Posted by Eins on September 22, 2000 at 18:19:22:
In Reply to: Long response attached posted by MHK on September 22, 2000 at 09:14:18:
Are you ever going to stop? MHK, you should have known better. This one (and particularly this one) won't get by uncommented.
You complain about how others spend time and effort on language but so far you have been the one with the longest responses on the same subject, spending ever so much time on repeating your rants against what you don't like or what goes against your agenda.
Language happens to be what we use as a means of communication, and a debate or discussion needs to exchange opposing views. Views need to be expressed in a way that they can commonly and clearly be understood, otherwise we might as well speak a different language everyone.
You claim freedom of speech for yourself but appear to not give others the same right, when it goes against your agenda what they have to say.
You continue to attack me personally while I have chosen to give you two free shots and refrained from replying publicly to your provoking attacks after that.
You keep soapboxing against parsing language, but turn around and do exactly the same: You state I accused you of making up 8 solo deaths. Wrong! What I did was expressing doubt whether you know what you are talking about. To this day I have no reason to withdraw that doubt. And it shows that you still don't understand what I mean.
You accuse me of changing definitions just so that I don't have to admit I was wrong. Wrong! I proved more than once that I have no problem at all to admit that I am wrong. I have not changed definitions but you continue to refuse to accept that there are differences between an intended solo dive and an unintentional one. I have fullheartedly agreed that an able buddy may have prevented some of the fatalities. Yet you continue to generalize and use cases where divers died, who were clearly not diving solo (but ended up alone), *as arguments against solo diving* that you so much despise that you became deaf to what others have to say.
It could be so easy: most of us (including your favorite enemy) agree that a buddy can save lives. Allow it to reach your brain. There, you win.
And then, open your mind and hear what we are also saying: intentional solo diving is not the only reason for divers dying but also the fact that buddy divers separate from their buddies (or buddies from them)--which does not make them solo divers, as some feel. Let us win too and accept that not all evil can be attributed to solo diving. That's all we are asking in this tiresome debate.
Happy to hear that you merged your companies.
Eins
PS: MHK, you undoubtedly have some good traits. Pursuing diving safety is one of them. Your chosen style of communication is not.
Are you realizing that you have been discrediting yourself all along and are continuing to do so? Just because nobody stands up against you like I does not mean that all are on your side. I have received several e-mails supporting me in my pursuit against your arguments, expressing that they also perceive you sometimes as a self-elected, conseited, loudmouthed rant (if 'rant' can be used as a noun). Why does DIR come to mind now?
You could have had all this offline but you chose to remain online. Very well.