Well, I was mostly just concerned with the fact that, as far as I am concerned, stock buying to counteract PETA interests in said companies isn't the best course of action. I do agree that these groups take things too far, however, as I've said before it is their opinion and they are entitled to it...there does become a point where opinions cross the line however I don't feel like that applies here. I respect the fact that you would like to maybe set up some sort of way to financially counteract these moves by PETA, however, I feel like money would be better spent by first of all educating the un-ethical hunters that give the community a bad reputation and then doing something about letting the public eye into the hunting community and the fact that the majority of hunters are ethical, care about the enviroment and wildlife, and aren't out to just wipe out animals or anything like that. I think that if the public as a whole was better educated, and if the doors to hunting and especially the bowhunting community were kept more widely open, we would see that any push by a group like PETA would more than likely receive a fairly solid defense from an educated public. I don't think the public will ever be "pro-hunting", however I do think it is possible to educate the general public to a point that they would help keep hunting around.
Just to clarify on my hypocrisy statement, I wasn't implying you don't eat meat, just that some people opposed to you might say "he implied that PETA buying stock to control companies was deplorable and, while cunning, still dirty, and yet here he goes doing the same thing to fight back." Personally I think it isn't a bad plan, but I don't think it's the best. If you're going to represent the hunting, and especially bowhunting, community I want to see it represented well and in a manner that shows that we are intelligent and ethical.
As to the statement of 5 million people dying to save 1 million animals that is ridiculous with a capital R. I think we both agree that while animals, when they are kept as pets, should be treated well, and that animals when being killed should be killed in an ethical way that gives them the quickest death possible. I think we both also agree that the folks at PETA and other groups take things a bit too far, the fact that huans have superior brains and the ability to craft tools to harvest animals for food is just the natural progression of things. Before we know it they will advocate eating only synthesized foods so as not to kill anything that was once living. I also wonder what they think of one animal killing another.
Anyways, I was mostly just trying to present a bunch of arguments that the opposition could present to you, like I said I want to see the community represented in the best possible way and so I was just trying to toss out some ideas to, hopefully, lead you to refining any plans you would have for counteracting PETA in a financial sense. Maybe I did that maybe I didn't. And besides, I'm sure that if you were to do something you seem like you would properly think it out and plan it well so as to get things to work as best as possible. But it is never a bad thing to keep working things over.
And I must say, I'm fairly new to the forums and things here do seem to proceed in an orderly, mature, and enjoyable debate fashion. I was honestly expecting a rather harsh rebuke since, to be frank, what I wrote could have easily been taken as somewhat offensive. But thanks for facilitating a good conversation, look forward to more!