[at-l] Deer hunting on the trail

[yumitori@montana.com (Ron Martino)]

> ### If you were a parent, Ron, you would have already
> experienced (a thousand times) the flavor of "all my fault" pain
> that feeling parents feel when something bad, avoidable or not,
> happens to their kids. It's devastating; knocks the crap right
> out of ya; and if you've a lick of self-honesty, prevents you
> from having difficulty summoning such sympathy for another
> parent's guilt-born pain far into the future.
> 
> Sloetoe

	Would the reactions of folks here be different if the victim had been
one of the other hunting partners? A small child who happened to be in
the area? A random passer-by? Would it have mattered if the son had been
wearing his orange vest? According to the article, the father did not
shoot at something he saw as a deer, but rather at a 'noise'. The vest
may very well have made no difference.

	Earlier this year we learned of an incident in New Jersey involving a
bear, a child and a foolish father. Sympathy then was entirely with the
bear. Would matters have been different if the boy had been seriously
mauled or killed? Would the father's actions been any less obviously
wrong? How much more obvious is it to fire your weapon only when you are
certain of your target?

	I do not mean to belittle this tragedy, but it was easily preventable.

	Ron
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yumitori(AT)montana(DOT)com