TargetTalk

Hi all,

[Please, if you consider this to be off topic remove it directly]

I got tired of getting a bad eye when I talk about being a sport shooter and decided to do something about it. I understand that not all of you will share the same views as I have, but I hope it will spark some positive action and improve the perception of shooters and our sports.

The website is https://www.fighthatenotshooters.com/ and, with the help of a designer friend, I've made t-shirts and other merchandising to fund the initiative.

The profits will be used to sponsor sport shooters and events.

If you prefer not to read what I wrote, I made a video where I explain some of the great things I get out of shooting: https://youtu.be/9W80KZksW-4 I hope to be making more videos where I dive deeper into many of these things.

I hope that you find it interesting and that some of you will pick up the torch and explain all the good things about shooting using the hashtag #fhns (so that I can relay it) and share it with your friends.

Thanks and looking forward to see you at the range.

Ramon

Great initiative! And as you read what what follows, consider that I'm impressed and feel people should be indebted to you for having taken the steps you've taken.

Whether you want to or whether you can incorporate any of the following thoughts is up to you.

The language used really can win or lose a battle. Using shooter and shooting really starts us at the bottom of a steep climb in terms of public perception.

Simply "Fight Hate Not Sport" for example would seem like it should evoke a positive reaction from all. A simple stylized graphic could identify which sport. If the easily identified logos/graphics are just bullseyes, then a less clear firearms element identifies which target sport.

Then the thought process is>>
- Yes hate is bad.
- Yes sport is good.
- Yes archery and darts and ... are good sports.
- Guns? Damn, didn't think of it that way.

Much like a marksmanship center will see less resistance than a gun club.

Once shooting, shooters, guns, and the like are in the mind of the person you've activated all their prejudices and the mental defences of those prejudices will be active. Need to get "behind the wall" so that the prejudices are bypassed and the issue can be looked at from a different angle and the prejudices are caught off guard.

The mental battle IMO is one of changing the thought process from "firearms sports are weapons being used for recreation, there is no need to play with weapons" to "Firearms crimes are a misuse of sporting equipment."

Travelling last weekend, US CBP asked me "What's your occupation when you're not being a marksman?". Canadian CBSA officer asked whether I worked at a bunch of jobs that would require a firearm. When I said no, they asked "So an amateur competitor then?" Nicely describes my purpose of travel without raising alarms with the trigger word "shooter".

I tend to agree...not sure about other countries, but I think here in the US, the term "shooter" has become solidly entwined with the term "active shooter" and all the negative emotions that come with it. That's a hard association to break.

marky-d

nice initiative!

as a side-note to the replies above: in latin languages, there is a special word for the shooting sport = "tir". english doensn;t have such a word, so "shooting" is used for both sport and non-sport related events. which is why it is ... controversial/charged.

By the way, I didn't intend my comment to be negative toward your effort -- I applaud what you have done!

marky-d

I tend to use the word "Athlete" in context with the sport and any covered events.

I push my club to not use the words "gun" or "firearm". Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun (OK ... gun is in that last one)

Example: At the airport checkin counter "I have an unloaded rifle/air rifle/shotgun/pistol/air pistol in the case"
most probably flowing to "I'm a rifle athlete going to xxxx competition"

Today simple words do have much different connotations than what learned while I was "growing up". It takes a very conscious effort to convey the concept of this being a sport these days

SlartyBartFast wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2019 3:06 pm Simply "Fight Hate Not Sport" for example would seem like it should evoke a positive reaction from all. A simple stylized graphic could identify which sport. If the easily identified logos/graphics are just bullseyes, then a less clear firearms element identifies which target sport.

I like that a lot. It works well, at least in English.

I'll add that when flying with firearms, I always make a point when checking luggage to ask for a "firearm card" for the appropriate case. I avoid "gun" when dealing with the airlines.

Funny that this conversation is occurring in the SHOOTERS Lounge... :)

marky-d wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 2:50 pm Funny that this conversation is occurring in the SHOOTERS Lounge... :)

Context and Situational awareness.
Being a forum of firearms competitors, the context makes the term acceptable to all.

Talk about BOMs (Bill of Material) all the time at work. NEVER when at the airport.

Shooter has most definitely become a "trigger" word and associated with a person committing violence with a gun (do they know trigger is a part of a gun!) and I'd stay away from it even though WE interchange the term with competitors, sportsman, hunters, etc......

Gun control people have already separated the gun and the "shooter" and they decided to hate/blame the gun. They have decided guns, which are inanimate objects, are evil no matter what their purpose and the only way to eliminate the evil is to remove it. Look at the carte blanche classification of any gun with a magazine forward of the trigger guard, being classifies as "assault" weapons, until proven otherwise, and in some States (NY) good luck with that.
- Dave

Thanks for all your comments and support :)

I'll try to address them grouped by theme:

@SlartyBartFast @marky-d

Thanks for your support!

A bold direct phrase is needed to raise interest and bring the subject upfront. Yes there are prejudices and that's what I want to fight, not the persons. I want to break the association between shooter and terrorist, criminal, murderer...

I agree that there's a problem of language in general and a lot of emotion (hate towards shooting) involved.

Example for language: if "assault rifles" where just called "short rifles" they would not have such a bad image.

Fight Hate Not Sport is a great phrase! But nobody would understand it without the graphic as you say. @SlartyBartFast If you want to submit a nice design with some kind of image, please create it. I'll be happy to include it and thank you in the description for the donation.

In fact you can already test it by going to at least one design, adding your own logo and getting it shipped (don't ask me how I added this option because I don't know): https://www.fighthatenotshooters.com/pr ... lan-shirt/

I plan on adding more phrases myself later based on the success of the initiative.

@Azmodan

I'm Spanish and live in the French speaking part of belgium, I understand Tir and Tiro :) I specifically wanted to focus on the people, not the sport itself.

@jhmartin

I use athlete too but to highlight the sport part of shooting sports, which is not seen by people that do not practice them. It usually raises questions and it gives me the opportunity to inform them about it. They are specially shocked when I refer to myself as a 48 years old athlete.

SlartyBartFast wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2019 3:06 pm
Simply "Fight Hate Not Sport" for example would seem like it should evoke a positive reaction from all. A simple stylized graphic could identify which sport. If the easily identified logos/graphics are just bullseyes, then a less clear firearms element identifies which target sport.

Bought the domain and looking into moving site, store and print on demand store.

Who of you is willing to help?

As long as we are playing with words, what about, “Be a Marksman; gun control is 10/10 in the black.” The politicly correct folk will go ape over both “... men” and “black” and I think the reasonable will nod “Yes”.

I moved the site to https://www.fighthatenotsport.com and have ordered 4 t-shirt designs to the same person that did the "biker" t-shirt.

Is any of you willing to contribute designs, testimonials or something else?

If you promote the site and the designs you like the most it would be really helpful.

Ramon,
Thank you for putting it out there. This conversation needs to take place on some of the social media platforms.
Thanks for all you do.
Alex

I've been sharing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but the feedback to change the phrase happened here :)

Thanks for the support. I wish I had more time to share even more. You should see my to-do list for pistol stuff :)

I got 4 new designs with the phrase "Fight Hate Not Sport" and they are available for you now: https://www.fighthatenotsport.com/shop/?orderby=date.






The hashtag is still the same #FHNS. I've left the ones that say shooters because people in Europe are buying them and I hope the word will become less charged in the USA in the future :)

I'm really going to have to buy one to help you out.

Well done.

Could use the olympic shooting sports symbols too. Don't know about copyright issues though.

Would one of you please post a new thread in TT announcing the new site https://www.fighthatenotsport.com and sharing your thoughts about why it is a good idea? I don't want to be the only one :)

For all: please share it in your social media and other shooters forums you participate in.

Thanks!