Thumbcocker
12-17-2017, 12:07 PM
We all hear about how hunting and shooting are at a minimum looked down or viewed with outright hostility by folks in more urban areas of the country. I guess I have been lucky as I have never had an encounter with a rabidly anti- hunting ideologue. I have met a few folks who are animal lovers and don't like the idea of Bambi being perforated but no one has actually gotten in my face about making my own meat. What I have found is that many city folks have a neutral attitude about rural life and hunting and if approached correctly can have a positive view of hunting. Not saying that they are ready to cammo up and hit the brush but are at least willing to let us be. Here is an example that has worked for me.
Twice each year I travel to Chicago for a conference to be updated on the latest legal trends and get required continuing educational hours. My employer puts me up in a nice hotel on Michigan avenue and the Cook County State's attorney's office sends over two nice ladies who help out with registration and generally make things run smoother. Since Mrs. Thumbcocker and I come up on the train we generally bring a bag of our home made deer jerky for the ride and to snack on in the room. One vendor who comes to the conference is someone from our area that we have known for several years. A few years back I offered her some jerky. She liked it and commented approvingly. The two ladies from the Cook County State's Attorney's office were standing nearby and seemed interested. I offered them each a bite. I will take this opportunity to point out that in my totally unbiased opinion Mrs. Thumbcocker and I make darn good jerky. Anyway the ladies were both favorably impressed with the flavor of the jerky. This lead to a discussion of where I live and how we make jerky. This lead to viewing cell phone pictures of garden, canned deer and veggies, and eventually pictures of deceased deer with a .44 handgun laying on them. Both of the ladies are Moms and were impressed by pictures of packaged deer meat in the freezer. One recently commented on how lean the meat in the packages looked and how it was organic and asking if she could buy venison in the city.
Fast forward to this years conference. We made six pounds of ground deer into jerky and packaged it in quart ziplock bags. Bags were given to the vendor who is a friend, the two ladies from the Cook County State's Attorney's office, a friend who lives in Chicago and the concierge at the hotel. The concierge has been very helpful to Mrs. Thumbcocker and I over the years. For those who have never dealt with a concierge ( I hadn't until I started going to Chicago); a Concierge is a person who's job is to help hotel guests with pretty much anything they need while staying at the hotel. They wear a pin with crossed keys on their jacket and have a desk in the lobby. When Mrs. Thumbcocker and I wanted to tour the U boat at the museum of science and Industry the concierge was able to print out the tickets for us. She also knows every place to eat near the motel and the price ranges, what is going on in the city and a whole lot of stuff that is foreign to us county folks. So a few bites of jerky and some pictures later she was asking about canning and mushroom foraging and other aspects of rural living. A quart bag of jerky was received with appreciation.
Some thoughts. I don't talk politics. This includes RKBA. There are plenty of places for people to discuss that without me brining it up. I don't show especially graphic dead animal pictures. There may be a little blood around the muzzle of the dead deer or around the bullet wound but I don't get graphic. Also I always ASK if they would like to see pictures of where I live and the deer they are eating. So far I have never been told no but the courtesy is appreciated. I do treat people in the city with respect and courtesy. I was raised to use Sir and Ma'am and don't change when I am in the city. Also city folks have a lot of knowledge about things that I don't and I appreciate it when I get their help. A sincere thank you goes a long way.
So I guess where all this is going is that, in my experience, there are a lot of folks who are neutral to hunting and country stuff that can be brought to respect rural values if approached in a non confrontational manner.
Twice each year I travel to Chicago for a conference to be updated on the latest legal trends and get required continuing educational hours. My employer puts me up in a nice hotel on Michigan avenue and the Cook County State's attorney's office sends over two nice ladies who help out with registration and generally make things run smoother. Since Mrs. Thumbcocker and I come up on the train we generally bring a bag of our home made deer jerky for the ride and to snack on in the room. One vendor who comes to the conference is someone from our area that we have known for several years. A few years back I offered her some jerky. She liked it and commented approvingly. The two ladies from the Cook County State's Attorney's office were standing nearby and seemed interested. I offered them each a bite. I will take this opportunity to point out that in my totally unbiased opinion Mrs. Thumbcocker and I make darn good jerky. Anyway the ladies were both favorably impressed with the flavor of the jerky. This lead to a discussion of where I live and how we make jerky. This lead to viewing cell phone pictures of garden, canned deer and veggies, and eventually pictures of deceased deer with a .44 handgun laying on them. Both of the ladies are Moms and were impressed by pictures of packaged deer meat in the freezer. One recently commented on how lean the meat in the packages looked and how it was organic and asking if she could buy venison in the city.
Fast forward to this years conference. We made six pounds of ground deer into jerky and packaged it in quart ziplock bags. Bags were given to the vendor who is a friend, the two ladies from the Cook County State's Attorney's office, a friend who lives in Chicago and the concierge at the hotel. The concierge has been very helpful to Mrs. Thumbcocker and I over the years. For those who have never dealt with a concierge ( I hadn't until I started going to Chicago); a Concierge is a person who's job is to help hotel guests with pretty much anything they need while staying at the hotel. They wear a pin with crossed keys on their jacket and have a desk in the lobby. When Mrs. Thumbcocker and I wanted to tour the U boat at the museum of science and Industry the concierge was able to print out the tickets for us. She also knows every place to eat near the motel and the price ranges, what is going on in the city and a whole lot of stuff that is foreign to us county folks. So a few bites of jerky and some pictures later she was asking about canning and mushroom foraging and other aspects of rural living. A quart bag of jerky was received with appreciation.
Some thoughts. I don't talk politics. This includes RKBA. There are plenty of places for people to discuss that without me brining it up. I don't show especially graphic dead animal pictures. There may be a little blood around the muzzle of the dead deer or around the bullet wound but I don't get graphic. Also I always ASK if they would like to see pictures of where I live and the deer they are eating. So far I have never been told no but the courtesy is appreciated. I do treat people in the city with respect and courtesy. I was raised to use Sir and Ma'am and don't change when I am in the city. Also city folks have a lot of knowledge about things that I don't and I appreciate it when I get their help. A sincere thank you goes a long way.
So I guess where all this is going is that, in my experience, there are a lot of folks who are neutral to hunting and country stuff that can be brought to respect rural values if approached in a non confrontational manner.