They don't understand!

[ex Member swampy99]

I just look at them and say.

"What will you do when the ZOMBIES attack?"

Then carry on reading my Zombie survival hand book.

They shut up then and just walk away with a look on their face as if they are mad for not thinking about Zombies or I'm mad for thinking there there will be a level 3 Zombie infestation in the next few years.


Got to love idiots just for the entertainment they bring to your day.

 

[lannyman8]

why dont you just use a lighter....
camping in this weather????your mad!!!!!!!
whats a tarp/basha...
why are you keeping that bit of string...
will you not be cold if you go out side when its like this...
why do you bother...

and the most annoying of all....

camping, what do you do when your there? "i make things, spoons, string etc." dont you get bord? "no, i make thing and practise fire craft." dont you take a radio or ipod or something? "whats an ipod, can you start a fire with it? can i skin a rabbit or make a spoon to cook with.....IT'S WHAT??????????"

i do take a radio but only because its wind up and has a torch on it.......lol.....

chris......................

 

[Tengu]

I gave my chemistry Teacher a firesteel for lighting bunsens.

She was dead chuffed, having never heard of ferrocerentium before

 

[The Cumbrian]

Do not try to understand them, and do not try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart and make no sense...

I'm with you and Hawkeye Wayland, I don't feel the need to explain myself to people who don't have the need to be outdoors.

When I worked in Sweden though, I was surprised to be asked by my Swedish colleagues why I was going camping in winter, would I be cold etc, and most of those guys had done their National Service. Even in countries with a great outdoor pedigree, it seems that only a small proportion of the population take advantage of it.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[PaulSanderson]

yup...from the guys at work, and SWMBO (god bless her)...

"Why do you want to practice this stuff, and like survival skills, whats all that about?!" - needless to say i didnt dignify this with a response...

"Why on earth would you want to light a fire without using a lighter" - then there was no lighter and the village had a power cut...timeless!! Thank god for open fires!!

"Cant believe you actually shoot rabbits and birds to eat, just get a chicken from the supermarket like everyone else" - my all time fave!!

the list goes on....BUT, the less people that DO understand, the quieter the woods are...and thats got to be a good thing!!

 

[ex-member Raikey]

brilliant thread!,..

but it works the other way sometimes too ..

yeah i sit at a desk all day too,...

i gave some people a lift home during the snow and one guy spotted my pack on the back seat with a poncho and canteen cup in the top,...

he asked a few questions then told me "i never knew you were a Ray Mears type",...hahaha

i said "you never asked" ,..i expected the usual response from me enjoying food i foraged, and just being outside,...

turns out hes the same,...hahahah just never said owt!!

he spotted my Merrels once when i ditched the suit and "got suspicious" then he saw me polishing a blade at my desk and the pocket clip of my EDC,....

so it some times does work the other way and you get a suprise,...

 

[peterbennett9]

This thread is genius and spot on the money! it never ceases to amaze me how detached from reality some people are, you killed and ate what?! you animal! (as they sit and tuck into a hamburger)

They (most of them) live in a cushie little world wrapped up in cotton wool, its a shame really because it wasn't all that long ago that the skills discussed and practiced on this forum were everyday life, and you never know they may well be again!

 

[WolfCrafter]

Im with Waylands view point.. Iv learnt to keep there views of Bushcraft at a distance! .. I wouldn't want them boring me with a football conversation that I just don't understand or want too.. so why should i engage them with something that is just as alien to them!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drewdunnrespect]

the best one is

mum says what you buying now drew

me or just a .......

what the hell do u need that for you all ready have such and such and to much other kit

then come the electric failure

drew can we borrow ........

me yes course u can its a good job i baught it ist it

no responce just goes and gets it and starts to live normally again

drew

 

[WolfCrafter]

I agree Raikey though! I talk a lot to people and engage I'n everyday conversations like a 'normal person', (avoiding football ones) but occasionally throw a curve ball I'n just to see responses!

Probing occasionally does bring it's rewards! I found a nice TA guy I regularly chat with about tarps and knives, which steamed from a conversation taking about the news in Afganistan!.. and another random guy which went from clubing to raving to ilegal raves, then eventually bore fruit I'n the form of 'spots to camp I'n the local forest away from people'! Went two weeks ago and was a great spot!

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[Trunks]

I suppose i'm quite fortunate, i teach in a school in the Yorkshire Dales where a lot of the others are "outdoors" types, It's the girlfriend who thinks i'm mad

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Thank god I'm presently single.... Dont really engage with most of the workforce (odd shifts) But, I am normally greeted every monday from my work companion and good mate with the words...

'Still ready for the end of the world'? or, 'Catch any snake's with your teeth over the weekend'?

And, it still makes me laugh in a good way!

I think he's considering 'The green side' secretly.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

I think he's considering 'The green side' secretly.

and i think a big part of the negativitly "we" get from "them" is down to this secret yearning to get involved in all our "sillyness"

all the questions we get asked are met with ridicule when answered, but the reason so many questions is they want to play too,.....hahaha

its late ,...i,m off to bed,....(or is it early?)

 

[Bogman10]

Working, as I do, in a call centre, I'm surrounded by non-bushcrafty people, mainly female. Some of the questions that they ask me about what I do really frustrate and annoy me.

Such as...

"You just picked that and ate it! Eeuuww. What if it is poisonous?"
- It isn't. I know it isn't, or I wouldn't have eaten it. Do I look stupid?

"But what if it has germs on it?"
- Of course if has germs (bacteria) on it. So does everything you eat or drink, and the air you breathe, unless you live in a sterile environment. That's why we have immune systems. So long as I practise basic hygiene and don't eat anything obviously contaminated or rotten, I'll be fine.

"But what if a dog has peed on it?"
- Let's see. Is it wet? No. Does it smell of urine? No. Then a dog probably hasn't peed on it. Or if it has, it was sufficiently long ago that the urea products have broken down into something harmless (which happens very quickly, incidentally). Besides, I'm not aware that dog urine is especially dangerous. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the odds are in my favour.

"You're going camping in January? Won't you be cold?"
- No I won't. You see, I know it is January, so I'll pack warm clothes and a sleeping bag. I'll check the weather forecast. I'll make a fire and eat a hot meal. And if it gets really unexpectedly bad, I'll pack up and go home. But I'd have to be an idiot to let myself get cold.

"You're mad!"
- This from the person who bought her New Year party dress 2 weeks before Christmas, and then ate so much that the dress now doesn't fit, so she had to go out and buy another dress that does fit, thereby wasting the £80 she spent on the original dress. At least I can plan ahead.

But yes, I am mad

Anyone else got annoying examples?

Well said Mr. ! I get weird looks when I tell the co-works I am going camping in -30 c weather , not to mention having my sanity questioned!

 

[RonW]

Just one answer to the infinite stupidity and ignorance of the average person; don't bother!!

They do not WANT to understand, because their head is so far up their a**e they don't know what to do, eat, think and wear unless told so by someone on the tele.

 

[Mesquite]

Does anyone get their wife/husband/partner complaining about kit spread out all around the house, don't they understand that's a highly organised filing system that we've developed???

 

[ex-member Raikey]

Does anyone get their wife/husband/partner complaining about kit spread out all around the house, don't they understand that's a highly organised filing system that we've developed???

yep yep,...

my wife has friends coming in an hour and i normally have my kit i two plastic shipping containers,....

but at the moment they're open all over the room floor as i repack for next weekend,...

oh dear,...she's great tho,....she said "can you just hide the axe, they wont understand!" hahahahaha

 

[PaulSanderson]

All my kit lives and a single 100ltr bergen and a wee 35ltr rucksack in the car. thats filing for you!!

Stu - leave the axe out...visitors then know not to misbehave

I agree with the secret yearning to get involved in "our" sillyness...it was only a few years ago that this "sillyness" was a way of life...are we really that far removed from it now?? i think a secret yearning to get back to it indicates that we're not too far...but far enough that a lot of the knowledge and skills is lost...

 

[Pandabean]

Yup I know the feeling and most of the time I keep it to myself. As I work in an office as well and the most common question asked is "What is bushcraft/that?" After mentioning what I do, the basic response is have you ever seen or heard of Ray Mears / Bear Grylls (simplest reply to people who may have seen them on the box) and the usual answer is no so I have to explain it and usually get an odd look and nothing else.
Most of the time its banter between me and my boss who likes proper camping on camp sites or taking a large tent with him.

Also I agree with you Xunil on the football thing, I used to like it as a kid but grew out of it and now can't stand it, even when my co-workers start talking about my brain just switches off. Now if they had proper stuff on the telly like archery or shooting that would be great.

As for my kit, there is some organisation there...honest.

 

[Neumo]

Great thread. Having tried explaining things to close friends & some family members I take the view that it's best not to call what I do Bushcraft. If I tell them I am out walking or mountain biking on the South Downs then they can understand that, it all sounds normal & is not threatening. But if I tell them I will be going out with several knives or axes (Dangerous..), playing with Fire (Dangerous), then I either get the p*** taken, not taken seriously or are thought of as a bit of a weirdo

For some people, what we do scares them, if you know what I mean. The fact that we dont always need electricity available 24x7, choose to sleep out in all waethers without a solid roof over our head, can feed ourselves without having to go to a shop... does quietly worry some people, in my experience. I think it reminds them how deep a rut they & most people are in these days, where doing something like staying for a week with a bunch of people you have never met on the south wales coast sort of scares them. More fool them I say, as it means more quiet woodland for me & my kind to have fun in.

Thats why I say things like 'I am going walking on the South Downs' rather than saying that I am going out to practice making fire, build a shelter etc..