[Jeff Higgins]

Stereotypes, when dealing with individuals, do not work; agreed. Generalizations, when dealing with large populations, can be more accurate. While Mother Jones is a little "earthier" than many left-leaning publications, they do tend to cater to the Sierra Club rather than Safari Club crowd. Many of these publications, if they ever dared to come out on the pro-hunting side of the issue, would quite quickly alienate their readership. Most of their readership is, after all, urban or suburban, and not living in the areas they read about. They read these publications because they are backpackers, photographers, skiers, and other non-consumptive users of the outdoors. With the left's power base having shifted more to the cities and what rural base they retain being displaced city folk looking for a "simpler life", even their more outdoorsy, down to earth publications just don't seem to grasp the whole picture. Even the least observant of our modern political landscape can see that the left comes down predominantly on the anti-hunting side of the issue; that is a generalization I feel comfortable in making. Mother Jones was very brave to have printed this, but you will notice they hedged their wording quite carefully. The mere fact that they perceived this as remarkable enough to report speaks volumes about them and their target readership. This has been common knowledge for generations in the hunting world and among the rural population that inhabits these happy hunting grounds.