildlife is sacred.”
As a long time vegetarian currently gone vegan, I would never condone killing animals of any kind for any reason, but I do agree with Heri’s sentiment here. Saving one and killing another is completely misguided information, and acquiring food naturally and responsibly is infinitely more respectable than simply allowing a slaughterhouse do it for you.
If you have a few minutes, watch Heri’s message below. It’s a very powerful response to the meat industry, whaling, and judging other people's way of life without understanding. Kudos to Heri for keeping it real!
