Posted by kelphead on August 04, 2000 at 18:10:20:
In Reply to: Re: Jason, kelphead, Slang posted by Jim Hoffmann on August 04, 2000 at 16:56:10:
i don't want you to get the impression that i don't
care about other people b/c that is most absolutely not
true. however, part of my message in the above post
(which understandably could have gotten lost) is
please don't be too hypocritical or two-faced
about it when you want to control the actions of
others but don't like your own actions controlled.
my husband is a cop for laguna beach and has been
for 10 years now. i have heard all the gory traffic
related deaths, illicit drug induced deaths, diver deaths
(yes, my hubby has been directly involved in at least one
diver homicide), and suicides and i agree that it's not
pretty and can be extremely sad. i don't want to turn this
into some morbid competition, but i think it is safe
to say that my hubby has seen more death than either you
or mhk (...or even the two of you combined).
but surprisingly (or not surprisingly) even he has
adopted the attitude that if someone is stupid enough
to want to harm themselves, then there's nothing
anyone can do to stop them. i mean, really, why
not just put a curfew on all of us so that we don't
injure ourselves outside of the home. some people
like to cry foul when the govt steps in even w/very
minor legislation--wouldn't you be just proposing the
same thing? how would your rules be any different...?...
re:the l.a. laws, no, i was not aware of them b/c
you guessed correctly: i'm quite the young'un. however,
slang is not (no offence steve!). (thank
you for the enlightenment, though). but let me ask
you why/how those same laws got repealled? it's very
rare for govt to repeal laws, especially for such
a tiny community that has no lobby strength as our
dive community.
but while we are on the issue, you want to regulate
wreck dives, but what in God's name is wrong with:
**forcing divers to use dive flags??
**forcing divers to use dive floats??
**mandatory recertification every 2 years??
these are ALL ideas that have been bounced around
w/IN the dive community, they are not new, and they
are very "sensible" (mike's word) laws. gee whiz,
why is it evil for the govt to mandate the above when
it seems to be in the best interest of the diver to
use a flag and float and to get recertified every 2
years?? in fact, many divers complain about other
divers who haven't been in the water for that length
of time and wonder why the industry hasn't indeed mandated
recertification. instead, as we all know, this issue
is left up to the individual diver to decide if or
when a 'refresher course' is necessary.
as for the 1$ air fill tax (which in my book is so
not a big deal), people just don't like to pay taxes,
that's why the tax thing, i'm sure, was opposed.
again, i go back to the point that i'm trying to make:
you don't like, for some unbeknownst reason, to have
govt regulate the use of dive flags and floats and
to have divers be held responsible by proving their diving skills
via recertification every 2 years (very similar to
what we have to do w/our dmv relicensing), all of
which can really honestly save the lives of divers, but
on the other hand you want to be part of a group
that wants to regulate others' activity on wrecks.
what's the difference???
as one saying goes: power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.
those who want to control don't like to be controlled themselves.
i'm sorry about all the death that dm's see--but i'm
sure doctors and nurses and emts and firefighters
and police officers and soldiers see waaaaaay more
than dm's will ever see (based on the general safety
record of scuba diving), and as was mentioned elsewhere
in this thread: if one can't handle all this morbidity
and mortality, then one needs to find a way out of
it so that it won't bother them again.
to use the claim that dragging bodies out bothers
someone and this is part of the reason why regulations
need to be implemented is, again, a selfish reason
and not enough to justify it.
here's a couple of litmus tests for you:
**were you pro or con mandatory safety belt and
motorcycle helmet laws?
**what about regulating who dives off oil rigs, since
we've already had fatal incidents off there and they
are becoming quite the popular attractions, especially
when/if sb241 passes. would you let me dive off
an oil rig...?...
= : |
kelphead.