Propaganda Style Shark Attack Pamphlets Causing A Stir On Cape Cod

CapeCodOnline.com – On a recent Monday morning, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross had just stepped out of a meeting to plan the shark section of next year’s travel guide when her phone rang.

It was Richard Delaney, president and CEO of the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, wanting to know if she had seen any of the Cape Cod Great White Shark Safety brochures printed by a consortium of harbormasters and other mostly Lower Cape officials.

At the time, she hadn’t. But for some, the brochures landed with a splash, raising concerns that the photographs would sensationalize sharks or take a bite out of business.

“I was told it had a ‘Jaws’-esque cover picture,” said Northcross. “The reality is, we have sharks, and there has to be some public information campaign. On the flip side, there’s concern that sharks will be sensationalized or people will want to go on shark hunts.”

After getting a look at the brochure Northcross said it wasn’t as bad as she expected.

Concerns over the brochure underscore the delicate balance science, business and public safety officials look to strike on the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” issue of informing the public about the threat of sharks that have been drawn to hunt the area’s booming seal population.

My irrational fear of sharks has been well documented on this site here, here and here. Knowing that, you may think I’d be in favor of these “Reefer Madness” style propaganda flyers that are designed to scare the shit out of people, but I am not. I am a firm believer in not messing with natural selection. A species is only as strong as its weakest link and frankly humans could use some thinning of the herd if you ask me.

If some douche from Jersey wants to flop around in his fanny pack next to a seal in Cape Cod waters because he doesn’t know any better I say let him go. We don’t get a pamphlet warning us about his stupid ass, he doesn’t deserve one about how to not get eaten by a shark. In the words of the great Bill Hicks (paraphrasing), “I don’t think we’ll lose the cure for cancer if that moron dies, and we’ll all be one car length up in traffic tomorrow”.

P.S. After the “Don’t Jersey The Cape” post we received no less than 20 emails from Jersey people bitching about us making fun of their state? Ummm… it’s fucking Jersey guys, I’m pretty sure we aren’t the first people to ever make fun of Jersey. Talk about living in a bubble.