Yep, I see the point, and to be honest, I actually agree with you. I'm not explaining myself clearly. I'll try again.
My brother has downsyndrome. I know what it is like to see judgement and bias based on the superficial all the time.
With my brother, we could let him dress in ill fitting clothing, leave him to take care of his own appearance (hair, shower, shaving, etc), and allow him to eat until he weighs in at 300 lbs. If we did he would be happy as a clam and a lot of folks would write him off-even be scared of him. Is that right? My family does not think so. By helping him to put his best foot forward, making sure he cleans up, showers, dresses in clean clothes that fit, etc, he is much more accepted by society, and they in turn get to see what a special guy he is - a person just like all of us. It is a lot of work, but other folk's lives are enriched for knowing him and seeing the world through his eyes, and his world is enriched by the experiences he has and the people he knows.
I see a similar analogy.
These Duck commanders seem like pretty good folk. Honest, hard working, and great duck hunters. I feel they probably have a heck of a lot to offer others too. (while the show I saw was less than stellar, they clearly know and understand ducks an there were a few good pointers-football side story aside). My hunting heritage is very important to me. As a hunter, I feel (and perhaps I am alone in this) that I have an obligation to represent our sport while afield by putting my best foot forward. I don't always succeed, but I try. With so many Americans actively trying to take away our rights, and so many more Americans apathetic to our cause and likely to support the activists, I would like to see those who are our spokesmen and women to also put their best foot forward. TV personalities are clearly spokespeople.
When a non hunter sees a show like that, I feel they jump to the conclusion that these are scary backwoods cast rejects from the Movie Deliverance and that must be what hunters are. At least the three I was with did (one anti-hunter, two newbie hunters). Not the best foot forward (my opinion).
Clearly I am in the vast minority on this one, but I have to be honest, image is important and perception is reality. I'm sure the guys are great, but I think they do the cause of hunting a bit of a disservice. Probably a blip on the radar anyway as with or without them we will most likely loose our hunting rights in the next couple of decades anyway. But hey, at least we get socialized health care like Canada eh?
