quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
The whole going on about a woman who died by bear attack because she didn’t arm herself is a condemnation. Going on about living in AK without carrying a gun when you are outside is a condemnation.

My experience in AK is that they have a lot of day to day experience with the great bears. Somehow, while complacency can be an issue, I doubt it’s ignorance of the bears that is the problem.

No doubt women can defend themselves if they want to and take advantage of their opportunities. But a gun is not a cure all, and even the best trained people can get killed.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
To be clear, I am condemning no one.

Neither will I assume that this woman was somehow, for some reason, unable to obtain and use the best means to protect herself and her child.

Many women these days, including women with children, acquire and learn how to use weapons and go about armed, both in the woods and on the streets.

It is indeed a personal choice, which reminds me of the old NRA saying, "Refuse to be a victim."

Some will; some won't.

There is a big difference between saying that someone deserved to die because of questionable behavior, which no one here has done, and instead simply trying to draw appropriate lessons from the incident.

The former is condemnation; the latter is simply observing and learning.

A very wise man once said, "Only fools are forced to learn from their own mistakes. Smart people learn from the mistakes of others."

And, of course, nothing is a cure-all.

But anything one can do to give himself a chance of survival is better than doing nothing at all.

quote:

There is no lesson to be drawn.
A dirt poor villager and her dirt poor baby were on their way to get medical attention and were surprised attacked by a white bear in a whiteout.

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Originally posted by medved:
p dog shooter and crbutler might have been fun in the school yard ... mine is bigger than yours ...

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

There is no lesson to be drawn.
A dirt poor villager and her dirt poor baby were on their way to get medical attention and were surprised attacked by a white bear in a whiteout.

So you know her personally.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I’m not going to name call, but I will say that the ignorance on this thread is astounding.

First, during winter here the native women wear parkas. Big heavy hand made parkas. They reached to the knees. I wonder how the heck she would carry a firearm and have it accessible.

And the baby would have been inside her parka(high on her back, baby’s head on mom’s shoulder). In severe weather you can’t allow a 1 yo to be exposed to the elements.

No one up here carries a firearm for self defense while in the village. Outside the village, yes. Inside the village, no.

I know that a lot of you carry “anytime I leave the house” but do you really carry when you walk across the street to your neighbors? That is basically what she was doing. Villages like Wales are about a big as a couple of blocks in a lower 48 residential neighborhood.

And as dangerous as bears are in rural Alaska, I feel safer in and around Nome than I do in a big city. I arrived in Houston Texas for a conference at 5pm today. I have witnessed two near violent confrontations and had a third crazy person verbally accost a couple in the lobby of the Hilton. This was just my first 4 hours here. And the news reported that the police killed a man who had stabbed two officers(one in the neck).

*The term “Eskimo” is not an offensive term up here. The Eskimos themselves use the term liberally(for example the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (weir.org). Some of the Canadian’s seem to feel differently, but screw those hosers....

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I’m not going to name call, but I will say that the ignorance on this thread is astounding.

First, during winter here the native women wear parkas. Big heavy hand made parkas. They reached to the knees. I wonder how the heck she would carry a firearm and have it accessible.

And the baby would have been inside her parka(high on her back, baby’s head on mom’s shoulder). In severe weather you can’t allow a 1 yo to be exposed to the elements.

No one up here carries a firearm for self defense while in the village. Outside the village, yes. Inside the village, no.

I know that a lot of you carry “anytime I leave the house” but do you really carry when you walk across the street to your neighbors? That is basically what she was doing. Villages like Wales are about a big as a couple of blocks in a lower 48 residential neighborhood.

And as dangerous as bears are in rural Alaska, I feel safer in and around Nome than I do in a big city. I arrived in Houston Texas for a conference at 5pm today. I have witnessed two near violent confrontations and had a third crazy person verbally accost a couple in the lobby of the Hilton. This was just my first 4 hours here. And the news reported that the police killed a man who had stabbed two officers(one in the neck).

*The term “Eskimo” is not an offensive term up here. The Eskimos themselves use the term liberally(for example the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (weir.org). Some of the Canadian’s seem to feel differently, but screw those hosers....