Dear HCN,
Thanks for providing an
open and honest forum so that we can discuss the myriad issues,
such as hunting, that affect the West. In recent issues I’ve read
Stephen Gies’ whiny diatribe about the “macabre act of hunting” and
Marc Gaede’s bizarre but hilarious evaluation of the human male. I
fit their stereotype. I am a former college football player (seeker
of violence), Army officer (testosterone-induced war monger), and
currently teach social science and coach football at South Medford
High School (preaching competition during
peacetime).
I have hunted, fished and backpacked
for over 25 years. I did not attend a prestigious institution such
as the Art Center College of Design, but I have educated myself
about wilderness, wildlife and solitude without the aid of a global
positioning system or snowmobile.
Hunters
certainly can improve. We should never attempt to defend unethical
practices such as baiting, salting, using dogs to tree cougars and
bears for certain execution, or hunting for trophies. As hunters,
we must always speak out against ignorance or we will lose our
hunting privileges. We won’t lose our privileges because of men
like Stephen Gies or Marc Gaede. If we lose the privilege to hunt,
we’ll lose because of slob hunters and loss of
habitat.
Mr. Gies ripped David Petersen’s book,
but probably didn’t get any further than your review. Living in the
wild canyons of Pasadena, Mr. Gaede did not do much better. Nature
writers such as Rick Bass, Ted Kerasote and Petersen are among the
best conservationists that our nation has produced. They hunt, but
they also defend wild country and wildlife with passion. Hunters
have lots of room for improvement, but we have done more for the
protection of wild country and wildlife – while taking
responsibility for providing a portion of our own food – than the
great majority of citizens in this country. Unfortunately, Gies and
Gaede will never believe that. How open-minded are they? Not enough
to get beyond the blood!
Mike
Beagle
Eagle Point,
Oregon
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Stereotyping hunters is easy.
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