I wrote some comments a while back, and, at the time, I believed I was just stating facts on a particular hunting topic. A longtime friend of mine read those comments and called me out on them. At first, I was pretty defensive, standing my ground, arguing my side, and not really listening to his perspective (as we humans quite often do in such situations). After going back and forth at each other for a while, we decided to take a day or two to cool down and talk about it later, hopefully with cooler heads. As I reread what I had written earlier, still slightly worked up, I struggled to understand what he was upset about, so I took a walk to clear my head and get a different perspective on the situation.
I consider myself a pretty reasonable person, so I laced up my friend’s boots and really looked at it from his point of view. After reading it again through my friend’s eyes and trying to put myself in his place, I could see for the first time why he thought some of my comments were directed negatively towards him. By no means did I intend to come across as attacking my friend or his line of work with the words that I wrote, and I believe he knows I would be the first one in line fighting for him and his way of life if push came to shove. Sometimes, we simply get caught up in the moment and don’t think about the people we might affect, even if no harm was intended.
This situation has made me reflect on how polarized and opinionated the hunting world has become. Anymore, it’s like today’s national politics; you are either all in for something or all in against it—there is no middle ground. And, instead of having a conversation (which can quite often be uncomfortable) about things we disagree on or don’t completely understand, we have a tendency as hunters to grow angry and degrade or lash out at each other because we do or look at things a little differently.
Our hunting community has become very divided, with hunters attacking other hunters because of the weapon they choose to hunt with, the technique they use, the kinds of clothes they wear, or the size of animal they choose to harvest. What difference does it make? As long as they are doing it legally and enjoying themselves, we should be happy for our fellow sportsmen—or, at a minimum, refrain from being negative towards them.
There seems to be never-ending ridicule, especially on social media. When was the last time you saw a social media post about hunting that someone didn’t leave a negative comment on? Unfortunately, they are few and far between anymore. Don’t get me wrong with this rant of mine; I believe the vast majority of the hunting community is made up of great people that truly care about one another and want to enjoy the greatest activity man has ever known. However, if we are going to pass the one-of-a-kind tradition that is hunting on to the next generation, we are going to have to figure out how to come together. I’m not saying we must agree on everything—because that is not realistic—but we do need to stop the belittling and start respecting each other as humans and hunters. We have enough working against us between all the anti-hunting groups and certain politicians trying to sell our public lands; we can’t afford to be fighting amongst ourselves.
I would ask everyone who reads this to take a minute and really think about what hunting means to them. Is it about the time spent with family and friends, the pursuit of some of God’s greatest creatures, the ability to put meat on the table for your family, or simply the opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life? When you know that answer, whatever it may be, think of your fellow hunters. Odds are, they hunt for some of the same reasons as you.
I believe we all share the common goal of enjoying the great outdoors, regardless of the way or style we go about it. Let’s all try to treat one another with a little more kindness, compassion, and understanding, because you never know what someone may be going through. If we all try a little harder to be kind to our fellow hunters, maybe even throw out a compliment on occasion or refrain from being negative, we might just get this hunting thing back on a positive note for the next generation.
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