For anyone who wants to see examples of purist archie thought :
- Thread starter Tom_in_CA
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HiDesertHunter
Full Member
If anything did damage to us MD'rs it was that horrible show 'American Digger' with Ric Savage.
Tom_in_CA
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Never heard of it till your post here. Had to google it. You mean this ? :
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...ave-robbing-over-tv-show-battlefield-recovery
The type of archies that would call that "grave-robbing", are probably the type of archies who would disdain ANY type of metal detecting on the hobbyist level.
I would also point out that when an archie goes to dig up his pits, he sifts and touches every single inch of soil. Right ? Thus touching and handling bones and graves. Right ? Versus the md'r who goes *straight* to the metal item (not the bones). Ok, then ... pray-tell .... who's doing more harm to "graves" now ? The md'r ? Or the archie ? Thus we should be praised for our surgical precision to avoid bones in-the-first-place. Eh ?
FliesOnly
Senior Member
I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me here. I was merely pointing out that in addition to the many ridiculous laws on the books in South Carolina making metal detecting illegal in numerous places, they're also the only State of the fifty that has outlawed all magnet fishing (with some rare exception when you have a "permit")."doesn't allow magnet fishing" ?How much do you want to make a bet that if you or I went there and "magnet fished", that you'd spend the next 100 yrs. trying to find someone to raise an objection, or notice, or tell you to "stop".
Kind of like "spitting on sidewalks" laws. You can never find anyone to raise-an-objection if you did "spit on a sidewalk". Nor can you ever find anyone who ever faced an legal consequences for having spit-on-a-sidewalk.
As for whether or not someone would notice, or complain, or care...well, my guess would be that you'd likely get a visit from a LEO pretty quickly. Am I saying I'm OK with that? Nope..I think it's stupid. But that fact remains...magnet fishing in SC is illegal.
Tom_in_CA
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To ask yourself: What is the ORIGIN of those laws that you speak of. Ie.: Why did anyone care or "make a law", in the first place , for this supposed egregious infraction ?
Ok ? Then : 1) got any examples of "magnet fishers who got LEO visits "pretty quickly" ? (eg.: fines, confiscations, jail with bubba, tickets, etc...) . If so, please-do-share -the-links. 2) I'll bet that you or I could go "magnet fish" till our arms fell-off (even if wearing bright orange , blah blah). And hardly register anyone to "care-less". If you have links-to-the-contrary, then please: Do share.
And if they didn't register anyone to "visit" to care-less , then that merely means they didn't ask long-enough and hard-enough, of enough concerned-archies : "Can I ? " . Shame on them , eh ?
FliesOnly
Senior Member
From what I understand, it was mostly archeologists "worried" about destruction of sensitive areas...which makes no sense when one looks at what magnet fishing actually entails.To ask yourself: What is the ORIGIN of those laws that you speak of. Ie.: Why did anyone care or "make a law", in the first place , for this supposed egregious infraction ?
What are you going on about!? Seriously, I have no idea why you have your panties in a bunch. It's illegal to magnet fish in South Carolina. I didn't pass the stupid law. Heck, I don't even live there. "Georgeinsc" simply listed a number of places where SC has made it illegal to detect. I piled on his list of ridiculous laws by adding magnet fishing to the list. Now you're acting as if it's my fault or that I agree with it, or that..well...actually, I have no idea what your actually ranting about.
I simply pointed out a fact...which is that it is illegal to magnet fish in South Carolina. I didn't offer an opinion on the law. I didn't say anything whatsoever about the law. Still, it's the law. A silly law. But still the law.
Tom_in_CA
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Sure. I don't disagree that it's "archaeologists" who are "worried" about it. And yes: We agree that it makes no sense. Ok, so ask yourself : What put it on those archie's plates as something to "worry" about, in the first place ?
To have become a "law" in the first place ? THAT'S what I'm talking about. And no it's not "your fault" or "my fault". But I'll bet I can trace back to where the fault began.
Tom_in_CA
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Tom_in_CA
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You mean the "purist archies" ? Of which this post is directed at ? If so: Yes, they do mean well. I do not dispute that. After all, they write a bunch of great articles that lead me/us to good sites.
And taken-to-its-logical ends, if I continue to know they "mean well", and thus "agree with them", is the day that I would give up this hobby. I mean, yes: After all, it does indeed agree with their "well-meaning" that our hobby robs future-generations of learning about their past. What could be more-bad than that ?
So my/your choices are: 1) To agree and comply with their "well-meaning", and give up our hobby, or 2) Deduce that no one and/or no object (that durned pesky V nickel or mercury dime) is harming anyone.
Hmmm, decisions decisions.
So as you can see, it would be sort-of-odd that someone could be on a forum such as this (an md'ing forum, after all) and be sympathetic with their objectives (after all, they "mean well"). Our alternative is to take up another hobby altogether. WHICH IS VERY NOBLE ! I mean, sure ....birdwatching, needlepoint, etc... are all good and noble hobbies, with zero dissenters, eh ?
maxxkatt
Forum Supporter
"doesn't allow magnet fishing" ?
Kind of like "spitting on sidewalks" laws. You can never find anyone to raise-an-objection if you did "spit on a sidewalk". Nor can you ever find anyone who ever faced an legal consequences for having spit-on-a-sidewalk.
Yet .... sure as heck .... it might truly be on-the-books as an actual law.
So too do I sometimes wonder, when we md'rs "scour the universe" to "make sure we're ok to detect", and find some deeply buried verbiage. Then sit around and fret ourselves silly about how the world is caving in on our hobby. And oddly, if you ever try to point out that "no one cares" or "just do it", then guess what the knee-jerk reaction of the skittish is going to be ? To show up at bureaucrat's desks, pointing at some verbiage, and asking "can I?". (so as to disprove the "no one cares" attitude of other md'rs). Thus only fueling the very same self-fulfilling loop that ..... now someone "cares".
The universal creed of politicians is 1) to make as much personal fortune as
possible through their elected office and 2) to pass laws of any type to fool their electors into thinking they are doing a good job. This creed is for both republicans and democrats from dog catcher up to and most definitely including the White House.
maxxkatt
Forum Supporter
Archies go only where the grant money will take them. This allows them to gain more press and get more grant money. For metal detectorists it is a hobby and we invest considerable time and expense (gas, equipment, etc) for the love of the hobby. We are not the holier-than-thou archie hypocrites who claim to eschew the money. (been wanting to find a use for the word eschew for a long time).
