Bang! Bang!
The cool, crisp scent of burning turkey means it's that special time of the year: 
Man Hunting Season. Whoops! My bad. I meant to say Deer Hunting Season. But the death of six people by the hands of an irate hunter in Wisconsin is just the most recent entry in the story of Hunters and the Humans Who Get In Their Way.
Unfortunately, we are better at making more hunters than we are at making more hunting land. Fewer and fewer land owners are amenable to having drunken strangers with semiautomatic weapons stumbling around, leaving their litter. And Mr. Vang didn't help matters by killing all those people. No doubt there will be a lot more "No Tresspassing" signs going up as a result. This report on the shortage of happy hunting grounds in Wisconsin and Minnesota closes with the heart warming story of two groups of hunters that actually awoke the land owner at 6 am to settle a dispute about hunting rights. Having people banging on my door at the crack of dawn, I can't imagine anything less enchanting-- except maybe finding my cow dead.
Lest you think that the land owners should be protected from trespassers waving big guns around, this op-ed piece is about how the dear little hunters are being mistreated by the big, bad "aggressive" landowners. The writer's point is somewhat dulled by his opening anecdote however: the story of Karen Wood who was killed in her own backyard while hanging up the laundry. The killer-- excuse me, hunter-- was acquitted. Everybody knows it is a social faux pas to wear white gloves after labor day.
His next story doesn't help his case any better as it ends with the landowner being beaten by the hunter. The landowner's crime? He broke into the hunter's jeep which was parked too close to his home and honked the horn. The writer says that he should have tracked the hunting group down. Call me crazy, but I prefer not to go into the woods where I know people with guns are waiting for something to move. I guess we should be grateful that in this case the landowner got off with a beating.
Of course the vast majority of hunting accidents are hunters shooting themselves and other hunters. Last year the human tally at the end of the deer hunting season for the state of Wisconsin was only 2 dead and 13 wounded and both deaths were hunters killed by other hunters. This year the tally starts at six fatalities and can only go up. As more people take up hunting and fewer landowners allow hunting on their property, there will be more armed people meeting in the woods.
I know hunting is a huge industry and beloved by millions, but maybe there should be some limits. Fewer licences granted, vision tests required, more safty classes. Every sport has its "bad apples": skiiers that ski out of bounds, fishermen who clean their catch on picnic tables, backpackers who leave their trash behind, but name another sport which requires a deadly weapon. Other than NASCAR, I mean
I take these stories personally because I have a loved one who does a lot of mountain biking in the woods at this time of year and a dog who happens to look like a feral pig
So please, let's all be very careful out there, especially you--the one with the gun in your hands.
Man Hunting Season. Whoops! My bad. I meant to say Deer Hunting Season. But the death of six people by the hands of an irate hunter in Wisconsin is just the most recent entry in the story of Hunters and the Humans Who Get In Their Way.
Unfortunately, we are better at making more hunters than we are at making more hunting land. Fewer and fewer land owners are amenable to having drunken strangers with semiautomatic weapons stumbling around, leaving their litter. And Mr. Vang didn't help matters by killing all those people. No doubt there will be a lot more "No Tresspassing" signs going up as a result. This report on the shortage of happy hunting grounds in Wisconsin and Minnesota closes with the heart warming story of two groups of hunters that actually awoke the land owner at 6 am to settle a dispute about hunting rights. Having people banging on my door at the crack of dawn, I can't imagine anything less enchanting-- except maybe finding my cow dead.
Lest you think that the land owners should be protected from trespassers waving big guns around, this op-ed piece is about how the dear little hunters are being mistreated by the big, bad "aggressive" landowners. The writer's point is somewhat dulled by his opening anecdote however: the story of Karen Wood who was killed in her own backyard while hanging up the laundry. The killer-- excuse me, hunter-- was acquitted. Everybody knows it is a social faux pas to wear white gloves after labor day.
His next story doesn't help his case any better as it ends with the landowner being beaten by the hunter. The landowner's crime? He broke into the hunter's jeep which was parked too close to his home and honked the horn. The writer says that he should have tracked the hunting group down. Call me crazy, but I prefer not to go into the woods where I know people with guns are waiting for something to move. I guess we should be grateful that in this case the landowner got off with a beating.
Of course the vast majority of hunting accidents are hunters shooting themselves and other hunters. Last year the human tally at the end of the deer hunting season for the state of Wisconsin was only 2 dead and 13 wounded and both deaths were hunters killed by other hunters. This year the tally starts at six fatalities and can only go up. As more people take up hunting and fewer landowners allow hunting on their property, there will be more armed people meeting in the woods.
I know hunting is a huge industry and beloved by millions, but maybe there should be some limits. Fewer licences granted, vision tests required, more safty classes. Every sport has its "bad apples": skiiers that ski out of bounds, fishermen who clean their catch on picnic tables, backpackers who leave their trash behind, but name another sport which requires a deadly weapon. Other than NASCAR, I mean
I take these stories personally because I have a loved one who does a lot of mountain biking in the woods at this time of year and a dog who happens to look like a feral pig
So please, let's all be very careful out there, especially you--the one with the gun in your hands.
1 Comments:
You have 2 new readers my handsome self Frank S. and my exquisitely beautiful wife Ava G. Your insight into the world around us is most....refreshing. Being cut of the same cloth but without the ability to voice our disdain with the cretins that surround us in such an amusing manner, we find your point of view quite entertaining.
Thank you for giving us some entertainment on our Friday night bottle of Merlot.
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