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by throwaway2037 906 days ago
> Colorado ranchers absolutely are uniquely unequipped to deal with predation.

Zero trolling: I don't understand this sentence. Are you saying that ranchers in other states have different options to deal with apex predators? If yes, can you please explain. I am curious to learn more.
2 comments
RoyalHenOil 906 days ago
They are making a joke that ranchers in Colorado are trigger-happy cowboys and will murder someone like me for suggesting that their current ranching methods are bad and need to be updated.

The joke is based on a very Hollywood-informed idea of what this region is like (think Wild West movies and TV shows). It is not a reflection of reality.

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naravara 906 days ago
Not being in or from the region, my impression from brief interactions with the lobbyists they send up to Washington has been that many of the ranchers are, themselves, trying to cosplay a Wild West fantasy. But this is probably largely overrepresenting the "gentleman ranchers" (who are actually just heirs to oil money or something) who own a ranch as a lifestyle aesthetic rather than a livelihood.

However, it does seem that these guys have a dramatically outsized influence in political representation around these interests unfortunately.

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tomcam 906 days ago
Untrue but I genuinely like your prose style
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tomcam 906 days ago
A previous commenter asked “Are ranchers in Colorado uniquely unequipped to adopt any of the solutions used by ranchers elsewhere?”. I interpret this as snark and was answering in kind. Here in the western USA ranchers have been very, very adept at dealing with predators, human and otherwise, for 150+ years. It’s the stuff of movie and TV legend, most recently in shows like “Yellowstone”.

The options are restricted mostly by law and local custom.

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ImPostingOnHN 906 days ago
> A previous commenter asked “Are ranchers in Colorado uniquely unequipped to adopt any of the solutions used by ranchers elsewhere?”. I interpret this as snark and was answering in kind.

It seemed like an honest, innocent question, not snark at all. The response seemed dismissive and snarky, though.

This is a good reason to not try to get revenge for what you believe to be "snark": you might be totally wrong in your judgement. Best to just respond honestly and straightforwardly.

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tomcam 905 days ago
You’re probably right. Rereading it still feels like snark to me, but that’s not a great reason to reply as I did. Thank you for pointing it out.
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