In a message dated 98-04-28 18:13:56 EDT, you write:

<< So, I understand that you think all people who hunt for sport are sadistic?
>>

Ella,

This is not what I think.  But I think some people are sadistic towards
animals and towards people and they enjoy hurting others, and killing others,
which can be sadism.  That's what I'm talking about.  I don't think my cat is
sadistic when it hunts animals and doesn't eat them.  Nor do I judge head
hunters for killing members of rivalling tribes.  Instinct is instinct, and
what people do is their business. What I am talking about is people losing
their sensitivity to LIFE and nature and instinct and falling into sadism,
just like people fall into greed, dishonesty, etc..  I'm talking about
dysfunctional behavior, like some hunter shooting your dog, or, a deer, when
it's not going to be eaten, and it's just an outlet for unresolved anger.  And
I don't limit this to hunters,  vegetarians can be quite sadistic in their
imagination as they would love to torture those who torture animals, and they
often verbally abuse meat eaters, which can be sadistic as well.

<<es, there are probably
those that do not respect nature who wield a gun, but I think there are plenty
of hunters who identify with nature in a far more personal manner than most of
us urbanites who have never tried it. >>

Yes!  This is why I want to know if there are studies that show how hunting
might develop an appreciation for nature, the cycle of life, feeding, and make
one aware of instincts, and help to develop a mature character.  I have never
hunted, though I can say I learned a whole lot when my body told me to hunt
after a year on fruits and veggies.  I fished as a kid, but seemed like a
waste of life because the fish died and I wasn't out to eat it.  So, I stopped
fishing.  Now, I might start again so that I can get wild, fresh fish.   I
want to know if some hunters gain something from their behavior, that those
who just eat meat don't, and that those who refuse to eat meat, don't.  I feel
like it matured me to become aware of an instinct to take the life of a
creature to support my own survival and health, and I want to know more about
that.

<<came from someplace that
was nice and friendly to animals, but in reality we know that that ain't so.>>

I know.  I handle that.  It makes me feel grateful for the food I eat, and
humble, and thus I only eat as much meat as my body wants.  If I was living in
the wild for a week, and didn't feel a hunger or need for meat, I wouldn't
kill animals just for the fun of it.  But that's me, maybe some people feel a
need to practice those instincts.  And that's something else I'd like to know
about.  I don't know anything about hunting!

Aaron