Basejumper.com - archive

Hey guys!!
I am currently studying psychology with criminology at portsmouth (england) university and have been given an article on BASE jumping to discuss.
It is to do with illegal aspects of this activity and why people like yourselves par take in it. I would love to know your views and feelings on BASE jumping, for example, why you do it, how you think you are perceived, general things like that really.
you would be doing me a huge favour in replying, as unlike most people I am not interested in a biased article, I want to know about BASE jumping from the people who do it, not the people who think they know about it
thanks peeps
:)

Tough group

In most places it is not jumping that is illegal.

Many of us don't break laws like trespassing on a regular basis.

It's possible to be an avid jumper and never break a law.

 i always wanted to be a NINJA !!!

For me it will be short; I am working at the moment and don't have time to elaborate.

1. The rush. Adrenaline is a natural drug. I have an addictive personality and all the other addictive drugs tend to destroy one's body, have negative influence on one's aura and detroy mind and spirit.

2. In BASE you are your own boss. People can give you advice but there is nobody who can tell you what to do. No book full of rules to follow, only common sense. You make a mistake, there is noone to blame but yourself. That is something I really like about the sport.

3. My ex girlfriend kept telling me that I am "soooo immature" to the point where I started thinking that it was a bad thing. Now I am married with children and responsabilities, and I love the fact that BASE keeps the 'naughty boy' in me alive. I have learnt that I am just not the kind of guy who wears the pink polo neck, mows the lawn every sunday and does all he can to keep up with the Jones's... and it took me all 34 years to work that out

That's it in a nutshell.
Try interviewing some jumpers.
Hope you do well.

poc

of course, my view may be unique...

think in terms of Risk vs Reward. BASE involves several risks. personally, getting hurt ranks as far more likely than getting arrested. (getting hurt can even make it more likely to suffer an arrest.)

so the legal or illegal aspects of a jump may not be critical. ask yourself, how many laws/regulations/advice get broken daily? many people exceed the lawfull speed limit on a regular basis. some drive while intoxicated, and have never been caught. many traffic laws never get enforced until an accident (and then only to assign liability).

why not look at the psychology of Law Enforcement? why the differing attitudes?
1) no harm? then no foul and turn a blind eye. it's less work.
2) people must be protected from themselves.
3) violation of ANY law questions Law Enforcement's credibility and must be dealt with harshly.

honestly...
do you brush your teeth after every meal?
do you check your tire pressure before every roadtrip?
do you ask about local laws when you rent a car?
do you conduct personal business at work?
do you ask permission to snap someone's picture?

it is all about how each individual perceives Risk vs Reward...

society has removed many risks for modern people. some professionals have studied it and believe a certain segement of the population will seek out risk, exactly BECAUSE it has been removed from our lives.

All,

I have removed discussion of the moderation from this thread. You can find it here. If you wish to further discuss the moderation, kindly PM me with your comments. I will removed further such discussion without notice.

In so doing, I also removed GreenMachines comment on the discussion, posted in reply to wwarped, which is reproduced below:



Let's try to keep this thread on topic.

Thanks!