[pigeonhunter]

my father hates hunting and guns and calls me up to tell me I'm an "animal murderer" . when I defend myself and hunting he says thats the same tired old argument.he thinks all hunters are druken ******** who will shoot anything that moves and when I say "thats just a very small percentage. all of the guys that I hunt with are law abiding, and almost all hunters are" he says " I know these people I've seen them on the news there ALL like that" and its ruined our realtionship just beacause he dosen't like that I hunt.
Is there anything else I can do to make him more tolerant of hunting?

 

[jlptexashunter]

pigeonhunter,
there is not much you can do to change his mind.
I don't know how religious you are but even if you aren't remember: Honor thy mother and father.

Do not let your recreation be the thing that keeps you and your father apart. If you're living in his house, keep it to yourself. If you're an adult then agree to disagree.

Maybe try getting him to shoot a little skeet or trap. If that doesn't work, don't push it.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/hunt ... 44,00.html

This link is to the one of the best articles I've read regarding why we hunt. Read it and maybe there are some words that will help you explain to your father why we hunt.

 

[pumper]

You might try what I did with my dad. I said either get over it or ignore it, because if you bring it up again that is the last you'll see of me.

 

[cordite]

sounds like the perfect opportunity to leave L.A.

 

[pigeonhunter]

my dad lives about 15 miles away...and he is the one who always brings it up. jlptexas, thanks for the article I've printed it and will send it to him tommorow. I hope it helps.

 

[MarlandS]

" I know these people I've seen them on the news there ALL like that"

Score one for the anti-hunting media, who does search out the biggest bubba they can find to interview.

Take his job or something he loves and find several news articles showing them at their worst , Pro sports? find several articles on players going to rehab. think a lot of fire ighters? Show him an article or two about fire fighters molesting children. Pro- union? show him articles on union leadership's corruption. you get the idea..

 

[b540glenn]

my dad lives about 15 miles away...and he is the one who always brings it up. jlptexas, thanks for the article I've printed it and will send it to him tommorow. I hope it helps.

If he insists on bringing it up reply with examples of ethical and helpful hunters. Look up Hunters for the Hungry and let him see what they do.

 

[McKie]

Unless your dad is a card carrying vegetarian, he might be out of line calling you an animal murderer. We who hunt do some of our own killing, and those who do not but still eat flesh hire others to do it for them.

 

[clayshooter25/25]

As long as you like it. Just don't let it screw up your relationship with your father just tell him that that's his opinion and you have an opinion too. By the way my father doesn't hunt or shoot ether but he doesn't stop me.

 

[whitey]

my father hates hunting and guns and calls me up to tell me I'm an "animal murderer" . when I defend myself and hunting he says thats the same tired old argument.he thinks all hunters are druken ******** who will shoot anything that moves and when I say "thats just a very small percentage. all of the guys that I hunt with are law abiding, and almost all hunters are" he says " I know these people I've seen them on the news there ALL like that" and its ruined our realtionship just beacause he dosen't like that I hunt.
Is there anything else I can do to make him more tolerant of h unting?

dear P.H. You will not be able to change your dad,s way of thinkingwithout some help .talk to him about some of the people that were important to him in the past and how they survived during hard times.See if he thinks that his relativeswould think the same way he does. or are they thankful for being ableto feed there family,s with wild meat when they couldn,t afford to buy food at the store. Any way you do this do it with respect .you can still hunt-fish without his blessing.but tell him it would be much more memerable if he would try and understand your views as you understand his ............******

 

[Guest]

As said earlier, you are not going to change his mind. Agree to disagree and that America is a great place in that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Tell him that he hurts you and your image of him by lumping you into the same mold as his image of hunters; he did a great job raising you and teaching you not to be a "drunken *******" but a decent human being instead. Also tell him that the bitterness and acrimony that this subject brings negatively impacts your relationship with him and it is a subject that best handled if neither brings it up again. If neither of you can refrain from mentioning your hunting again, the threat and follow through of cutting communication may be necessary. My folks and I went through this over religion, it took a few years to establish the ground rules but our relationship is better than it has been in a long time. I think I established my independence and they realized I wasn't their "little boy" any more and was going to make my own decisions. Best of luck to you.

 

[pigeonhunter]

thank you very very much. I will send him these posts and hope that it will make him more tolerant.

 

[stodgman]

I would suggest that you make sure your Dad understands that this is interferring with your relationship. MAKE SURE HE UNDERSTANDS THIS. I do not like everything my son does but I love him so I choose to talk to him MOSTLY about the things we share, not those we are at odds on. Ask him if it is WORTH putting enmity between the two of you. Ask him to drop the subject if you cannot find an understanding. He will make the smart choice because he loves you and has no interest in letting your interests kill that relationship.

 

[thebigdt]

I think you might need to look a little deeper. Is your dad that upset that you hunt? Or is he upset that other people have the same perception that he has. Is he afraid that people will look at you as a "Drunken *******" and then transfer that to how he raised you. I quess to simplify this, does he look at your hunting as a reflection on him? If thats the case, then you have a lot more work to do then just justifying hunting.

 

[Jeff23]

It's a tough one--lots of great advice here--I think that you can let him know that his words and actions are hurting you, that you feel you have a right to be listened to as well, and that you're not going to change your mind. Then tell him you love him, too

Jeff23

 

[Sweet16]

Don't show you Dad these posts. It will do 2 things.

1) make him feel that you are ganging up on him

2) alianate him as a father figure, since you went to strangers for advice.

Sometimes logic and deductive reasoning can come together through careful debate, to a peacful resolution. When its father and son, this is harder to accomplish. If you can talk to him without getting defensive or upset, and he can do the same then you may get somewhere. If discussion of the topic leads to argument, then you are just going backwards.

The hard thing is, thiers no easy answer. The best thing to do is to work with a specialist. If you have someone you trust like a school counsler, preferably someone your Dad respects. The key here is someone who can mediate the conversation and keep it on track, avoiding emotional ranting. Maybe you can talk to them about it and work on the relationship over time.

Best of luck.