A little off topic BUT A few years back when that "Occupy wall street " stuff was going on I heard that Patagonia was outfitting some people there so I called Patagonia and asked about this. The Patagonia rep responded by saying something along the line of "We do not give gear or free outfitting to this cause BUT we do encourage our employees to be activists". Activists for what cause I'm not sure and we didnt get into that. I own and use ALOT of patagonia clothing and must say its good stuff that I trust but the whole "Activist" type of people that I know are not in line with my ideals or beliefs . Just wanted to share .
Yeah, there's the image of a stinky activist, attending a rally, possibly armed with an Obama-issue cell phone and food stamps. What bothers me the most about the typical activist is the fact he has the time to hold a sign for days on end.
On the other hand, I wish I had more time. When I signed up for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers a few years ago I viewed it as a form of activism. When I backpacked into three local wilderness study areas earlier this year and wrote a series of blog articles detailing why those places should be preserved permanently as wilderness, for hunting, hiking, or just getting away from it all briefly, I viewed it as a form of activism.
Wish I had time to do more. Smart people are doing some really good things, and of course there are people doing things that you disagree with.
If you're not doing SOMETHING to help the cause, whatever that means to you, then you're part of the greater flock of sheep. What I notice about hunters, more than other groups, is that we are collectively very conservative. So most of us would rather complain on an Internet forum than actually do something positive.
Get off the couch and do something. I did with my blog articles, writing in favor of public land and wilderness from the perspective of a hunter. Small as it was, I got some nice feedback and might have made a small dent somewhere.
Eric
