[NY Times]A Plea to Shun the Ivory Trade From Yao Ming

Good message. Glad Yao is doing that.

on a side note, Yao is making the rino and elephants look "small"...

 

I've always hated how people would kill an elephant or rhino for the ivory just as much as I hate how people would kill a shark just for its fins.

Money will always win out. I don't see how anyone involved in this would listen to Yao Ming or anyone else for that matter. They don't care. Some may do it because they're poor and have no other way to make money. Whatever the reasoning, they still don't give a damn about the animals they are killing. And, unfortunately, most of that ivory is confiscated and destroyed...which makes it an even bigger waste. But, the poachers got paid. If the poachers have no consequences for their actions and the money is there, then they will never stop until all the animals are completely gone.

But, I commend Yao Ming for doing something to address it.

 

isn't this a long time ago?

 

Great video. Thank you.

 

He's not trying to convince the poachers. He's trying to convince the people buying ivory because they think it's cool and it's a status symbol. Once they realize there are real animals dying for their wall mounted trinket, they might not buy it anymore. And as that market dries out, there is no need for the poachers to actually kill for ivory. That's what happened with the shark fins. Less Chinese started eating it so no need for the fisherman to try to supply.

 

I can see how my comments were interpreted to mean he was appealing to the poachers. I didn't mean it to come out that way versus just discussing the poaching side. Obviously, it would do no good at all to appeal to the poachers...or the buyers for that matter. Is Yao telling them something they didn't know already?

 

Actually, I think he is. I don't think a lot of the people who consume products really think about where things come from. When you eat a hotdog you willfully ignore what goes into making it. When you eat beef, you don't stop to consider the raising a cow takes an infinite amount more water than for growing grain. Just some simple examples.

In China, I doubt most people consider where it comes from. They think it's pretty. It's part of the culture. It represents a certain status since it costs money. Done and done in most people's eyes. I think this will shed some light.

 

Exciting basketball news usually doesn't break in the middle of August. Free agency opened a month and a half ago. Training camp is a month and a half away. I think we'd still be talking about wildlife protection anyway if this were during the season, which is a testament to how influencial Yao is. That's why I'm glad he's an advocate.

 

He's spreading awareness and reinforcing the stigma against the ivory trade. I ate shark fin soup as a child, unaware of the awful and wasteful practices behind it. I stopped as a teen, before Yao's campaign against it, but he no doubt influenced others who were still unaware.

Yao's not appealing to the poachers, it's the consumers who are at the root of the problem. There's a widespread belief that consumption of ivory horns will increase libido. There's a bunch of misinformation and superstition out there, so someone with Yao's popularity will do wonders in reducing demand.

Jenny McCarthy's anti-vacccination campaign doesn't appeal to doctors, it appeals to the fears of parents. And it's working. Yao's campaigns will work the same way, except his cause is based in rational thought. These things do move the needle of demand, one way or the other.

 

thats actually a full sized elephant. Yao is massive.

 

Yao's goal is educating ignorant consumers. According to the video, many of them have no idea that the cost of the ivory artwork they are buying is the life of rhino or elephant. Presumably, once they know that, the demand will decrease to the point where it is no longer profitable to poachers.

 

Right. And the ball that the elephant playing with is a basketball.

 

This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but Yao should be focusing on calling attention to human rights abuses in China.

Animal poaching is bad, but his priorities are all wrong.

 

Love Yao, but I also love playing the piano. Soooo...

Joking, pianos in America haven't been made with elephant ivory keys for decades. I do know a guy that has a Steinway with 100% ivory keys from hog tusks. Damn nice piano too.

 

Yao is a trend setting ultra celebrity. If he says ivory is pointless and dumb, it won't be popular to buy it anymore. You bring the status of owning ivory down into the realm of tacky and the demand drops.

 

What I love about Yao is that he's truly taken the giant persona and approaches things with putting the world on his shoulders. His work ethic was the only thing he could control on his teams, and we know how that went.

And just through the years, he's both cautious on how he speaks while being generous to the spotlight through his wit.

Pretty amazing guy.

The only nitpick is that you're getting fat, breh.

 

This photo is so precious.

 

I feel u and there certainly needs to be changes and improvement in that area. But at the same time, whatever he can do to help humans, animals, and or the enivronment is still a +

 

It's unpopular because it's simply ridiculous. Yao is working for a most worthy cause, yet you have the heart to criticize him because it's not high up in your own "priority" ranking. Take that **** to the hangout if you want to talk about politics.