The Most Effective Retorts to Antihunters…
[reprint of a post to talk.politics.animals]
As a rule, I think that nothing is going to change the mind of a committed antihunter. That’s not to say I won’t argue with them.
The most effective retort I’ve found is to ask the anti if they’ve read “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold; and if so, what they thought about the October chapter, and where they disagree with Leopold.
(BTW, if anybody reading this hasn’t read “Almanac,” you should. He’s called the “father of wildlife management” for a reason, and Almanac, for my money, is the finest piece of conservation writing around. I’ll admith that I’m biased — I grew up 10 miles downriver from Leopold’s shack on the Wisconsin River, and I work at UW-Madison, where he taught for 15 years).
If the anti hasn’t read Almanac, then I get to do some Leopold indoctrination.
— Bob Cooney Madison, Wisconsin rjcooney@facstaff.wisc.edu
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First find out: Is it worth it?
Actually, I think the most effective retort is to respond with questions of your own, with only one purpose in mind for the questioning: to find out if there’s any sense in continuing the discussion along these lines.
This kind of questioning requires the greatest restraint, but it’s great at stopping any argument by not letting it start.
I’ve only rarely pulled it off, but perhaps it would go like this:
Anti: “I can’t stand hunting. Killing animals is awful. Animals have rights, too, you know. It’s just violent. We don’t need to eat meat. Vegetarianism is so much more efficient and healthy, after all.”
Normal Person: “Have you recently in your life changed from holding any view favoring modern libertinism to move instead toward a view that emphasized some type of restraint or meshed with the views behind your local heritage? If so, maybe we should talk more about this, if not, why should be bother?”
kinda rough… how about…
Normal Person: “Have you ever changed your view based on a chat to go against your previous druthers? If not, why should I bother to talk about this with you? It will be pointless.”
…or…
Normal Person: “Do you have much actual experience in this area of life and culture? Would it likely matter to you if you did or didn’t?”
Something along these lines anyway. Otherwise, why waste the air?
