I was born and raised in New York City. I lived and worked there most of my life, most recently on the Upper East Side for over twenty years.
I have never owned firearms and could count off the number of times I've fired them without using all the fingers of one hand. I am not a hunter or a fisherman. My family is mostly urban liberal, with some of the older generation classical Socialists. For three of the four generations we've been in America, most of my relatives have been "yuppies" -- including me.
I spend time outdoors, in the woods and fields and hills, not because I want the skills to survive the End Of The World As We Know It. I do it because I enjoy being in a natural environment, which is part of all of our genetic inheritance. I have whistled at birds, chattered at squirrels, whined at dogs, and purred at cats, and had them look at me in surprise that a stupid human actually took the trouble to learn a few words of their language.
I am afraid too many people here overstate their survivalist credentials to convince themselves of their invincibility or convince us of their good old boy character. I think this preening gets overdone.
This forum has many really good people, who truly enjoy and understand the wilds that still remain accessible to us. I hope we continue to stress their contributions here, and not waste time on socio-political posturing. There is an Arena elsewhere on Bladeforums for that.