Not trying to spark a political debate, but I assume most hunters generally lean republican. I defintly do, and Im currently finishing my degree at The University of Wisconsin (extremely liberal). I recently was criticized by another student and teacher when they found out that I was a hunter, after the incident I found myself wondering - At its core concept, doesn't hunting align with what many liberals/hippies/environmentalists want? Hunting and harvesting wild game is the purest way to obtain meat: it's local, organic, self-sustaining, and directly benefits the environment. The "Left" paints hunting as cruel and unfair to poor Bambi. Apparently they have never seen where the beef/pork/chicken they buy off the shelf comes from? In regards to cruelty, you cant even begin to compare the two processes. Without hunters, overpopulation would lead to increase in disease, food shortages, car accidents, thus lowering the quality of life for "Bambi's" everywhere. The Left is big on "Health & Wellness", Venison is leaner and more nutrient rich than Beef, seems healthy to me? Being active, spending time in nature, walking through the woods, watching that lovely sunrise/sunset? Correct me if Im wrong, but those seem like "Health and Wellness" benefits to me? To me, they should be advocating for hunting, not ruining it. Bow-Hunters specifically spend countless hours, for a small window of opportunity, to maximize chances of a humane kill, butcher the animal and feed their family. Compared to livestock, that deer is living the high life right up to the shot. I would argue that most hunters have done/care more for the environment than any peta member or tree-hugger. The mis-match doesn't make sense. Looking at the big picture it doesn't add up. Again, I could be way off the mark, but Im curious if I'm the only one asking this question? what your thoughts/experiences?
Wildlife conservation is funded by hunters, research is done by hunters. All the antis do is complain,
The problem in recent times is too many hunters/antis try to prove why they are right. It's a revolving argument that is not worth the breath. I see where both parties are coming from, obviously I side with hunters, but the other side does have some very valid points, though. Whenever this discussion arises with me and an anti/non hunter I try to explain why I hunt, not why I need to justify hunting. I owe them no excuse. I cannot post links from the phone, but search for a video on YouTube by the title of; MeatEater vs. Vegan. Author of the video is MeatEaterTV. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
1000X this ^ Very well said. Here's the referenced video. [video=youtube_share;J2N0Utg7KYE]http://youtu.be/J2N0Utg7KYE[/video]
Most of the left view points are hypocritical....pro abortion anti death penalty.....pro organic food anti hunting. It doesn't make sense to me any way.
Doesn't that in turn make the right hypocritical? Pro life, Pro death penalty? Pro hunting, pro feed lot?
Not even close. Pro life is because of innocence, pro death penalty is getting rid of a useless proven criminal. Pro hunting and pro feed lot doesn't say one thing or another, it's saying food is essential no matter how it is produced. The argument has logic behind it, the left's argument doesn't.
So what you are saying is that there is more to it than just being pro this or that? That there's a set of ethics, decisions and standards to your viewpoint. Good! Now, don't you think that others can "logically" come to a different oppinion? For the record, I'm generally against abortion and the death penalty, with certain exceptions for both
I think that, coincidentally, most hunters lean to the right, but not all hunters are right wing. I dont know if its fair to generalize that all anti-hunters are left wing liberal hippies, though it may seem that way sometimes because that is the stereotype we chose to identify them as. All I know is, there are people that are against hunting, people that are for hunting, and the in between. I know that I owe no explanation to an anti-hunter to justify the way I chose to live, I know why I hunt, you guys know why we hunt, and thats all that matters. In the same breath, I have no right to tell an anti that their way of living is wrong, they owe me no explanation or justification for the way they chose to live their lives. Our own realities are based on our own, individual perception of it. Its not fair to say that all if us should see the same point of view because we are all individuals. Anti-hunters will not change who I am or convince me not to hunt anymore. I chose to live my life the way I want, and let others do the same
I blame the drunk idiots who leave a trail of beer cans in the woods and parade around town in their orange hats making a$$es of themselves. There are alot of "Hunters" who are more about the kill then the hunting experience. Stupid expressions like "If it's brown, it's down", "whack em and stack em" and "tag em and drag em" are fun and all but they are all about the kill. I'm not saying I don't hunt to kill but the attitude perceived (by anti's) in these sayings isn't one of conservation and ethics. Another thing I've noticed is the anti's that farm are a new age style farmer. The kind that make their own soap and wear patagonia. They are just trendy. Right now farming is the new non conventional thing to do. They do it as a novelty as a means to be part of a counter culture. Actual farmers that own acreage and understand the balance between wildlife and our society harvest game and even rely on it to put meat on the table and to keep things balanced.
Brucelanthier must be hunting hard, which would put Dan in the shop making som awards Luckily, and somewhat surprising, I've never had to deal with or argue with an anti. The absolute closest I've came was this past summer when a couple friend and her sister came back town from Cali. They came over and my friends daughter took her to the basement/man cave and she came back up and asked if she could take pictures of my mounts and antlers. Later on we were outside and deer meat came up as I had some jerky marinating. She said she would eat it if I killed it with my bare hands. I immediately started explaining I didn't Rambo it or wrestle it down or something. Then she told me she won't eat or buy meat from restaurants or stores because they are raised simply for slaughter. I'm not sure if there is a name for this or not, it's not vegetarian and she didn't get offended that I hunted. She even wanted to watch my buck kill on Youtube. Needless to say I ran to the freezer and grabbed a pack of back straps and a roll of jalapeño and cheese sausage and started thawing them for that night. Just did a quick Worcestershire, minced garlic and black pepper marinade for the steaks. She ate 3 of the 4 steaks and absolutely loved it. But said the sausage was a bit too meaty for some reason. The next day she was raiding my jerky and even took some back to Cali when they left. I've got other friends who are animal lovers but don't hold it against me that I hunt. Some don't want to try the deer or hear the stories, but that's fine by me. I'm not sure how I would react to an anti wanting me to explain myself, but imagine I'd take Backcountry's approach and tell why I do. But I also like to argue at times as well, especially if I have some yeasty liquid in my belly.
Maybe it's because I come from a small rural town, but I've never encountered an anti before. My best friend is a hardcore liberal, loves hunting. A very good friend from high school is a total hippie. I'm talking flip flops, tie dye shirts, following Dead tribute band type of hippie. He went off the grid for a few years, and when I got a random call from him, one of his first question was about my deer season. This dude is as far left as left can go, but he's far from an anti. My sister is a hardcore conservative. Hates hunting. She understands the importance of it, but she absolutely despises the thought of an animal dying. She's far from a PETA member, but is the closest thing to an anti that I have ran across.
I don't pay any attention to anti's , any of them. Someone is always against something whether its my guns, my hunting or anything else. The only thing you can do is stay informed, and carry yourself in a way that gives credit to your cause and doesn't give anyone reason to point at you and say "see that's why we need a ban on whatever".
Good post. It is called a diverse group of people living life and not fitting into the stereotypes we Americans love to assign people so we can quickly judge them so we can feel better about ourselves.
