In a time where rotten political eggs
are being thrown across party lines
to taint the image of competing
candidates, it’s obvious the proverbial lines of respect have slowly disintegrated over the years. Running for the
Presidency used to be about respect, honor,
courage, tactics, creating change, and keeping our country great, but now it appears to
have moved to name calling, ridiculing, finger
pointing, and anything that can embarrass
the other candidate, yet without any substance at all for the people.
Unfortunately, the same
lack of morals that our
Presidential candidates are
using to build their campaigns have trickled down
into the fishing industry,
and for some it’s painful to
see. When I was a kid,
speaking to a charter captain was the equivalence of
speaking to the President
for many. I was in awe
every time I crossed paths
with one, my ears would
open, my smile would
grow, and my handshake
was never more firm, the
captains of my childhood
were Presidential. I grew
up fishing the waters
around Lake Borgne and Delacroix and while
there weren’t as many charter captains then
as there are now, they always showed respect
for education, the fishery, and others; I wish I
could say the same today. Now don’t get me
wrong, not all captains are critical of everyone
or everything, but in today’s social media
age, it only takes one bad apple to ruin the
bunch. Remember the age-old adage: “Do
something good and a few people hear
about it, do something bad and the world will
find out,” that’s especially true with our addiction to social media today.
It seems that since the airing began of a popular TV show, Wicked Tuna, the term
“googan” has made its way south and into
the boats and social media platforms of many.
It’s a term that Webster doesn’t even recognize, yet it seems to be thrown around at
every person on the water who doesn’t act or
perform the way another person thinks they
should. Believe me, I get it, I encounter many
boats and anglers on the water who operate
a lot differently than I do; but does that mean
the best recourse is to point the finger, call
them a googan, ridicule them, or tear out on
the throttle and make a circle around them? I
don’t think so. Think about it, maybe they are
new to boating, maybe they’re still learning
and have never encountered a situation
where they went “wrong,” or maybe, just
“It’s the so called ‘Googans’
of this world that keep
charter companies in
business, so maybe next
time you choose to use the
word, you may want to think
about the repercussions.”
maybe, they are so excited to be on the water
after 12 days of consecutive work that their
adrenaline got the better of them when they
chunked the anchor instead of gently easing
it into the water. Either way, degrading them
face-to-face or on social media does nothing,
but it does show your character as an intolerable angler or captain. How about next time,
you figure o