Michael Ignatieff is accused of turning his back on farmers by supporting the gun registry. This is common conventional wisdom - farmers need guns. It's such common conventional wisdom that I've never questioned it. I've even been inclined to independently come up with "But what about farmers? They need guns."
But I just realized I don't actually understand why. And when I start thinking about it critically, it doesn't actually make sense to me.
Farmers produce food. Guns are used to shoot stuff. I don't see the common bond. What are they shooting? To what end? And how is it related to producing food?
My experience with producing food is limited to having grown up in a gardening household, and from that experience I'm unable to extrapolate or imagine any circumstances under which the ability to shoot stuff would help. What am I missing? Help me understand.
8 comments:
The bunnies and birds that eat the crops and the coyotes and foxes that eat the chickens.
They need cars and trucks too, which they're also required to register--just like the rest of us.
Anonymous: So does that mean we don't have fence technology that will keep these animals out? Also, does that mean they're actively guarding their crops, like standing out there with a gun at all times?
They need cars and trucks too, which they're also required to register--just like the rest of us.
Exactly. What exactly is the big deal about having to register a potentially lethal tool?
Fences don't really work against most animals. That's why people use dogs that chase, sound cannons, certain plantings that deter animals, etc. Obviously, as you suggest, the farmer is not standing guard over his entire crop with a gun 24/7.
I have no idea why farmers supposedly need guns. But if they need them, they should be able to have them, and registering them shouldn't be such a friggin big deal.
It's weird that they haven't come up with fences that can reliably keep animals out. Hasn't humanity been working on that since the advent of agriculture?
Some animals can dig really really deep, others can leap to incredible heights, others can squeeze through tiny spaces, and others can fly. And they're all highly motivated by food.
I think to protect against all of this, you would need to build a fortress around your crops, which would be ugly, time-consuming and incredibly expensive. It would also curtail human access, which would be problematic.
(I'm sure fences do work to some extent, like the way our fenced-in yard prevents Tala from chasing squirrels through the whole neighbourhood. But the same fence is useless for protecting our neighbours' vegetable garden from becoming a salad bar for all the wild things.)
I know this is a old post but. You need to remember farming is not just about planting crops. We also raise cattle and pork.
We need guns to take down 500lbs of pig or a 2000lbscow
I know this is a old post but. You need to remember farming is not just about planting crops. We also raise cattle and pork.
We need guns to take down 500lbs of pig or a 2000lbscow
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