You know, I get what you're saying. I live in Texas. Gun capital of the country that founded gun culture. And I enjoy shooting, as a skill. I enjoy living in a country where I can keep and maintain my firearms as I see fit (responsibly, naturally). Bottom like, I like guns.
But I have never sought out to shoot anything that wasn't a threat. I lived on a small farm growing up and often had to deal with "varmits" that were threatening our livestock or poultry. It was a case of either kill the intruding pest, or lose part of an investment that helped sustain us. Not a hard choice in theory, but I never did it out of joy and always hated having to do it. Even shooting a snake wasn't something I wanted to do, I just didn't want my baby chicks to be his lunch when their eggs would someday provide my breakfast and food for my family.
Now as an adult I can compartmentalize a game where hunting is involved. It's pixels and polygons, not living breathing creatures. But I don't think it's wrong to be uncomfortable with a hunting side quest in a game. Red Dead had this as well, and while I did do them and likely will do the hunting when I play AC4 on my PS4, I think it's enough to note to yourself just how lucky we are to live in times when we do not have to do this for basic survival. When as young men and women, part of our education does not involve learning to clean an animal we've killed before we can eat it. Many people even choose a vegetarian lifestyle if it better fits their outlook. You'd never hear a pioneer saying "I don't eat meat", you'd just have a hungry brat who was "too good" for their family's hard won bounty from the land.
It's easy to forget how fortunate we all really are sometimes.
But I have never sought out to shoot anything that wasn't a threat. I lived on a small farm growing up and often had to deal with "varmits" that were threatening our livestock or poultry. It was a case of either kill the intruding pest, or lose part of an investment that helped sustain us. Not a hard choice in theory, but I never did it out of joy and always hated having to do it. Even shooting a snake wasn't something I wanted to do, I just didn't want my baby chicks to be his lunch when their eggs would someday provide my breakfast and food for my family.
Now as an adult I can compartmentalize a game where hunting is involved. It's pixels and polygons, not living breathing creatures. But I don't think it's wrong to be uncomfortable with a hunting side quest in a game. Red Dead had this as well, and while I did do them and likely will do the hunting when I play AC4 on my PS4, I think it's enough to note to yourself just how lucky we are to live in times when we do not have to do this for basic survival. When as young men and women, part of our education does not involve learning to clean an animal we've killed before we can eat it. Many people even choose a vegetarian lifestyle if it better fits their outlook. You'd never hear a pioneer saying "I don't eat meat", you'd just have a hungry brat who was "too good" for their family's hard won bounty from the land.
It's easy to forget how fortunate we all really are sometimes.
