Pussification of America - My Rant

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Brimstone

Brimstone

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I want to take a minute to rant about the "pussification of America".

It just really started bothering me this weekend. I have two boys (8 and 11) that I take camping, shooting, hunting and fishing all the time. They still play sports, video games and all of the other things that kids do these days as well, but they just love the great outdoors with dad. I asked one of my neighbors if he would like to take his boys camping/fishing with us this weekend and he said that he hadn't been camping since last time I asked him (2 years ago) and his boys had never been fishing. I couldn't believe it. I felt so bad for his two boys that they were missing out on some great adventures.

To compound this my wife tells me that she was at her brothers house, who I had invited camping last week, and he called me GI Joe because he thought I went a little overboard with the camping. His idea of overboard was that I wore hiking boots, brought a pistol and had three knives (BK2, BK14 and a Benchmade). I was like WTF?!?!, he thinks that was overboard? This was coming from a guy that brought his daughter and ended up leaving with her at bedtime and driving home. Thank goodness he let his two boys stay there with me.

At what point did we raise a generation of dads that would rather sit on their butt watching ESPN rather than go outside and spend time with their kids? I realize that this isn't the case in a lot of areas, but it is epidemic the closer you get to any city.


I was thinking about this all day on Sunday and decided to take my eleven year old fishing Sunday evening. We sat on the bank of that river and caught 22 catfish. As we were sitting there, my son looks over at me and says "Dad, this is one of the best days of my life just sitting here fishing with you." I couldn't help but get a little choked up.


I just needed to rant a little bit. Kids today don't know what they are missing. I can't help but wonder if their memories of childhood will be about how good they were at Medal of Honor.
 
Hiking boots, fine.
Pistol? For camping? Oh...
Three knives? One of those BK's would've sufficed. You kind of did go overboard...
 
Your right, a lot of people who live in cities don't like to do anything with regards to the outdoors. They have to many other distractions. Although I don't think of it as pussification.

I chalk it up to Cultural Marxism
 
CJZ what are you going to do with a BK if you or your children get attacked by a bear, puma, or wolves? Just curious
 
Ah, there's all sorts everywhere. I grew up in a small city but had access and was in the woods every chance I had. Didn't really have much of an exposure to fishing and hunting though. I don't think Ma would've appreciated me skinning a critter or anything larger in our third floor apartment. People have different backgrounds is all. some people just don't have that kind of exposure.
 
I spent a LOT of my childhood running around in the woods and walking up a stream that was near our house. Now.....you can't pry kids from those stupid video games or their phones! Our kids all just need to go outside and play
 
Yeah, it's a shame all right. I sure wish I had had a father who had been willing to go on any adventures with me, much less outdoors ones. Ah, well!

Not really planning on children, but if I do they'll certainly have all of that. Good work on being what sounds like a good father.
 
weasel-3 said:
CJZ what are you going to do with a BK if you or your children get attacked by a bear, puma, or wolves? Just curious
Click to expand...

Or a predator of the two-legged variety? Really, I feel naked going into the wilderness without a firearm... It's not a big deal of a thing to pack.
 
CJZ said:
Hiking boots, fine.
Pistol? For camping? Oh...
Three knives? One of those BK's would've sufficed. You kind of did go overboard...
Click to expand...

The area that we were camping in has had two bear attacks in the last two years and is frequented by mountain lions. Not that it would have mattered because I would have carried my pistol anyway.
 
Your right but alot of people that are ignorant to firearms and the usefulness of them in many situations, don't take that into account. The safety isn't in the absence of the firearm, but the knowledge and mastery of it as a tool for ones own safety.
 
It makes perfect sense to take a pistol with you camping. When I camp, I am often many, many miles from any sort of law enforcement. Middle of nowhere, without any sort of protection? No thanks!
 
As long as parents are spending time with their kids and keeping them active and healthy they get a good parent pass from me. They could be teaching them ballet for all I care, just don't let the TV raise them.
 
I spent plenty of time playing the Nintendo as a kid, but my friends and i always opted for dirtbikes, paintball, or any other opportunity to show physical dominance on a ball field.
Not everyone is wired for hunting and some simply don't have access to it.
My father loved taking me to shoot guns when i was young, but he always said "I just can't shoot bambi".
So my hunting trips were with my friends and their fathers. Which means that i got all the glory and none of the mess of cleaning the kill.
I've still never cleaned my own kill.
Maybe im just going soft in all this pu$$ification.
 
Luckily my father was one of those 'woodsman' types, having been born in the mountains...

I must of been camping, literally 1000's of times.

I plan to carry that tradition despite being city born and raised.


Even my GF loves the outdoors, especially hiking.
 
Meh. There's more than one way to "properly" raise a kid.
and what kind of puss brings a pistol on a camping trip? I just hope it was a manly caliber and not some useless 9mm or .38. ;) :cool:

I've had a similar problem with my friend's kid. We will have a crossbow, shotguns, a frisbee, baseballs, etc, and he spends a sunny weekend at the TV. :( Ain't my problem though. ;)
 
I don't know whether to call you a man or a masochist, but I couldn't manage to choke down even one single catfish, much less 22 of them.
I never understood why so many people crave such a nasty fish.
My hat is off to the OP for his intestinal fortitude and force of will.

-nate
 
I grew up outdoors. And both of my now-grown kids were raised to enjoy the outdoors. My five year old granddaughter is coming from Idaho to visit me in a few weeks and I will be taking her canoeing, fishing and camping the same as I did my two kids. But I understand that for many families, because of lack of opportunity or interest, outdoor activities are just not a part of growing up. It has always been that way.
 
People will do what makes them happy, that does not make them pussies. Not everyone gets their jollies from sleeping outside on the ground. Because that is what camping is about, fun. There is very little need to actually go out camping. :)
 
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