Another Offensive Billboard

Seen along I-69 – “Never trust a man who does not hunt.”

As a non-hunter who also opposes the ownership of handguns and assault weapons, I found this billboard advertising a gun store to be extremely offensive in several ways. First, I have no qualms with others who enjoy hunting, but calling those of us who do not hunt untrustworthy crosses the line. I enjoy fishing, so does that constitute hunting or trustworthiness? I have enjoyed trap and skeet shooting in the past, so does that make me trustworthy?

Second, it attributes this quote to Teddy Roosevelt by having his picture on the billboard. To date, an in-depth search of the Internet has found no such quote being said by him. In fact, President Teddy Roosevelt was quoted as saying the following, “A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”

Third, the billboard insinuates that only men hunt, which is flat-out wrong and seems extremely short-sighted from a marketing standpoint. I personally believe that America has some serious societal issues with guns and the “gun culture.” There are way too many of guns available, they are way too accessible, and the technology has gone way beyond what is necessary to hunt or defend oneself. Frankly, the idea of amateur-commandos running around the countryside is rather frightening.

The fact that the United States exports guns like they were toys is also troubling to me. Many reports I have seen/read link the source of the weaponry used in the drug violence in Mexico right back to the USA. There is a way of reducing the trade deficit that we can all be proud of.

An old adage says, “a capitalist is one who will sell their executioner the rope used to hang them.” Well, it appears due to our indifference to the correlation between gun availability and gun crime, it can also be said a capitalist will also sell criminals the guns used to rob, shoot, hurt, maim, and kill them.

Personally, I trust non-hunters more than those who do hunt, because they have rejected the brainwashing and spin of the NRA and others who promote gun ownership like it is biblical prophecy. Sorry gun advocates, the good book says “thou shall not kill,” so you are going to have to find another way of rationalizing your actions. Oh, by the way, you might want to work on that character thing too.

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Don’t use your cell phone while driving

This is one of those things that should go without saying, but unfortunately it doesn’t. Talking or texting on your cell phone while driving dramatically increases your chances of being in an accident. Not only are you putting your own life at risk, you are risking the lives of people in the cars around you and of pedestrians and bicyclists.

The mini-documentary below includes testimony from a young man who killed a bicyclist because he was paying more attention to his phone than the road. There is no way to atone for that. There’s no way to make it better for that bicyclist or his family.

As someone who has lost a loved one in a car accident, let me assure you: It’s just not worth it. Sending a one- or two-word text is not worth losing your life and putting your family through so much pain and heartache. So if you’re having trouble resisting, turn your phone off and put it out of reach while you’re in the car to remove temptation.

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The fight for an open Internet

Net neutrality is an important issue that hasn’t been covered much in the media this year. Part of that is probably because it’s a little hard to explain. Basically, if you like the way you use the Internet now–paying a flat monthly fee to access all the content you want–you’re in favor of net neutrality. But big companies like AT&T, Verizon and Google want to charge you based on what you use and how you use it–for example, if you access the web from your cell phone, you’d be charged differently than if you access it from a computer.

This graphic elegantly and simply lays out the problem: The Open Internet: A Case for Net Neutrality. What’s next for the FCC and net neutrality? provides a good overview of the FCC’s decision and what could happen in Congress as a result. Educate yourself and let the FCC know you’re not happy with the weak protections that were recently approved.

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