The Nuge Responds… sort of

I don’t know where this will lead for Ted Nugent, but it is curious that such a venomous uproar has followed it. Reading through the vile, hateful and even threatening comments on the SacBee website following the article has made me wonder whether we have indeed, as Nugent sometimes says in his hyperbolic manner, become “Planet of the Apes”.

Love him or hate him, nobody could deny that Nugent has consistently been more willing than any other celebrity to put himself out front and suffer the slings and arrows we all receive for pursuing and promoting the hunting and shooting sports.

Face it, fellow sportsmen, we are not loved, and are in fact hated and reviled by the likes of PETA, Sarah Brady’s Handgun Control, The Humane Society of the United States and many other politically powerful and outspoken entities. No matter how careful, “ethical”, gentlemanly or pick your virtue, we behave, we have no chance of gaining even an iota of respect or tolerance from these enemies in the culture war. To pretend that we can hold them at bay simply by being virtuous is a folly.

Ted Nugent long ago sacrificed any possibility of being recognized in his chosen field and career -rock music- when he failed to follow the path of denial, drugs and socialism that are hallmarks of the modern entertainment industry. Instead he stood for what he believed, and not just quietly or subtly, but loud and proud. “In your face” I believe is the term this blogger used.

If it has not yet become evident that the notions of tolerance, compromise and acceptance are purely a one way street for those who stand against us, and that if we do not oppose them as strongly and as forcefully as they oppose us, we will find ourselves without access to a heritage, a history and a lifestyle that we now enjoy.

Ted Nugent understands our real enemy, which are the many and varied forces at work against our culture today, and he faces that enemy in a most forthright, confident, unflinching and effective way, with courage of his convictions and with constant presence.

I willl stand with Ted Nugent. His approach induces our enemies to show their true stripes, and seeing those stripes, my eyes have been opened to the fact that passivism is no longer an option. I want my children and grandchildren to enjoy the same freedom, prosperity and heritage that my grandfather and father passed along to me. I’ll go to war to protect and preserve it. If you’re any less committed than Ted Nugent, or any less active in promoting and protecting it, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Phillip: Jim committed “blasphemy” within the community, whereas Ted made a really bad mistake. I think many of us can relate to blowing it on the rules – even while we criticize it. I have to think he didn’t know – I have to think he’d be smart enough not to put it on TV if he knew he was doing something illegal.

Mike, I have to disagree that anyone who doesn’t go to Nugent’s extremes is part of the problem. Ted’s a double-edged sword: While I admire his sometimes wacky outspokenness (e.g., it’s my God-given DUTY to own guns to protect myself? I think not), he also openly advocates and pursues some hunting tactics that the non-hunting public finds repugnant (baiting). I personally respect him – a lot – for not sugarcoating it, but that doesn’t change people’s perception of it.

My point is there are many ways to fight the fight, and I don’t think Ted’s is the only way.