And what if some concerned citizen fishermen volunteered to teach this course in an already existing county building so we could keep the cost down. I would quickly volunteer for such a task. And like I said, use part of their fine money to pay for this. It certainly doesn't have to cost millions of dollars. I also believe that taking away a driver's license is much more effective than a fishing license. Not that they can't still drive but I think it is easier to regulate such abuse than it is for fishing and hunting licenses.
I agree that people are often fools and make poor choices, but I also believe that giving the benefit of the doubt is a real part of being a good Christian and a responsible person. Many times I have stated in my posts on this site that I have a real problem with the law enforcement in this state. SuperD, a huge, and I would say a majority, of the reason I have such a problem with our system here is your very example of a negative attitude about how people are just criminals. I myself have been unjustly accused of being a criminal by our officers on a number of occasions and I promise you that I am a law abiding citizen. I know and understand that when you see the worst everyday, you begin to expect the worst. But I also know that this is part of the training that our officers receive and it is also why I am so opposed to them. I would like to see this training stopped.
There are times when people commit a crime that they don't know they are committing. Most of the time, I am sure that they do know it. But I also believe that most of the time, they don't realize the depth of the impact of what they are doing. I really don't believe they believe what they are doing is harmful to our sport. Legal or not, they enjoy the same sport too and if you make them think, they may very well "see the light." Heck, I wouldn't be against having a course like this for all sportsmen to take, (volutarily), just so we could be better sportsmen in the field. You are right that you will not change some people, they are true criminals. But how unfair to lump all violators into this category and how unfair to not want to protect our sport in any sensible way possible. I know a system like this may not work. I know that something like this may never happen to even get a try. But I think it deserves at least a little more thought than a simple "I hate people" sort of attitude. Understand, the very crime this individual committed is also the very crime in our fishing world that I am absolutely the most opposed to. Invasive species through criminal activity has helped to severly damage some of my personal favorite stomping grounds. If I had caught that individual, he would have been happy to face the police and a monitary fine after I got through with him.
Bduck, I understand what you are saying, and you may very well be right. I don't agree about the money part but hey, I can't speak for everyone. I will ask you this though, if these systems really don't work, then why are we still doing them and why are we still hearing that they are experiencing some success? You certainly present a good argument, and may very well have it nailed down correctly. I'm still going to present it to the people I know in my area that may be able to influence this and see about their reaction. My goal is only to reduce the number of violators, especially of this sort of blatant activity.
Sorry about all of my ranting and rambling. I'll step down off my soapbox now.
