Hoosier Daddy
12-17-2000, 09:18 PM
Hey folks it's Christmas!! I just realized that a bunch of us are getting pretty focused on what we think of what other people say, and this starts with me. (Sorry WildHawg, D.Johnson too). I thought I'd type in this article I saw in the November Washington-Oregon Game&Fish. It was written by Pat Wray . Anyway, its kind of long so some of it I abbreviated, but here goes.
Walk a mile in my shoes:
May all anti-hunters be issued a rifle, ammunition, a knife and matches, and then be abandoned on a rabbit infested island for two weeks.
May all hunters spend two weeks as rabbits
May people opposed to trapping be made to raise sheep for a living, where they will learn about coyotes.
May trappers spend a day with an ankle caught in the jaws of a leghold trap.
May the proponents of wolf reintroductions raise cattle and horses on a back country ranch.
May ranchers who worry about wolves taking their livestock listen to the howling of a pack of wolves until they recognize each wolf as an individual.
May the hunters who fear that wolves will reduce the number of elk and deer they can kill be required to attend a course on ecosystem management and then write 100 times "not every issue is about me".
May all the people who have illegally transported and introduced non-native fish to the West in hopes of reproducing fisheries that were popular in their homes states take a dip in a stream in which a South American fish population, including piranha, has been replicated.
May people who insist that only native fish be allowed to exist be required to conduct population estimates of shad in the Columbia, smallmouths in the Umpqua, perch in the Snake, and sturgeon in the Sacramento. They should then be required to write a paper entitled "Lets be realistic".
May the people who want to stop mining on public land try to work their computers, telephones, televisions and VCR's without the metals taken from those mines.
May all miners be required to draw their family's drinking water from a spot 200 yards downstream of their mine site
May the people who think mountain lions should not be hunted live in a place where they are regularly seen around town, and learn how it feels to be afraid to let your children walk to the bus stop alone
May all the people who would exterminate lions be chased by dogs and brought to bay up a tree.
May the city people who complain about the low cost of grazing rights on public land be alotted the same number of vacation days per year most ranchers get. Let them get the same hourly wages too.
May all the ranchers who graze their cattle on public land be required to look up the definition of subsidy, and explain how theirs is different from other subsidies.
May all the people who believe Columbia River dams should be removed to benefit salmon be required to make a living raising crops in irrigation circles that are dependent on the reservoirs created by the dams
May all those who adamantly oppose the removal of dams no matter what the cost to salmon be physiologically changed so they can eat only Columbia River salmon.
May those people who support increased road construction in national forests spend their days as a bull elk trying to find sanctuary where there is none to be found.
May those who want to close roads in the national forest be confined to a wheelchair in one of our national forests.
May all ATV operators conduct a long nature hike on foot in an area unused by ATVs. Let them hear how the sound of a screaming engine fits in with bird calls, wildlife viewing, and communing with nature.
May opponents of ATVs and snowmobiles break a leg far into the back country and try to get back to civilization withouth mechanical help.
May the protestors who chain themselves to trees and take other drastic action to stop logging be required to live in homes made without any wood products.
May the loggers who believe that timber is nothing but a crop to be planted and cut be required to take part in monitoring studies of the spotted owl, the marbled murrelet, and various other small mammals.
May all vegetarians who believe eating meat is wrong be given the strength to function with reduced protein levels and the wisdom to leave other people to their own beliefs
May all meat eaters enjoy a few meatless meals each week, because you never know, they might be onto something
May all opponents of pesticides live in an area infested by blackflies, tsetse flies, and malaria bearing mosquitoes.
May all pesticide manufacturers be required to work in the fields in which their products are applied. And if their companies sell products that are illegal in the US in other countries, then they should have to live in those countries. And when they pass on, may they come back as ... on second thought, it's not necessary that those people come back at all.
Whew, long bugger, ain't it? But I like it, it goes on my office wall Monday morning. Merry Christmas.
Walk a mile in my shoes:
May all anti-hunters be issued a rifle, ammunition, a knife and matches, and then be abandoned on a rabbit infested island for two weeks.
May all hunters spend two weeks as rabbits
May people opposed to trapping be made to raise sheep for a living, where they will learn about coyotes.
May trappers spend a day with an ankle caught in the jaws of a leghold trap.
May the proponents of wolf reintroductions raise cattle and horses on a back country ranch.
May ranchers who worry about wolves taking their livestock listen to the howling of a pack of wolves until they recognize each wolf as an individual.
May the hunters who fear that wolves will reduce the number of elk and deer they can kill be required to attend a course on ecosystem management and then write 100 times "not every issue is about me".
May all the people who have illegally transported and introduced non-native fish to the West in hopes of reproducing fisheries that were popular in their homes states take a dip in a stream in which a South American fish population, including piranha, has been replicated.
May people who insist that only native fish be allowed to exist be required to conduct population estimates of shad in the Columbia, smallmouths in the Umpqua, perch in the Snake, and sturgeon in the Sacramento. They should then be required to write a paper entitled "Lets be realistic".
May the people who want to stop mining on public land try to work their computers, telephones, televisions and VCR's without the metals taken from those mines.
May all miners be required to draw their family's drinking water from a spot 200 yards downstream of their mine site
May the people who think mountain lions should not be hunted live in a place where they are regularly seen around town, and learn how it feels to be afraid to let your children walk to the bus stop alone
May all the people who would exterminate lions be chased by dogs and brought to bay up a tree.
May the city people who complain about the low cost of grazing rights on public land be alotted the same number of vacation days per year most ranchers get. Let them get the same hourly wages too.
May all the ranchers who graze their cattle on public land be required to look up the definition of subsidy, and explain how theirs is different from other subsidies.
May all the people who believe Columbia River dams should be removed to benefit salmon be required to make a living raising crops in irrigation circles that are dependent on the reservoirs created by the dams
May all those who adamantly oppose the removal of dams no matter what the cost to salmon be physiologically changed so they can eat only Columbia River salmon.
May those people who support increased road construction in national forests spend their days as a bull elk trying to find sanctuary where there is none to be found.
May those who want to close roads in the national forest be confined to a wheelchair in one of our national forests.
May all ATV operators conduct a long nature hike on foot in an area unused by ATVs. Let them hear how the sound of a screaming engine fits in with bird calls, wildlife viewing, and communing with nature.
May opponents of ATVs and snowmobiles break a leg far into the back country and try to get back to civilization withouth mechanical help.
May the protestors who chain themselves to trees and take other drastic action to stop logging be required to live in homes made without any wood products.
May the loggers who believe that timber is nothing but a crop to be planted and cut be required to take part in monitoring studies of the spotted owl, the marbled murrelet, and various other small mammals.
May all vegetarians who believe eating meat is wrong be given the strength to function with reduced protein levels and the wisdom to leave other people to their own beliefs
May all meat eaters enjoy a few meatless meals each week, because you never know, they might be onto something
May all opponents of pesticides live in an area infested by blackflies, tsetse flies, and malaria bearing mosquitoes.
May all pesticide manufacturers be required to work in the fields in which their products are applied. And if their companies sell products that are illegal in the US in other countries, then they should have to live in those countries. And when they pass on, may they come back as ... on second thought, it's not necessary that those people come back at all.
Whew, long bugger, ain't it? But I like it, it goes on my office wall Monday morning. Merry Christmas.