bigbendmarine
5 year old buck +
Been largely sitting on the sidelines and probably for the best... was crazy enough to major in philosophy as an undergrad, so when I see talk turning to "I plant, therefore I am" I appreciate things are getting deep!
Joking somewhat aside, I said before I thought assumptions were dangerous with this thread, and as kindly as possible I'll say I think that goes for the OP as well.
Lois, you mentioned your father wasn't the typical Marine, and I would say that for my Dad... heck I'd say it for me for dang sure (I enlisted in the reserves at the cutoff of age 28 after already gaining a college degree and about 5 years in to a fairly successful manufacturing management career). For that matter, I'd say that my own boot camp platoon was full of variation on temperaments and motivations -- some young kids joined for lack of vision, some intercity guys joined to get away from gang environments, others joining from rural areas to broaden their horizons (can't help but think of FMJ's famous line "I wanted to meet interesting, stimulating people of a rich, ancient culture and kill them!"), while others joined with fitness as a primary motivation... and I could go on and on with varying motivations. I'm relatively conservative (especially fiscally so) but just had a boot camp platoon mate sadly die from cancer who was as liberal of a journalist as you'd find. Guess what I'm getting at is, "typical" is often an unfair box to try and force upon others and I sense quite a few comments lumping "hunters" into a generically molded box that just doesn't fit.
From a rural area of the south, I was raised side by side with some kids who absolutely hunted (and fished) to help their families save on grocery bills, to the point that laws weren't always respected due to perceived need. A few of those friends killed deer with hand me down .22lr rifles (i'm sure not advocating it) to minimize cost and would have probably used sling shots if they had to do so. At the same time, I have some friends who will drop multiple grand to go on distant trophy hunts without losing a seconds sleep to the cost. Huge spectrum of difference between those groups, but yet they along with all shades in between would be labeled hunters (at least by many).
Don't have time to address issue by issue, but will just say this about the predator note. I've got multiple coyotes that cruise by my place, multiple bobcat, and multiple bear and I've never touched a single one. At the same time, I've harvested 4 deer the last 2 seasons. Does my not targeting predators strip me of my generic "hunter" label? Surely not, just one who doesn't see them greatly impacting his herd though that might be due to an abundance of squirrels, field rats, and other smaller furry game. Bet if you polled the forum members I wouldn't be alone in not having harvested predators aggressively as some, but at the same time while it might strike you as contradictory at best / stupid at worst, I totally respect those who do target predators. A believer in a Higher power here, I see man as close to the top of the food chain though I think that comes with a great deal of responsibility... but if I were to lean towards Nihilst atheism I would be even more a believer in killing all other predators, as what ultimate moral grounds should prevent me from such?
All my blather above aside, I've found the forum audience to be QUITE a diverse one yet at the same time one that blessedly has been respectful (and a huge thanks goes to the moderators for helping ensure so). Here's hoping it stays that way. Said it before, and will say it again... trust and feel your intentions have not been negative. Just think that appreciating you're speaking to quite a diverse group of folks might make for a bit less stereotyping, even if done innocently so. Off my soapbox and back to work (also in the medical field now by the way, so kindred spirits in that regard!).
Joking somewhat aside, I said before I thought assumptions were dangerous with this thread, and as kindly as possible I'll say I think that goes for the OP as well.
Lois, you mentioned your father wasn't the typical Marine, and I would say that for my Dad... heck I'd say it for me for dang sure (I enlisted in the reserves at the cutoff of age 28 after already gaining a college degree and about 5 years in to a fairly successful manufacturing management career). For that matter, I'd say that my own boot camp platoon was full of variation on temperaments and motivations -- some young kids joined for lack of vision, some intercity guys joined to get away from gang environments, others joining from rural areas to broaden their horizons (can't help but think of FMJ's famous line "I wanted to meet interesting, stimulating people of a rich, ancient culture and kill them!"), while others joined with fitness as a primary motivation... and I could go on and on with varying motivations. I'm relatively conservative (especially fiscally so) but just had a boot camp platoon mate sadly die from cancer who was as liberal of a journalist as you'd find. Guess what I'm getting at is, "typical" is often an unfair box to try and force upon others and I sense quite a few comments lumping "hunters" into a generically molded box that just doesn't fit.
From a rural area of the south, I was raised side by side with some kids who absolutely hunted (and fished) to help their families save on grocery bills, to the point that laws weren't always respected due to perceived need. A few of those friends killed deer with hand me down .22lr rifles (i'm sure not advocating it) to minimize cost and would have probably used sling shots if they had to do so. At the same time, I have some friends who will drop multiple grand to go on distant trophy hunts without losing a seconds sleep to the cost. Huge spectrum of difference between those groups, but yet they along with all shades in between would be labeled hunters (at least by many).
Don't have time to address issue by issue, but will just say this about the predator note. I've got multiple coyotes that cruise by my place, multiple bobcat, and multiple bear and I've never touched a single one. At the same time, I've harvested 4 deer the last 2 seasons. Does my not targeting predators strip me of my generic "hunter" label? Surely not, just one who doesn't see them greatly impacting his herd though that might be due to an abundance of squirrels, field rats, and other smaller furry game. Bet if you polled the forum members I wouldn't be alone in not having harvested predators aggressively as some, but at the same time while it might strike you as contradictory at best / stupid at worst, I totally respect those who do target predators. A believer in a Higher power here, I see man as close to the top of the food chain though I think that comes with a great deal of responsibility... but if I were to lean towards Nihilst atheism I would be even more a believer in killing all other predators, as what ultimate moral grounds should prevent me from such?
All my blather above aside, I've found the forum audience to be QUITE a diverse one yet at the same time one that blessedly has been respectful (and a huge thanks goes to the moderators for helping ensure so). Here's hoping it stays that way. Said it before, and will say it again... trust and feel your intentions have not been negative. Just think that appreciating you're speaking to quite a diverse group of folks might make for a bit less stereotyping, even if done innocently so. Off my soapbox and back to work (also in the medical field now by the way, so kindred spirits in that regard!).
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