Re: RC: Re: Tree-hugger

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

But Howard, I'm not like most all of those points of definition you cite
- yet I still consider myself a tree hugger.  Do all people who care
about other things than people have to be so stereotypically the
same?  

1)  I don't have kids and I do prefer most critters to people. 
Critters generally have better manners, don't figure that life owes them
everything, and often smell better than people.
2)  I do eat meat  (but eeewww, not sheep) & I like my beef
rare, thank you very much
3)  Don't hunt but would if I needed to
4)  Don't eat soyburgers but do eat tofu sometimes and I like the
stuff.  But then I like most all food.  
5)  Of course I don't want to see trees killed by tie lines when
it's so easy to avoid damaging the trees with other methods of keeping
horses confined/restrained
6)  I do get upset when I see man made (read Forestry Dept.) forest
fires, but that's because they do the burning here in the fall - which
makes no sense to me.  If they want to burn out the brush for
wildfire control purposes, why not wait till spring (like the plains
tribes used to do) just before the green grass comes in.  Nooooo -
they burn here in the fall so there's no forage at all for the game
animals over winter.  Go figure.
7)  I love to hike & finds that cattle path ruts are way easier
to walk over than cross country.  Hard to tell sometimes a cow print
from a horse hoof print from an elk print, but they all use the same
paths.  Never have come across a beer can tossed aside on any trail
that didn't also have either human foot prints or ATV tracks. 
Hmmm.  Coincidence?  You be the judge.
8)  Got me with the beer.  I don't like American beers - too
many additives that not only aren't good for you but - and get this - the
stuff tastes like pisswater with a bad aftertaste.  Now Japanese
beer....  Mexican beer..... that's another story.

So I say it still - I'm a tree hugger.  I'd prefer more trees over
more people.  And more spotted owls too.  Seems to me there's
plenty enough people on this planet.  Maybe people who don't like
tree huggers could kind of clue me in as to what I'm missing by thinking
that a few less people might actually be an improvement.

> I'd come up with two more, but these people
> bore me.  Stay away from then 
> whenever possible.  The bottom line is they prefer that tree over
> there to 
> your horse.  And they don't own one and think riders are rude. 
> Hard core 
> "save the Owls" type. 


Some tree huggers own & love horses, don't think riders are rude, and
don't see what the big deal is with the idea that progress shouldn't have
to mean trashing the world. Heck, I like my computer, I like my car, I
like the benefits of civilization, I just like the other options, too -
you know, the open spaces, the forests, the wildlife, the clean water,
the good smelling air.  Hmmm - I thought all endurance riders liked
that stuff.  But wait!  I thought endurance riders are supposed
to be against tree huggers.  Gee - I'm confused.

It's not really all that simple, is it.   Lif

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