Baby's Gone A-Hunting
"Killed himself a bear when he was only three!"
Ballad of Davy Crockett
Right now Davy Crockett-wannabes in Wisconsin have to wait until they turn twelve to hunt bear, but a bill passed by the Wisconsin Assembly lowers the minimum age to eight (8!) as long as a parent is within armlength of the young hunter.
Actually I would not want to be within a mile of an 8-year old armed with a deadly weapon, but since my children are grown, the bill will not affect me directly.
Imagine an 8-year old boy you know, perhaps your son or grandson. Probably born in 1997 and in the third grade, he will wait five years to put on tfilin, eight years to drive, and ten years to vote. Now picture him holding a loaded rifle. Feel any safer yet?
When I was eight, my buddies and I played with toy guns. We would not dream of asking our parents for a real one. Times have changed, and not for the better. This bill may be another instance of adults foisting their own unwholesome interests on younger and younger children.
For example, today girls as young as five are participating in beauty contests, including swimsuit competition. A line of sexy lingerie intended for sub-teen girls was withdrawn from the market about a year ago only after vehement protests. Sex-education begins in grade school in some districts. An attempt to set a new record for the youngest pilot ended in tragedy in 1995 when the small plane crashed, killing the 7-year old pilot, her instructor and all others on board. With all these pressures to assume adult roles and responsibilities, the opportunity to " just be a kid" is disappearing.
Still, the most important reason to oppose this latest bill from the Republican cornucopia of crummy ideas is that hunting is a very dangerous sport. The recent shooting incident involving Vice President Dick Cheney shows that even mature and experienced hunters make mistakes that injure other people. The hunting field is no place for children, especially as young as eight.
Although those of us who keep kosher have no use for hunting (1), I have no problem with other adults doing it. Despite declining in popularity over the past 30 years, it is still a $21 billion per year business. For my part, if there are too many deer in Wisconsin, I would prefer to have them hunted by wolves. Unlike human hunters, wolves will eat deer the whole year (not just in a brief season), they don't miss work to do it, and they don't drink much beer while they're at it. In addition, wolves almost never harm humans, while every year plenty of people are shot accidently by hunters.
Our Wisconsin Legislature, which recently passed the Concealed Carry Bill (vetoed by Governor Doyle) , apparently wants to get guns in to the hands (and pockets) of more and more people. Perhaps the two bills could be combined into one that would allow anyone over eight years old to "pack heat" for hunting, self-defense and the safety of the public. This way playground disputes that now end in "Put 'em up!" would instead lead to "Draw, partner!"
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(1) The Medrash says that Esau (aka Asov) could perform a kosher slaughter of a deer with bow and arrow, but Jews have never considered him a good role-model.
(2) Heidi Prescott in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 19, 2006, page 3J.
Ballad of Davy Crockett
Right now Davy Crockett-wannabes in Wisconsin have to wait until they turn twelve to hunt bear, but a bill passed by the Wisconsin Assembly lowers the minimum age to eight (8!) as long as a parent is within armlength of the young hunter.
Actually I would not want to be within a mile of an 8-year old armed with a deadly weapon, but since my children are grown, the bill will not affect me directly.
Imagine an 8-year old boy you know, perhaps your son or grandson. Probably born in 1997 and in the third grade, he will wait five years to put on tfilin, eight years to drive, and ten years to vote. Now picture him holding a loaded rifle. Feel any safer yet?
When I was eight, my buddies and I played with toy guns. We would not dream of asking our parents for a real one. Times have changed, and not for the better. This bill may be another instance of adults foisting their own unwholesome interests on younger and younger children.
For example, today girls as young as five are participating in beauty contests, including swimsuit competition. A line of sexy lingerie intended for sub-teen girls was withdrawn from the market about a year ago only after vehement protests. Sex-education begins in grade school in some districts. An attempt to set a new record for the youngest pilot ended in tragedy in 1995 when the small plane crashed, killing the 7-year old pilot, her instructor and all others on board. With all these pressures to assume adult roles and responsibilities, the opportunity to " just be a kid" is disappearing.
Still, the most important reason to oppose this latest bill from the Republican cornucopia of crummy ideas is that hunting is a very dangerous sport. The recent shooting incident involving Vice President Dick Cheney shows that even mature and experienced hunters make mistakes that injure other people. The hunting field is no place for children, especially as young as eight.
Although those of us who keep kosher have no use for hunting (1), I have no problem with other adults doing it. Despite declining in popularity over the past 30 years, it is still a $21 billion per year business. For my part, if there are too many deer in Wisconsin, I would prefer to have them hunted by wolves. Unlike human hunters, wolves will eat deer the whole year (not just in a brief season), they don't miss work to do it, and they don't drink much beer while they're at it. In addition, wolves almost never harm humans, while every year plenty of people are shot accidently by hunters.
Our Wisconsin Legislature, which recently passed the Concealed Carry Bill (vetoed by Governor Doyle) , apparently wants to get guns in to the hands (and pockets) of more and more people. Perhaps the two bills could be combined into one that would allow anyone over eight years old to "pack heat" for hunting, self-defense and the safety of the public. This way playground disputes that now end in "Put 'em up!" would instead lead to "Draw, partner!"
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(1) The Medrash says that Esau (aka Asov) could perform a kosher slaughter of a deer with bow and arrow, but Jews have never considered him a good role-model.
(2) Heidi Prescott in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 19, 2006, page 3J.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 2:43 PM
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