The passion, the anger, and the frustration exhibited by hunters (and ranchers ) is not so much about wolf predation itself. It’s really about control. For decades hunters and ranchers have enjoyed a predator free environment. Hunters have always been the ones who controlled wildlife and state wildlife agencies. The outrage expressed by many hunters and ranchers is a reaction to what is perceived as the audacity of other people in society to assume, much less assert, they should have a voice in wildlife management issues. For decades hunters have considered elk and deer their “property”. You can see this attitude displayed in their angry comments. “We paid for managing wildlife and by gosh, we are the only ones who should have a say in how all wildlife is managed.” The overriding attitude is one of possession. Wolves are killing “our” elk and deer. The deer and elk by all rights exist for us. The debate over wolf management challenges those assumptions. Just as judges who ordered an end to segregation in the South, shaking up and eventually tumbling a hundred years of racism, hunters (and ranchers) are fearful they are losing their control over wildlife. That’s the context which the wolf debate is framed, and if one doesn’t understand this, the passion, anger, and outrage doesn’t make sense...
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Comparing Farmers, Ranchers, Hunters and the like to the Segregationists of the Old South is over the top, and ought to be met with a chuckle. Rational discourse it is not. At least he kept clear of Hitler.
Am I supposed to be shocked that the urban youth has the same bigoted views of rural folks that their parents passed down, by the way? If the author thinks this is foreboding, or even interesting, the man needs to get a life.
Is Rural America fearful of losing control? Quite frankly, many of us are painfully aware of the fact that we have long since lost control over not only much of public lands policy, but that which pretains to our private resources as well.
If this "debate" is so settled, why is this constant stream of articles and columns out there reinforcing the supposedly long since decided outcome? Do they just have nothing better to do? What are these people so scared of? If these people are so bothered by the presence of a differing opinion, it seems to me that it says much about this supposedly tolerant, enlightened crowd, and nothing particularly good.
We can all see the results of having people with limited knowledge, but strength in numbers, dictating policy all across this country, not just in Rural America. We see it in crumbling infrastructure, uncontrollable forest fires, ledger books that don't balance, laws that are impossible to keep without breaking another law, precious water being wasted on dirt piles and lawns in the desert, and the like. If all this falls under the heading of "progress," I am proud to stand against it. I see no reason to cave in to a bunch of clowns who think food comes from the supermarket, heat from the furnace, and freedom from politicians.
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