Canadian backlash - Thrill-seeking must come at a cost
From The Golden Star Shame I couldn't post this in the original thread but it got locked for some reason.
In reply to:
Let me start off by first saying that I fail to fully understand exactly what compels a BASE jumper to hurl himself off a cliff — or a Calgary skyscraper, for that matter — with nothing but a parachute representing the difference between the achievement of an ego-boosting feat and a gruesome and disturbing death.
Nor do I pretend to see why some ‘hardcore’ skiers venture into the backcountry at times when avalanche risks are publicized as extremely high, throwing caution to the wind in the name of thrill-seeking, or, just maybe, aiming to become a legend both in their buddies’ eyes and in their own minds.
I know at some level, in a childish sort of way, the act of defying the odds and rushing headlong into potential danger can produce some sort of rush or sense of excitement. So be it. To each his own. Perhaps I’m just a timid lame-o. And hey, this type of behaviour is common in an adventure sport mecca, right?
But this week’s news of a BASE jump gone wrong just south of Golden highlights a more troubling reality: Every time one of these stuntmen — and they are usually men, whether that’s a surprise to anyone or not — boldy (stupidly?) venture forth but screw things up, it comes at a tremendous price to taxpayers.
While it’s hard to gather an exact sense of how much a rescue effort like the one we saw on Sunday night might cost – one official has put it at $100,000 — you have to assume that it wouldn’t exactly be cheap to bring in a Canadian Forces search helicopter and a rescue plane, along with the various other resources that were required to save this ill-fated adventurist.
And let’s not forget the fact that countless residents were made to endure bright flares in the night sky and the sound of rescue vehicles into the early morning hours. Or, most especially, that this daredevil — seemingly in an attempt to either gratify himself or to curry favour among his fellow jumpers — put rescue crews in peril as they flew their helicopter “precariously close to the mountain’s edge,” as the RCMP put it.
But what does this anonymous Joe BASE Jumper care about all that? Sounds like he was in from Vancouver for the weekend and, as members of his curious sub-culture are wont to do, decided to leap off a cliff Sunday afternoon to gather a fuller enjoyment of our lovely mountain setting.
It probably wasn’t so lovely, though, when he was stranded on a four-foot ledge in sub-zero temperatures waiting to be rescued because of his error in judgement.
The man was ulimately taken to Golden Hospital and treated for minor hypothermia. But this should not be viewed in any sense by him, or anybody else, as a clean getaway.
When people, whether they be BASE jumpers or backcountry skiers, exercise extremely bad judgement, deliberately putting themselves and others in harm’s way, we all pay the price. And so, in turn, thrill-seeking must come at a cost.
The only way to ensure guys like this understand the full impact of their actions is to hold them financially accountable.
BASE jumping might not seem like such a good idea if they have to foot the bill for their own fool-hardy negligence.
There is no name to this editorial(?). What evidence does the author have that "this anonymous Joe BASE Jumper" exercised "bad judgement" or was negligent?