MF/Crazed/Trust: This isn't "leftist spin". Does everything have to be about politics? I asked a simple question, and in response, all I've read are irrelevant rationalisations and some thoughtless jabs at a political ideology. Bringing in politics is particularly disturbing, since it verifies how I understand your thought processes; you have been conditioned to politicize everything. Rather than carefully considering each individual situation as it presents itself, you bind yourself to a group of people, and when you identify an opinion or argument as one that could be out of line with what the group beliefs, then your mind switches into attacking that belief, until it goes away. You don't think and then react, you react and then, at best, justify your reaction. You are not interested in learning from an argument, or even close to entertaining the idea that the other side could be making a good point -- you are instead mostly interested in stamping out the unorthodox belief by whatever means seems effective. This is mostly directed at Trust (not so much at Myndfyre), since Trust explicitly tried to politicize the argument -- so the discussion could just shift to lefties vs. righties -- and of anyone here, he is least likely to think about what the other person is saying and change his opinion, even if what he says can be shown to be as close to as objectively wrong as is practically possible.
Now, Crazed, you did not fully read or understand the points I made. I said most hunting parallels actions you would deem someone mentally sick for enjoying. I didn't say it was an action you deem someone mentally sick for enjoying. If you felt poorly about taking the lives of these animals, and somehow felt a reward, or whatever else, justified what you were doing, you would not refer to it as "fun", but as a duty. It's not as though you'd go out and pick trash off the road for fun. (I do not think a reward or calling the animal a pest justifies its death, but that is a different argument).
Why do people enjoy hunting? Think about it. It's the uncertainty and excitement derived from stalking and killing an animal. It's a game. And of course the animal is terrorized in this process, how could it not be? It runs for its life and you shoot with a gun. If this weren't the case, it wouldn't be referred to as a "game", and you wouldn't enjoy it. What does it parallel? Rape is an example. People commit rape because they enjoy the adrenaline and power they get from the situation. Why is rape considered wrong? Because you are emotionally damaging someone. How about hitting a child?
Hunting appeals to your baser instincts. They are natural instincts, but just because something is natural does not imply that it is moral, or even in the long term best interests of society. Rape, murder, and everything else that people do, however unusual or morally questionable, is what they were designed to do, and so nothing is justified solely on the basis of being "natural".
I don't know why I bother though. I've probably written too much for people to likely read and understand. There's enough text here that my questions will be ignored, or forgotten, and the argument can be redirected. I'm sure someone will misunderstand something, and disagree with what he misunderstands, or some additional and irrelevant rationlisations will be introduced. Or there just won't be any intelligent response, just something short like "It's ok to do what I'm doing". If I could save one coyote, I think this thread would have been worthwhile. But I am a misanthrope; I've lost faith in most people's willingless to learn and change. People are mostly interested in winning, or doing whatever feels good in the moment without having to think about it too much.
What is it that's fun about hunting?
