Basejumper.com - archive

I am posting this on behalf of an anonymous Colorado jumper. Please contact me if you have any questions, and I can facilitate communication with the Colorado crew.


Note that I have edited the message somewhat, to keep it within the spirit of the Dropzone.com community. I have posted the original, unedited, message on the BASE Board at BLiNC. If you know this jumper, please ask them to contact me. The world of BASE is way too small to be making enemies this early in your career.

Blue skies, black eyes.

Ewww. Thinking about jumping a specific tower. What a sin.

As a member of the colorado skydiving community and soon to be learning BASE myself I am not only embarrased at the posting of the article but disgusted also. Not just this HIGHLY edited portion but also the barbaric original version. What does one hope to accomplish by this message? It's clear that the author must have the knowledge of who the person is and is trying to start some shit. This person wants the person to be safe yet they threaten them with harm? Then they hide behind the moderator who didn't use enough judgement to ignore the message. If one hopes to help someone be safe there are other ways to go about it besides posting on the internet....

As someone who is not yet in the sport, you are speaking without understanding the base community and knowing what it is like to be in it.

First, we do not want to see anyone get hurt in this sport. Someone going out and trying to figure this complicated and dangerous sport out on their own will get hurt or worse. There are just many things to learn and to many variables to consider to try and learn trial-by-error. Whether you agree with how it was stated, the writer of this letter was first and foremost looking out for the safety of this new and uneducated jumper.

Secondly. Not being in the sport, you do not know the time and energy we put into finding, and maintaining safe objects. We spend alot of energy trying to make sure that the objects we use are never damaged and never show that we were there. I know of several people that operate our local objects that are aware we jump them. So long as they are never damaged or we never leave evidence we were there, they do not care. Though, the first time something is broken or a pile of trash is left, they will close the object to us, add alrams and start prosecuting, no matter if it was us or not. So when someone comes along and uses an object that we have put hard work into, then burns it because they don't care or just don't know, we take it very personally and there will be consequences. Not only does this result in the loss of a good object for the community, it reflects an even worse image than we already have as base jumpers.

So, in a year, after you have been in the sport, read this post again and see if you feel the same way!!!

BASE folks are often startlingly direct in our communications. Sometimes, being direct is best. Ours is not a politically correct community in most regards; lots of us are antisocial boobs who don't give a flying fluck what others think of us just so long as folks don't piss in our beds.

Also, I think it takes a bit of BASE culture knowledge to read the original thread properly. To wit, the infamous tarring and feathering incident of JV in Atlanta. This is a part of our culture; the poster referencing this is thereby putting tongue (mostly) in cheek regarding threats of violence. Again, it's all about the reference that I think you didn't really get.

I have, at times, posted nastygrams warning others about burning local objects. Would I actually beat down someone for being an ass and burning our objects? No, not really. Does it help to make the point that we're serious about object etiquette? Yeah, I think it does - again, within the context of the larger BASE community.

Unlike skydivers, BASE folks self-manage. We do a pretty good job of it, and no we don't end up in fisticuffs all that often. Skydivers have official authority figures to set rules and enforce them. We hate authority figures, but we also need to play nice together to maintain our objects and hence our sport.

If you think that original post is "barbaric" then you really haven't hung around many BASE folks yet Wait until you see how we actually behave in person - now that's barbaric!

Peace,

D-d0g

Just a point of technical clarification: JV was tarred and feathered in Nawlins for burning an object that was in Atlanta.

Barbaric? Perhaps. Justified? We certainly thought so. He blazed into town, talked a crane operator and foreman into letting him jump (a sweet crane with a hugely phat lz that we were jumping LOTS at night) in broad daylight, got them both fired from their jobs, then gave an over-the-phone interview to the local news station (complete with a color glossy picture of himself), then had the audacity to mention - when discussing with the news anchor what he thought about the workers losing their jobs, "you can't get me now because I'm in Louisiana." Well, the police might not have been able to... or wanted to go to the trouble of doing so, but it was certainly within our reach.

In hindsight and in his defense, at the time, the 'net did not exist - so it was more difficult to comply with the 'call the local' rule. He may not have been aware of the locals jumping in the area; nevertheless the rule was in existence in the culture at that time, and he had opportunity to do so (check in at nearby dz's or with others in the sport). Further, his flagrant, audacious, I'm-a-BASE-god-attitude during his over-the-phone interview sent our sensibilities over the edge; we thought our retaliation was justified, and I still believe so to this day.

In defense of Tom (help with which I'm sure he doesn't need), he was just the messenger; don't shoot him. In defense of the CO crew... well, they don't need defense either. And freefli - what,"...one hope(s) to accomplish by [that] message..." is the saving of hard-earned, too-few, precious local objects. As someone else has already said, spend a year in the sport, open a few objects on your own, and see if you don't take it personally when someone starts treading on the ground you have broken without your knowledge or without seeking your help. Until then, we have our ways and they will be utilized - with or without your 'approval'.

Gardner

p.s. edit: meant to reply to d-dog's post... sorry crewpilot.

Thanks for the clarification, 311. I know of the incident as legend and lore; it is good to get details from someone with firsthand knowledge.

I date myself by doing so, but I remember well the "bolting wars" of the '80s in the climbing community. Those issues erupted into widespread chopping jihads and more than a few fistfights. Remember Kauk and Bachar going at it in the Camp 4 parkinglot? Remember when Kurt Smith was a staunch traditionalist known for chopping in the Valley?

In comparison to that craziness, BASE folks have been pretty clean about their self-regulation.

Peace,

D-d0g