gokart
Active Member
Sorry if this tainted your day out on the water... I've had a few encounters over the years with people pulling my traps.... most of the times I am not fortunate enough to catch them.. I don't think I'd be ask forgiving as you... But interestingly enough, the 2 times that I caught someone red handed it has been a Caucasian group(1 dad with 2 young kids) and 3 thirty something guys on a 19ft hewescraft. Bay all means, I am not suggesting any bad intentions or anything of that nature from your post.. but not sure why you needed to identify that it was an Asian Family. Would you have identified them as "We caught this Caucasian family" if they were of European origin? They are crooks, low-lifes and scumbags … and yes they also happen to be Asian.
The reason I point this out is that I have a few close Asian friends and they are my close fishing buddies.... Our fishing group has always adhered to the rules and laws from the fishing regulations. They have respect for our resources, volunteer their time during past years with salmon conversation programs but there is definitely a negative sterotype towards Asians with regards to breaking the rules. Some of that is warranted and I understand that and so do they. In fact, they have scolded a few people of Asian background when we happen to stumble on someone trying to cheat the system when we have gone for walks on a pier that is popular for crabbing. A few years back, my fishing buddies were enjoying a nice summer day with their family and friends... They were having a BBQ and picnic near a park that had access to a pier. They had 2 crab traps in the water and where in the middle of a conversation when 2 guys approached them and starting talking to them... asked them how the crabbing was.. My buddies responded with telling them so far they had 2 keepers.. They then said can we have a look? At which point one of my guys opens the cooler up and with the other hand pulls out a crab measuring gauge and starts measuring the 2 crabs to ensure it was legal. Let's just say it wasn't a very pleasant experience for my friends and it took great efforts for them to restrain themselves from kicking the **** out of the 2 guys. The 2 guys walked straight past another 3 non-Asian crabbers without inspecting their catch. It was not a good experience for them as they were racially profiled... assumed to be guilty and treated like crooks...
Gokart, I am sincere in stressing that I am in NO way pointing any fingers or accussing you of anything with your post. I trust you are a standup person. My point is we just need to make sure we are sensitive in our communications so that we dont' unintentionally propagate negative sterotypes against certain groups of people because while there are crooks and scumbags who happen to be Asian, there are scumbags from all corners of the world.
I will take responsibility that I am ALSO guilty of the same.... As an avid angler(more so with rivers and lakes and more recently turned to the salt) I am familiar with the negative stereotypes us anglers have towards commercial fishermen and First Nations.... I have been guilty in painting good people from those 2 groups with the same paint brush and have more recently been more careful in my approach and communications because I've met some very good people who happen to be commercial and/or First Nations as well and have come across shady people from the same 2 groups.
Sorry if this tainted your day out on the water... I've had a few encounters over the years with people pulling my traps.... most of the times I am not fortunate enough to catch them.. I don't think I'd be ask forgiving as you... But interestingly enough, the 2 times that I caught someone red handed it has been a Caucasian group(1 dad with 2 young kids) and 3 thirty something guys on a 19ft hewescraft. Bay all means, I am not suggesting any bad intentions or anything of that nature from your post.. but not sure why you needed to identify that it was an Asian Family. Would you have identified them as "We caught this Caucasian family" if they were of European origin? They are crooks, low-lifes and scumbags … and yes they also happen to be Asian.
The reason I point this out is that I have a few close Asian friends and they are my close fishing buddies.... Our fishing group has always adhered to the rules and laws from the fishing regulations. They have respect for our resources, volunteer their time during past years with salmon conversation programs but there is definitely a negative sterotype towards Asians with regards to breaking the rules. Some of that is warranted and I understand that and so do they. In fact, they have scolded a few people of Asian background when we happen to stumble on someone trying to cheat the system when we have gone for walks on a pier that is popular for crabbing. A few years back, my fishing buddies were enjoying a nice summer day with their family and friends... They were having a BBQ and picnic near a park that had access to a pier. They had 2 crab traps in the water and where in the middle of a conversation when 2 guys approached them and starting talking to them... asked them how the crabbing was.. My buddies responded with telling them so far they had 2 keepers.. They then said can we have a look? At which point one of my guys opens the cooler up and with the other hand pulls out a crab measuring gauge and starts measuring the 2 crabs to ensure it was legal. Let's just say it wasn't a very pleasant experience for my friends and it took great efforts for them to restrain themselves from kicking the **** out of the 2 guys. The 2 guys walked straight past another 3 non-Asian crabbers without inspecting their catch. It was not a good experience for them as they were racially profiled... assumed to be guilty and treated like crooks...
Gokart, I am sincere in stressing that I am in NO way pointing any fingers or accussing you of anything with your post. I trust you are a standup person. My point is we just need to make sure we are sensitive in our communications so that we dont' unintentionally propagate negative sterotypes against certain groups of people because while there are crooks and scumbags who happen to be Asian, there are scumbags from all corners of the world.
I will take responsibility that I am ALSO guilty of the same.... As an avid angler(more so with rivers and lakes and more recently turned to the salt) I am familiar with the negative stereotypes us anglers have towards commercial fishermen and First Nations.... I have been guilty in painting good people from those 2 groups with the same paint brush and have more recently been more careful in my approach and communications because I've met some very good people who happen to be commercial and/or First Nations as well and have come across shady people from the same 2 groups.
To answer you quickly, yes if the ppl stilling the crabs happen to be Caucasian I will describe them that way . I don’t see any problem to identify them so other ppl can keep eye on them. Btw my wife is Asian so there is nothing racism in my post .