I emailed this to the Today's Show address.
Subject: Angry about Winged Migration Segment
I watched your segment on Winged Migrations and was absolutely appalled at the comments made by Gene Shalit about hunting being human stupidity. I am a hunter who's life style and ways of life are based on a heritage, tradition and culture born from ethical and proper hunting. Like millions of Americans who's heritage, culture and tradition that embrace hunting as the normal course of nature, I can tell you that we provide more for wildlife then is taken. Any unbiased analysis could only conclude that because of hunting, our wildlife populations and care of treasured wilderness would be in severe threat. Organizations like Ducks Unlimited which focus is on an abundant waterfowl population in North America embraces and understands the critical and vital role that culling/hunting has on a vibrant waterfowl population. Without hunters and organizations like Ducks Unlimited, the waterfowl population in NA would be a mere shadow of what they are today. Ducks Unlimited along with those hunters who support them areas solely and directly responsible for the reclamation and or preservation of millions of acres of waterfowl habitat in NA. This same situation is true for countless other species such as deer, bear, elk. There are countless organizations with a similar charter as Ducks Unlimited that focus on other animals. Such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and the list goes on and on and on. Is the Today's show going to report on the great good for wildlife that these groups and the hunters that support them are doing ?
Wildlife is a renewable resource and if properly managed great good can come from it including food for our tables. As long as you eat what you shoot, then its no different than buying meat or poultry at the grocery store. For those how criticize hunting and call it stupid, but them buy a steak at the grocery store is pure and simple hypocrisy and stupidity by there own definition. Just because someone in a slaughter house killed the animal for you does not make you more ethical or moral. Does Gene, Katie or Matt eat meat ? If they do their hunting is simply done by someone else for them !
Gene Shalit, Matt and Katie are letting their personal views of hunting get in the way of the real truth and I am not at all impressed with the Today's Show cultural bias against those millions of Americans, Canadians and Native Americans who's life style, heritage, culture and family traditions are founded in hunting. Hunting to these millions upon millions of people is not a sport or a past time. It is a means by which we keep in touch with our past, our heritage and culture.
If Gene is so concerned about hunting, I implore him to film a group of Native Americans hunting geese or any other animals and then air it on national television and call them stupid. This would never happen because Gene and the Today's Show cultural bias and political correctness will prevent you from doing such.
Unless there is an apology issued by Gene, Matt and Katie, I will never watch any NBC programming again. I am deeply troubled by your duplicity, cultural bias and severe lack of understanding and sensitivity towards those people that are different than them. In a country founded on the principals of respect for each other, the Today's Show segment on Winged Migration shows your lack of respect for this principal. Based on this lack of respect, I will never let my children watch NBC programing again and be ridiculed and called stupid. Now we have to explain to our childern why they are not stupid, just becasue NBC tells them they are.
Thank you,
