In Colorado, the general response to trying to speak scientific data and real life implications into these conversations (wolves first and now mountain lions) has been one of widespread disregard from those in the urban areas and among younger adults. Brent, your students may have been open to new information and positions counter to the ones that they already held (and I hope that that was the case) but my experience here has not been that. A recent lengthy correspondence with a newly minted BA (in May) ended with her disgusted and dismissive rant rather than any conversation or consideration of aspects that challenged the positions she’d been indoctrinated with. I will continue to talk to fellow Coloradans who hold different positions than I do regarding hunting but I think there is probably a more receptive demographic.
Yesterday I read that there are more than 10 million hunters and gun owners in our country who are not registered to vote. That is shocking to me. An example given was Georgia. In the last presidential election the state was decided by 11,779 votes. Georgia has 350,897 unregistered hunters and gun owners.
When hunters and gun owners across America were asked why they weren’t registered to vote, “… the theme was clear: defeated, apathetic conservative voters across the U.S. believe that elections are rigged, that their votes don’t count, and that voting doesn’t make a difference.”
I’d say we have some work to do and it would seem to me that its in fields that are ripe for harvest.
