vintageads | (no subject)

You didn't ask me, but I'll offer a suggestion of how the ad may make sense to some people: People that grow up in a more rural environment don't just observe nature, they put it to use, the same way we use computers or cars. They maintain it, they interact with it, they respect it, they get pissed off at it, et cetera. And when you grow up with that sort of attitude about nature, you think it's your right to take from it what you want. That could mean cutting down natural vegetation to grow crops, or it could mean killing animals to eat. It's not even something folks think about a whole lot--they feel if they own the land (or have permission from the landowner) and they take care of the land and respect the land, they can do with it what they want. And that includes killing animals for sport, food, or population control.

Throughout the history of this sort of land/nature use, kids have always been indoctrinated into the ways of the land from an early age. That includes driving farm equipment long before they are authorized to drive a car, operating machinery like chain saws long before "city folk" would deem it safe, and using guns at remarkably young ages.

That's not my world, but I've been around it enough to have a sense of it. And that Winchester ad does a good job of capturing that world.

Thank you for your explanation.

That is (or was) my world, and I think you explained it pretty well. And FWIW I thought the ad was remarkably sensible, if a touch on the corny side.

Seconded. As long as a rifle is used under supervision and with training in safety, there's nothing wrong with a teenager having the responsibility of owning and using one. Teaching a kid to hunt teaches self reliance and boosts their confidence.