Why do people on questionland get so pissed about hunting and fishing and cutting down trees? for Questionland Seattle

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Why do people on questionland get so pissed about hunting and fishing and cutting down trees?

I've noticed that whenever I answer a question related to nature, it generates a lot of thumbs down from urban environmentalist hipsters who believe that nature is there to be seen and not touched.

I still kill things and eat them. I still cut down trees and burn them to stay warm.

This city used to be full of people like me. Now we're outcasts. Is there still a place in Seattle for those of us who aren't afraid to kill our own dinner and think it's perfectly reasonable to have a shotgun in the house and a chainsaw in the toolshed?

soundslikepuget asked in Other - QL FAQ about 1 year ago | Report

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Sphinx

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I think that people who hunt and fish and cut down trees in order to sustain themselves* are probably living a more environmentally sound lifestyle than people who eat meals mostly bought at the supermarket or restaurants, even those who are eating vegan or vegetarian meals bought in those places. And as for everybody else, my experience is that someone who is actually providing himself (or a whole family) with meat is eating a lot less of it than the average city omnivore. As long as you are actually using what you're taking from the natural world and not just killing stuff for the hell of it and practicing sustainable hunting/harvesting, I say go for it. (Of course, I spent the first six years of my life in a cabin without running water or electricity in the woods of North Idaho, making almost no environmental footprint whatsoever, so I *could* be an idiot who knows nothing about ethics in the modern world.)

*All comments null and void if you live in the city with no garden, drive a huge SUV to work and Starbucks, take 4-wheelers into the national forest, and are into hunting and cutting down trees because it makes you feel more capable/manly than everybody else.

Sphinx answered in Other - QL FAQ about 1 year ago | Report

2 comments by keshmeshi and Sphinx…

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I think the sustainability of that lifestyle depends on a number of factors. Your family's lifestyle was probably quite green and sustainable. The overwhelming majority of people who live in Alaska, however, more likely are killing the planet faster than the average city dweller. Living in an isolated place means that you have to drive everywhere, and extremely isolated communities in Alaska can only be accessed by plane. That's definitely not environmentally friendly.

Buying food from supermarkets can have a relatively low carbon footprint, assuming you didn't drive a gas-guzzling SUV 20 miles to get there.

keshmeshi commented about 1 year ago | Report

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I completely agree- the lifestyle of "I like to hunt on the weekends and cut down trees because it's fun and I still utilize all of life-destroying technology of the modern era" is pretty questionable in my view. There is a continuum from doing everything you can to avoid destroying the world that you genuinely love to just exploiting the world more personally than everybody else. Hence, my disclaimer. And I surely do agree, Keshmeshi, that it is possible to live in a city and live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

Sphinx commented about 1 year ago | Report

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infernactual

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Short answer: culture clash. liberals make a whole bunch of assumptions about what you (might) mean when you use the words hunting and hacking.

Long answer:

Let's take them one at a time:

1. Hunting

Probably not a bad thing if you know what you are doing and you are doing it for food rather than sport. I think some of use associate it with Cheney and Bambi killers. So it may get a general frown in the absence of specifics. I don't think what you describe would be thumbed down, except... that it involves having a...

2. Gun

The image of someone having a gun anywhere is not something that most of us liberal types feel too good about. A gun used for one purpose can easily be (mis)applied for another either intentionally or accidentally.

3. Tree Killing

This is a tough one because while it may not be a bad alternative to fossil fuels we are all too familiar with the fact that this area used to be all lush old growth forest and now... well it's been clear cut endlessly. So cutting down trees in a sustainable fashion would only get you kudos, but in the absence of the details, it's assumed you are going out and exercising your freedom to denude the world of what greenery remains.

infernactual answered in Other - QL FAQ about 1 year ago | Report

1 comment by Rev.Enant…

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You're not alone, we're out there. Just move out of the city and into the mountains or some other place rural, I guarantee you'll have a LOT more luck finding a hunting partner. Or move east of the mountains. I'll admit I'm a liberal Seattleite through and through, but even I'm embarrassed by it now. Everything in moderation, including hunting, fishing, and environmental fascism.

Cascadia answered in Other - QL FAQ about 1 year ago | Report

1 comment by soundslikepuget…

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Because we like fish and animals and trees. We don't like to see them murdered!

jasper answered in Other - QL FAQ about 1 year ago | Report

1 comment by soundslikepuget…

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So, what do you recommend that I do?

Use electricity to heat my home? You know where that comes from around here? Dams. You know what dams do? Kill fish.

How about some alternatives - gas? oil? coal? All real sterling environmental options... not.

I understand that you like trees, and fish, and animals. So do I. I want them to be around forever, so I can burn them to stay warm, and eat them. And because of that, I'm one of the most dedicated environmentalists you'll ever meet. I want to save Puget Sound so I can keep getting my food from it. I want to save the Northwest forests so I can keep using them to heat my home.

That's sustainability.

soundslikepuget commented about 1 year ago | Report

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