Will spoil the barrel. We have all heard this phrase and found it to be true. Apples, berries, potatoes, produce, and Sportsmen and women also fall into this basket.
Recently, a sick person in the Midwest murdered a husband and wife, on a hiking trail, in front of their children. This was a terrible and unforgiving crime. The sad truth is that there are good and bad humans. Mental health can be a problem that affects some people.
The part of the story that is sticking is the fact that the murderer was a “Teacher.” This label now is attached to every other male educator in the country. Parents and others may now measure Teachers as potential murderers. This tends to be true whenever someone does something that needs to be judged, labeled, or ridiculed. It is not that easy. For every rotten apple, we can easily identify barrels full of great apples. Not all teachers are murderers; not all hunters and anglers are poachers.
Hunters are often in this situation. When someone poaches, trespasses, has a weapons accident, or breaks the law, all “Hunters” get compared to and labeled by this one bad apple. The fact is that these violators are “poachers, thieves, criminals, and crooks.” They are not true Hunters. This single murderer, which was a male teacher, does not represent all the other teachers. This is important since male teachers are becoming a minority in the classroom.
When anglers and hunters head afield, remember that our actions, behaviors, and outcomes affect all other sportsmen and women. We are all rolled into one group and are compared to everyone else.
Follow the regulations, rules, and limits. Set a positive example for others. Be a steward of our sport and represent all of us properly.
Be the perfect apple in the barrel, not the one rotten one.
Montana Grant
