There are things I read about every day that I find inspiring. Stories of beauty, promise, of love against all odds - stories that make me believe that no matter how bleak things look sometimes, there really is hope for humankind. Hunting for Bambi is not one of those stories.

Hunting For Bambi is the brainchild of Michael Burdick, a man who is either the creator of an elaborate hoax or the real life orchestrator of violent acts against women for entertainment purposes. Either way, the man is arguably a genius. If only he was using his powers for "good" rather than "evil".

So what is this Hunting for Bambi thing all about? The claim is that men who are interested in hunting, but
bored with hunting the usual squirrels and deer and elk, oh my, can, for a small fee of somewhere between $5000 and $10,000, hunt naked women with a paintball gun. And then they can obtain a nifty little video of their exploits so that one day, when they are old and gray, they can share the video with their grandkids and reminisce about what he-men they used to be. Heartwarming, isn't it? I don't know about you, but it certainly brings a tear to my eye.

But the question remains: Is It Real?

On that, it appears to be a matter of ongoing debate. I would LOVE to flat out say that this is a hoax - simply a scam to sell cheap tawdry, albeit imaginative and funny (at least to someone with my sick sense of humor) videos. And in all honesty, I do believe that this is exactly what it is. I mean, come on, we live in the day and age when even beach balls carry warning labels. So I do find it a bit impossible to believe that anyone anywhere could get away with shooting paint balls (which can travel as much as 200 mph) at anyone not wearing protective gear (and remember, these women are naked) without getting their butts sued for every dime they or their children will ever make.

But the official debate rages on, it seems. Snopes.com has declared these hunts to be a hoax, much to the chagrin, no doubt, of KLAS reporter LuAnne Sorrell who reported these hunts as being very real. But even Ms. Sorrell's own employer, KLAS, finally had to contend that it might all be a front for something
else when the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, decided to conduct an investigation into the matter.

You might think that when the city investigation officially declared the Bambi hunts to be a hoax that would have been the end of it. But no. Michael Burdick now claims that what started out as a hoax to get free publicity to sell his strange little videos, has now become a reality as all the publicity has brought out an endless number of would be hunters and "Bambis" who are just itching to join in on the fun. Talk about creating our own reality.

So again, the question remains - is it real?

Maybe in the end, it doesn't really matter. Maybe what really matters is what this says about our society's attitude about women.

Whether the hunts are real or not, the videos are, and the Hunting for Bambi site is alive and well. And maybe that's the most disturbing fact of all.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ MORE:

Violence against Women : The Bloody Footprints (A Gender & Society Reader)