mustanger98,
I think you may have misunderstood the meaning of my words in my previous post in this thread.
Don't even think about saying I don't give a hoot about nature, the land, and the animals.
As for saying you do not give a hoot about nature, land and, animals - where exactly did I say or imply that? Here is what I wrote that may have made you think so, read it again:
This is some of the most self defeating type thinking I ever have seen on THR. I almost cannot believe what I am reading! Are you guys actually hunters? If so don't you consider yourselves environmentalists? You should if you at all give a hoot about nature, the land you use and, the animals you hunt.
Note my use of the words self defeating. That speaks to the fact that I do believe you guys to be environmentally aware, and conservationists, while at the same time being hunters. BUT I also believe you are helping to defeat our own purpose by your being reticent to call yourselves environmentalists while at the same time bad mouthing environmentalists. The word itself implies something good about the nature of the person who is concerned with the environment. I am not saying you do not give a hoot about nature. You misunderstood my words and my intent if that is what you understood. The overall intent of my post was to show that if you do care about nature you should proudly wear the label environmentalist and; that many hunters seemingly are afraid to use a label/symbol of what they truly are if only because another group also bears that same label. We should not be reticent with this word as applied to us. It is a label that most understand to mean one who is environmentally conscious and friendly. It would be a boon to hunters if the public in general saw us as environmentalists and conservationists but, for a very large portion, they do not. Heck we help them not to see us as such because we strive to not be labeled as such. That is a stumbling block we have thrown at our own feet.
It is nice to know that in essence you are an environmentalist - no you do not need to march in protests or carry banners to be one. You say you are more appropriately a conservationist - actually that is probably incorrect if you want to play semantics. A conservationist is a much broader term than is environmentalist because you could be concerned with conserving anything. A nature conservationist would be more appropriate than either but, the word environmentalist speaks of nature so it fits pretty good too. Yet I will let you use whichever term you prefer, I just don't think we should shun the use of the term environmentalist. As hunters, we should not be concerned only with conserving big and small game but, we should be concerned with conservation of all natural resources - our overall environment - because these resources help promote the 'health of the herd' so to speak.
There are many things we can do to help assure our hunting heritage will be passed along to future generations. You can, as you say, pay excise taxes on hunting gear and, you can also study the animals you hunt. Yet I think there is a lot more that you can do. You see the things you have mentioned are the same things that poachers do. No I am not calling you a poacher, not even thinking it. Yet a whacko extremist environmentalist might say so. They would point out that even poachers who buy rifles and bullets and hunting and fishing gear pay the same tax - so the tax in essence supports their ability to poach because it gives them more animals. Yes this is the convoluted logic they try to use. Poachers also do this:
If I didn't, I wouldn't be out there studying the layout, the animals I hunt, and the other animals they share habitat with.
The whackos would also try to use this against you. Maybe they would do so by saying you are so interested and engrossed by the act of killing an animal that you have to study it and make evil killing plans for months in advance (yes they do try to fan the flames of emotions). So what else can you do that they cannot use against you as readily. Well you mentioned one thing when you said you write to your local papers. I do also but, I add some others to my mailing list. I write to my governor, my state representatives, my reps in Congress and; I try to get others to do so. I buy a Sportsman's license (big game, small game, fishing) and also get a turkey stamp yearly. I buy these even if I do not plan to hunt both big and small game. I have joined three hunting/shooting organizations to help the cause and; I try to get others to do likewise. I donate funds regularly to pro-hunting causes and to pro-nature causes (which are supportive of hunting and fishing - and it takes quite a bit of research to find these groups) and; I try to get others to do likewise. I also am happy to consider myself a Hunter, Fishermen, Environmentalist/Nature Conservationist and am darned proud of it and: I try to get other hunters to consider themselves likewise. I think we should all be proud that we are, no need to be afraid of using a word that the extremists have also chosen for themselves after in essence trying to steal from us our own image as protectors of nature. Let's show the general public who the real environmentalists are and how we do give a hoot.
As for my sense of humor, well its mine. I have as good a sense of humor as the next guy. Yet, there was no humor seen in these words though:
Yeah, those "environmentally conscious" suburbanites drive their SUVs because they're cool because they look like something us real country folks would drive. But over time, city folks had to make their SUVs more like luxury cars knowing they'll never leave the pavement.
Maybe you tried to get funny with your words about hunting clothing and fashion statements but the first two sentences quoted above hold no humor as I read them. They flatly divide city folks/suburbanites and country folks. Thereby you make it seem as if only country folks do it for real and as if city folks/suburbanites are just doing it to look cool in order to mimic 'real country folk. Granted that remark may be unreasonable but, come on now, are you trying to say you were trying to be funny with it! I may have been born at night but, not last night.
If you, or anyone, truly want(s) to preserve our hunting heritage, then maybe you ought not try to get too funny with your words when discussing such issues. The reason being that those funny words may be found to be offensive to city folks. Go ahead if you want and rile up people in big cities. Polarize them to have them wind up on the side opposite our own regarding hunting. What will that accomplish? I think it will accomplish exactly what the extremists/whacko environmentalists (like those in ALF and PETA) want to happen. It will produce a voting base with a huge number of voters that will be anti hunting. That will help lead to the rapid demise of hunting rights as we know them. God may have granted you those rights but, in this country voters will strip you of them. One issue they regularly try to out vote us on is the Pittman Robertson Act. Are you aware that there have been several attempts by such ultra liberal senators as C. Schumann (Dem. NY) to take those tax dollars and to place them into the government's general usage fund as opposed to using them solely for wildlife conservation and hunter education. That would be devastating to hunting enthusiasts (and possibly spill over to fishermen too). License fees would sky-rocket and if that did not support wildlife conservation, then a call for an end to hunting/fishing would soon follow and; it would quite possible be successful.
Instead of alienating people in big cities by making them look like some sort of showoff jerks, why not encourage city folks to enjoy the hunting and fishing sports. Do so by giving hunter education course in the nearest city (and letting the class know where you are from), invite them into our sport by allowing hunters or fishermen access to your land (do not post it or post it with a note that you often grant permission for sportsman), join pro-hunting groups, attend pro-hunting/fishing rallies and so forth. This is not aimed at you, this is a recommendation of something that all of us can and should do to the best of our abilities to preserve our heritage for the future.
All the best,
Glenn B
