Hunters of Color podcast

[Addicting]

Hmong people that hunt the woods I like to frequent and they have been maligned by more people than I can count. I've never witnessed them breaking any game laws or even inconsiderate and yet to hear some of these mouth-breathers they're the poachingest, nastiest people on the planet.

Meateater did a podcast on this. It was very interesting and very evident there was racial/cultural issues that need to be resolved in the mouth breathers.

 

[np307]

Meateater did a podcast on this. It was very interesting and very evident there was racial/cultural issues that need to be resolved in the mouth breathers.

I must've missed that one. I'll have to go back and listen.

 

[longbow51]

As far as "pulling up bootstraps", my wife lived in West Virginia for much of her childhood. There were kids in her classes who came to school in the winter with their feet wrapped in newspaper and bread bags. And painted their feet with shoe polish in warmer weather so it would look like they had shoes. All white kids.

 

[Hammsolo]

As far as "pulling up bootstraps", my wife lived in West Virginia for much of her childhood. There were kids in her classes who came to school in the winter with their feet wrapped in newspaper and bread bags. And painted their feet with shoe polish in warmer weather so it would look like they had shoes. All white kids.

I have friends that happen to be white that grew up doing similar. That’s awesome your wife pulled up her boots, and I hope those kids did too. Poverty sucks.

I hope you don’t think I was trying to say that one can’t overcome certain challenges, or that all white kids have it easy. I live in Spokane, Washinton and teach in predominantly “white” district. Therefore most of the poverty stricken families I deal with are white. I have colleagues that teach in Washington’s poorest community that happens to be in the Hillyard area of Spokane. It is by far our most diverse area.

I attached a couple of studies below. The data says that in terms of race the highest percentage of poverty stricken families are black (18.8%). White and Asian have the lowest level of poverty at 7.3%. This cycle will continue due to student dropout; 9 out of 10 students that have never been poor graduate high school. Sadly, 3 out of 4 ever poor students will drop out.

The good news is that poverty continues to drop for all in the US! Life is damn hard for all, but this is a great sign.



Census Data
Child poverty Adult Success Study

 

[Oak]

Related story that came across my feed today.

Hate Speech on the Bitterroot

 

[EKYHunter]

I’ve never understood how anyone can think that they’re better than someone else. Period. To think that way because of race is even more asinine to me. I liked that article referenced in the post above. But the writer made me scratch my head when he talked about inalienable rights but left out “endowed by their creator.” You always mess up when you leave out the Creator.

 

[Hammsolo]

Related story that came across my feed today.

Hate Speech on the Bitterroot

Wow, what a story. Thank you for sharing it. It reminds me to be aware, and of the Johari Window I learned about back in college. What do I know? What do others know?

 

[longbow51]

I have friends that happen to be white that grew up doing similar. That’s awesome your wife pulled up her boots, and I hope those kids did too. Poverty sucks.

I hope you don’t think I was trying to say that one can’t overcome certain challenges, or that all white kids have it easy. I live in Spokane, Washinton and teach in predominantly “white” district. Therefore most of the poverty stricken families I deal with are white. I have colleagues that teach in Washington’s poorest community that happens to be in the Hillyard area of Spokane. It is by far our most diverse area.

I attached a couple of studies below. The data says that in terms of race the highest percentage of poverty stricken families are black (18.8%). White and Asian have the lowest level of poverty at 7.3%. This cycle will continue due to student dropout; 9 out of 10 students that have never been poor graduate high school. Sadly, 3 out of 4 ever poor students will drop out.

The good news is that poverty continues to drop for all in the US! Life is damn hard for all, but this is a great sign.



Census Data
Child poverty Adult Success Study

Thanks for the stats. Just so I don't get in trouble, my wife's father was a PhD Chemical Engineer, so she had shoes

 

[noharleyyet]

Related story that came across my feed today.

Hate Speech on the Bitterroot

Mr. Fong has some storytelling and outdoorsman chops.

 

[Europe]

This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart.

In the 1940.s a Navajo girl and I were friends. She stayed with me and my family on the ranch and I stayed with her and her family on the reservation .

But when we went to town, I would hear, "she is not allowed in here", so we would both leave. What made this even more ridiculous to me is her brother was a World War II, Navajo Code Talker, but his younger sister was not allowed into a restaurant in Arizona.

It makes no sense to me, but it still exists ( racism ) today, in Arizona and that is one of the things mentioned in the article OAK posted for us that I want to address. The gentleman in the story said he wondered if he would ever think of Montana as his home again. I do and will always think of Arizona as my home, and I love her, it is some of the people in the state that I have a problem with---

There has also been lighter sides to the differences in "us"--our culture, heritage, race. I was never a professional dancer but always loved music and dance. We were in a nightclub in San Diego with friends one night and one of the men at our table, who was a young black man, said white people can't dance ! And some others at the table said "your up April " Fun memory

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Randy and his staff for providing a forum that---- females and people of all colors, races and religions are welcome and protected from racism and sexism. Thank you

 

[hank4elk]

I grew up with kids of all races , colors, country of origin, etc. The one thing that separated us from the "others" was wealth. We were middle class,blue collar kids. Cane poles & slingshots. I listened.
Did 2 tours with a southern black logger,my Chief, and a Apache kid younger than me who had my back.
One of the few things we had in common and would talk on was we were middle class working kids,who fished & hunted. I listened.
My fondest memories of being a Park Ranger was the weekend fishing clinics for the kids @ Santa Margarita Lake. The nature walks. The best part was the Reverend who put them on.
Dr. Barry Bonds. Bobby's brother. The OG Barry.
He and his wife would work for weeks to get gear together and plan the BBQ. We would have BBQ's to plan,lol. I listened.
Every congregation and every organization worth a damn in the mostly white county would plan with us. Every LEO I knew,knew of the plan. I listened.

There was a local tough guy with some issues who would come to the park to fish with his family. Not a bad guy just lost. Several times I would see the Reverend talking to him, alone. One day I asked him about this tatted up ,sometimes drunk,sometimes doped up(in my mind), guy.
What's his deal?
"Well Hank, he's just a poor white kid who likes to fight" He had him going to a gym to train. "He's just like you", he would tell me. "But instead of walking into battle, his walk would be into a cage to fight".
A cage ?
Like me he needed direction. A calm voice in the madness. A task and purpose in life. Like me?
So I spent a few afternoons rigging poles with line and making leader/hook set ups for the kids with the Rev. & Mrs, and Chuck. I listened. We ate BBQ and talked. I listened.
The last time I saw Chuck was at the lake. Him and his family in the station wagon.
He asked me if he could help set up the kids cove and that the Rev & Mrs. would be along and he had a bus load of kids coming from the Rez. to help.
I told him I would show him the cove and what was needed by volunteers. And I told him I would not be helping nor be there that year. I was retiring and moving to NM. He frowned. He understood.

I spent the afternoon clearing out 20 years of stuff into my truck. Was going to leave early.
I get a radio call for possible EMS situation at the back launch ramp.

Well Chuck had gone around and talked to all the local folks at the lake fishing & such. BBQ. Folks I had worked with and such showed.
There with the Bonds and the Lopez family from the marina store and dozens of screaming kids was Chuck & family.
I never left early that day. The last one to come over and shake my hand was Chuck. He gave me a hug and said "Thanks for giving me a chance. For listening"
I just said, "Your a good man Chuck Liddell" .

I'm still listening.

 

[chanson_roland]

Great podcast. Thanks for highlighting this issue. I'd add that it's hard to disconnect the issues with having minorities involved in woods with the history of (1) Lynching and (2) Sundown Towns. IMO, that's the big unsaid part that has created a multi-generational, relatively widespread belief that hunting is "unsafe" for some Americans.

 

[tim629]

finished the podcast on my drive home today so looked it up online. results look like a sad combination of drugs & alcohol for all parties involved.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-16/man-who-killed-guest-at-cabin-acted-in-self-defense-da-says

Peter Spencer shooting justified as self-defense, DA says

Spencer, a Jamaican immigrant, was shot nine times at a remote hunting camp in Venango County.

www.wtae.com

 

[Addicting]

finished the podcast on my drive home today so looked it up online. results look like a sad combination of drugs & alcohol for all parties involved.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-16/man-who-killed-guest-at-cabin-acted-in-self-defense-da-says

Peter Spencer shooting justified as self-defense, DA says

Spencer, a Jamaican immigrant, was shot nine times at a remote hunting camp in Venango County.

www.wtae.com

Thanks for the update.

 

[Scott85]

I’ve shared these before but here is a better place.

A lifetime of hunting

Father and son hunt their history

www.espn.com

'He's the best of the best' | Family, friends, community remember boater who died in James City County

People who knew James Jackson, Jr. said he was a treasure to the hunting community in Hampton Roads and across Virginia. He died while he was fishing.

www.13newsnow.com

Growing up in Eastern Va hunting was just something people did no matter what color you were. It seems like the younger generation is getting farther away hunting but growing up it seemed like every truck had a dog box and every male either hunted deer or rabbits.

 

[longbow51]

Thanks for the update.

Wow. Psychedelics and AK 47s. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Mscarl (she/they)]

I'm not sure the status of the investigation and the evidence. That podcast was recorded almost three weeks ago.

Lydia and Alex wanted to make sure we only talked about what was known and made no claims or assumptions about what is not known. The goal was to make my audience aware of the bigger issue of how the color of a hunter's skin does influence what their cumulative lifetime experience will be in the public woods or as a hunter. To your point, you are correct in that they don't want to draw conclusions that it was "racism in hunting" and that this is an open question that the investigation will hopefully uncover.

I think your point that I bolded is a very important takeaway. No matter the motives of the shooting or the result of the investigation, it only cements the feeling that the woods/hunting are not a safe place for black people. And what does that do for the hunting community we hope to have?

I wish it was different. I have written on my whiteboard in my office, "Beware the false comforts of ignorance." When it comes to this topic, my life has allowed me to stay ignorant. Just a reality of where I have lived most of my life and how social circles get formed. Not anyone's fault, just a reality. So, I want to be less ignorant.

Anyone who has listened to other podcasts I've done about a black hunter who has become a friend, Arlando, and the experience he had while bear hunting in Montana, knows that it has become painfully obvious to me that people of color do not have the same outdoor experience that I can have. Rather than comfortably compartmentalize this as some isolated topic far removed from my mind, I'm actively seeking a better understanding of why a person of color would feel unsafe out hunting or on public lands.

When Arlando told me the following statement in October, I was dumbfounded. Arlando's grandmother told him, "Why do you go hunting? Sometimes black people never came back from a hunt." The more I explore the issue, the more I come to understand that these are not isolated instances my mind would like think they are and that Arlando's grandmother's concerns are based on her real life experiences.

@fleabagmatt mentioned, geographically and socially, I'll likely never be witness to something like that and because of my white male reality, I'll likely never be subjected to that. I've been afforded the luxury of not having to think about it. So, I have to go out and explore the topic to be exposed to it.

The more I explore, the more I find it a common experience among people of color, whether black, indigenous, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, or other. I did a sport show last week in Seattle. Every day of that show I had at least one person of color, some days multiple, come to me and thank me for discussing the topic. They all have their own similar stories, but they don't share them publicly. It is because of Arlando's experience, and the stories I get via email and personal interaction, that I've not shied away from the topic. That comes with risks, so I tread carefully, knowing my life experience could easily cause me to say something stupid, not out of malice or intent, but rather out of ignorance. That is a risk worth taking.

Thanks for listening. I surely don't have it figured out. I have said many times, that I feel I was given the biggest head start in life by being born a white male in America. I've always felt that way. I don't feel guilty about it. Nothing I can do about that. My life experiences have allowed me to be ignorant of what other life experiences are. Having the feeling that I've been blessed presses me to be less ignorant of how the outdoor opportunity was different for me than those with XX chromosome or those born with a different pigmentation.

Given how many hunters of color reach out to me when I do discuss these topics on our platforms, I am amazed at how many folks interested in hunting don't participate or do so with a lot of concern, all because of the color of their skin. I feel that in the small world, the hunting world, where most my time is spent, the overwhelming majority of hunters want the experience to be the same for everyone, regardless of color or background. We just don't get exposed to the events or notions of how different the reality can be. I would bet almost everyone on Hunt Talk wants a hunting community where every hunter from every background feels welcome and safe. I hope that by discussing the topics and using my learning journey as an example, we might help toward that end.

I listened to this podcast as part of my Black History Month journey. What a powerful post and podcast. Thank you for bringing attention to this incident and the example it shines a light on. Not only on the systemic and police racism that marginalized communities face but the incredible racism and hate prevalent from the whiteness inherent in modern hunting. Justice for Peter.