Do We Do Enough?

PABuck_HNTR · 09-21-2003, 06:28 AM

I was involved in a conversation yesterday with 5 others guys who were taking a Basic Pistol Class with me. The subject came up of wanting to get Hunter Education into schools. The biggest question was how do you get beyond the screams of the anti-gun anti-hunting people? Well the word ' " screams" stuck in my mind and made me realize that the anti-gunners and anti whatevers are just that " screamers" .

Besides spending alot of time in the woods or at our favorite fishing hole, how much time and effort do we put into helping out the sports we love? When you are really honest with yourself, not much! And how much screaming do we do in defense of our sports? We usually wait to go on the offensive when it' s just about too late. We never seem to take the time to attack the anti' s. Who have been proven wrong time and again. Is it time that we spend a little less time in the woods and spend a little of the time helping to teach kids or educate adults on the real facts on gun ownership? Or do we sit back and rely on those who send in their checks once a year to the NRA or Buckmasters and expect them to hanlde the situation? If we continue to ride on the backs of a few gun owners and hunters who do get involved, and spend time and money trying to help protect our sports, will that continue to be " enough" in the future?

Or, is it now our turn to start screaming, and shed the reputation that proceeds us?
What reputation? The reputation as being dumb rednecks!

strut · 09-21-2003, 06:58 AM

I know what you mean Fight, I have had some people trying to persuade me to become a hunter safety education instructor, It would' nt be hard at all, but I don' t know if I want to give up my time to do that, thanks for posting this tread, you got me to thinking about it again.

Vapodog · 09-21-2003, 08:45 AM

I' m behind you 100% for getting firearms safety as a manditory class in high schools.

driftrider · 09-21-2003, 11:16 AM

Quote:

I' m behind you 100% for getting firearms safety as a manditory class in high schools.

Be careful here...while I support the idea in general, we can' t forget that public schools are tightly in the grips of powerful liberal organizations (read teachers unions) and it' s very likely that a true " firearms safety class" would be quickly perverted into anti-gun curriculum. The type of gun safety class you and I envision just wouldn' t be accepted in most schools because the many teachers would refuse to teach a fair and unbiased class, and the administration and unions would back them up. I only wish that such a class were possible, but I fear it isn' t without having a fundamental change in the base politics of the teachers and school administration.

I' m also leery about school programs teaching what parents ought to be teaching, thereby usurping the role of parents in a childs moral and ethical upbringing. Programs like this also make many parents feel like they are " off the hook" for teaching things like this. How many parents don' t talk to their kids about drugs because they assume the schools will do it for them? Same goes for sex, drinking, smoking, guns, etc.... The fact is, for the last 15 years or so parents have been deferring to the schools, and look at the state of our kids and nation today. I think it' s time that parents get their crap together and start raising their kids rather than passing the buck to the schools that couldn' t lead a head a horse to water.

If parents did their part, taxpayer funded, liberally tainted safety programs wouldn' t be necessary. For instance, by the time I got to school I knew all about gun safety and handling because my dad cared enough to teach me (and my brother and sister) about guns so the school wouldn' t have to.

Mike

CalHunter · 09-21-2003, 11:42 AM

I' ve often thought even some type of gun safety course tought by licensed instructors (read pro-gun) would be a huge benefit.

Something else I' ve thought about is to have a hunting/fishing big brother/sister type program for those kids who don' t have any adult to teach and take them hunting and fishing. I bet something like that would make a huge difference, especially if the non-hunting/fishing parents were allowed to come along and learn with their children.

PABuck_HNTR · 09-21-2003, 12:24 PM

Driftrider you basically just proved my point with your whole post!

Cal, There are a few programs like that across the country that I' ve heard about here and there, but not nearly enough.

PABuck_HNTR · 09-21-2003, 12:27 PM

Strut, Thanks for being honest enough to say you didn' t want to give your time, I hope you will think about it. The hunter safety course will be my next class to complete after the basic pistol and basic rifle classes. Not enough of us are honest enough to say we are basically selfish with our time.

driftrider · 09-21-2003, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Driftrider you basically just proved my point with your whole post!

I know, and I never was trying to disagree with you or dispute any of your assertions. I just wish there was a way to get our message across without looking like a bunch of whiners or wackos. The problem with us voicing our cause and being heard is that conservative minded people tend to be more inclined to be polite and tactful and use logic and reason to prove our points. Most of us refuse to stoop to the level of the liberals who yell catchy and emotional, yet idiotic and irrelevant chants that the fence sitters remember in the morning. How do we, as individuals, get our point across without stooping to the level of our opponents? I honestly don' t have a " silver bullet" answer. Raising our kids to believe in the importance of fundamental liberty is a start. Organizations like the NRA, GOA, NSSF and others get our message out by providing a means of pooling our resources to buy the time in the spotlight and keep an eye on liberal politicians and organizations.

If we wanted take back the schools then we need to force a fundamental change in the political base of the schools like I said before. The problem with our public schools stems from the school boards that hire administrators and approve curriculums. The school board members are publically elected officials, but most of the time their campaigns run under the radar and the elections get little attention from the organizations that help us figure out who really stands for what. So what happens is that the school board officials are elected by soccer moms, the PTA and teachers unions. Every time we have a school board election it seems that by the time I find out about it the election is over and nobody really knows or says what the candidates platforms are. Most of the time political party isn' t even mentioned in school board elections to my knowledge. Maybe if organizations like the NRA would spend less money sending its members junk mail every month, they could focus on more local level politics and then we might have a chance at balancing out the bias that exists in local level politics.

(BTW, I' m NOT trying to say the NRA is a bad or worthless organization. Quite the contrary. But I just think that they could spend their money better and achieve greater results.)

Mike

stuckinthereeds · 09-21-2003, 10:01 PM

I don' t know if we really want to start " screaming" and " attacking" the anti' s. In my opinion attacking the ant' s is what have fulled them and our negative image. I would much rather have a sit down with whoever and first find out what has lead them into believing all this negative garbage on hunters and guns. Instead of getting in a fighting match and all that stuff, I start talking about ethics and the issues that " real hunters" face. I try to incorperate the message that any pridefull and ethichal hunter hates those who poach and give hunting the blackeye it already has. I know I have changed the opinion of a few.

However, I do agree we have to go on the offenisive. This is my sport I want to pass on to my children.

Strut, I too have thought about teaching a hunters ed class. Specifically bow hunting.

model722 · 09-22-2003, 11:47 AM

Well I know up here in NY if a person is going to become a hunter then the only way to do it is take a gun(hunter) safety coarse. I' m not sure if we should have it do anything with the school system. Schools are there for education not promote or demote different things. Some kids may love to hunt and go to the shooting range. Other kids may not like guns, and to force those kids into something like this would only make more anti' s when they get older. Maybe there could be something offered after school or on weekends, like a gun safety target shoot. To make it manditory would be like telling all boys they have to play football and all girls have to play soccer. I say offer the idea and find out how many would be interested, but don' t shove it down the schools throat. When I was in school we had a volunteer " bow class" it was kind of kool. Our coach did this on his own time he taught safety and helped people shoot better. I believe some parents got p***ed a few years back and stopped the program (not sure). After what as happened in the past few years, talking about guns in a school is a very touchy subject.