Re: [pop] Portrayal of BASE and Skydiving in the News
In reply to:
I have always been an individual that doesn’t really care what others say about what I do. Whether someone approves of my actions or not, or if they bad mouth what I do has never been a deciding factor for me. I truly never cared.
Lets give some extreme examples of caring and not caring. Would you be offended, pissed off, angry, or happy if I took a "dump" in your kitchen whilst you were preparing dinner? Would you be offended if I slashed your lines and pulled your reserve just before you were about to do a jump you were really looking forward to doing? What if I slipped my tongue down your throat wihout your permission??? As I said - extreme examples, but . . . . . .
Lets look at it another way, what if someone actually cares for you and they want to offer some advice that will keep you alive, or develop your complement of skills, or keep you in the clique of some local society that you are a part of (there are benefits to belonging)? Would you just ignore this and not give a shit?
It is true to say that there are many negative people in society, people that lack achievement orientation, and people who just don't know. If you listened to all of them your life would be less adventurous, unfulfilling, etc. But you are also a part of society. The fact that you inhabit buildings, earn money, have employment, etc means that you have decided to become a part of society to the extent that you have to sacrifice some (NOT ALL) of your anarchistic desires.
In reply to:
I find that skydivers and BASE jumpers are really concerned with how they are portrayed in the media. I am curious to find out some of your opinions on that. Why do you care if someone write a bad article or a good article, or of someone’s name was mentioned? Does any of that really matter?
Now for media attention. If someone does something that the general public deems as daring and the perception is created that it is illegal, and the authorities could not catch them, how do you think the local authorities would feel? If I was a cop in small town America, and some punk kept robbing my local businesses and I could not catch them, do you think I would feel like a failure? Do you think that maybe I would like to make amends and prove to the community that I am capable of fulfilling my perceived duties? Do you think I might talk tough and act tough on the off chance that I caught the offenders? It does happen. Both for crime . . . . . and for BASE jumping.
Just ask those jumpers that have had rifle buts smashed against their skills whilst they were trying to protect the identity of their colleagues. Just ask those local jumpers who cannot access their local object because some out of town punk came flying through town and thumbed his nose to the local police whilst jumping in broad daylight. Just ask those jumpers who have been grilled by authorities because some "jumper" atttempted something well beyond their ability and ended up severely injured or dead.
Being independant, trying to live and achieve beyond the constraints of a "safety conscious, conservative society, and exploring your personal boundaries is one thing. Saying I just don't give a shit what other people is another thing entirely. One is about pioneering, excelling, contributing to society. The other is just plain selfish and stupid (IMHO).
TO answer your questions directly:
r.e. skydiving - I don't care what they say in the media. It is an established activity and INDUSTRY, and it will be next to impossible to stop it from occuring. Hence I will always be able to participate (selfish huh). Media can have either effect on the industry. r.e. the authorities - more accidents just means more paperwork and more scrutiny. That is not good nor fun.
r.e. BASE jumping. Accidents are NOT good for the sport!!! Just take a look at all the hard work that goes on around the world to keep objects open after accidents. Look at Bridge Day, the Fjords of Norway, the big walls of Italy, the National Parks and Public land areas in the USA, various sites around Australia, etc, etc, etc. There are a lot of people trying to keep these open to jumpers and minimise the intervention from the non-jumping public and authorities. This makes it easier for you and me to turn up and jump.
If you respect their efforts, then we will always be able to jump locally instead of having to travel far away. Jumping locally means we can remain current. This improves safety and decreases the likelihood of accidents at the "tourist" BASE sites. It means that knowledge AND experience can be spread further and in more detail (no hiding or running required - hence you can spend more time at the sites - this is valuable).
Media attention attracts the pepsi-max generation of jumpers which increases the likelihood of accidents at a particular site. There are more severe injuries nowadays at sites that were relatively incident free years ago due to the type of jumper being attracted to the sport.
It is a well known theory/fact that a skydiving accident will attract these type of people to slydiving. That is all well and good when they are taken by an experienced Tandem master. But this is a lot more difficult to control in BASE jumping.
Hence, you should care. Because there really is a lot more at stake than just your desires. If someone else beat you to it, you may not even get a chance to try the thing you really want to do.
I love you like a sister Jaap, not like everyone elses sister, like one I wouldn't touch in that kinda way.