perpetuating myths

[Mark Walker]

John Shuey wrote:


>There are so many myth's out there about harassment, problems with permits,
>and so on that simply aren't true.

Well, I'm not sure about false accounts in this regard, but I would agree
that there is a tendancy for blowing things out of proportion and taking
things out of context.  In fact, if you think about it, it's a similar
problem that creates idiot Conservation officers as well.  All the more
reason for us to discuss it at every opportunity.

For the record, if you exclude the harrasment that resulted from trespassing
(without being too explicit, let's just say that I have been guilty of
jumping over fences in pursuit of active specimens), I suppose that I have
only been accosted by anti-collecting activists a half dozen times or so.
This statistic is really biased, however, when you consider the fact that I
prefer locations that are extremely isolated.  In southern California, on
the other hand, I was a bit amazed at how many times I had an onlooker rage
at how inhumane and ungreen I was for hunting down innocent life forms.  In
fact, when collecting in the presence of other humans, I would say that the
reactions have been negative about 50% of the time.

>
>As an example of one of these myths, I recently had the chance to work for
a
>few weeks in Mexico

<snippage>

John's experience in Mexico is quite refreshing, and I agree that it
provides a good example of his point that even collectors are guilty of
propagating untruths.  I guess the moral of this story is to base one's
opinions on fact and not hearsay.

Thanks for the good post.

Mark Walker
Castleton, VT