Posted by Wayne on December 29, 2000 at 09:48:28:
In Reply to: Unsafe "attitude" of "strokes"? posted by AADIVER on December 28, 2000 at 21:52:58:
Now for my more personal opinion. Those in the DIR movement cannot understand why the rest of us do not follow them. It's the attitude. To me it seems an UNSAFE ATTITUDE.
IT PREVENTS NEWBIES FROM ASKING QUESTIONS FOR FEAR OF RIDICULE.
Experienced divers, divemasters, and instructors need to be approachable and instantly helpful. Inexperienced and rusty divers must be assisted and this requires all of us to cut the bluster.
If I were a newbie, and I were on a boat with these guys and their attitudes, I might be compelled to act brave and full of bravado, like them. This can lead to stuff like taking a dive when I shouldn't. I keep hoping that the macho crap that permeated this industry in the 60s and 70s would finally leave. Mostly it has in recreational diving (hunting, sightseeing, photography, etc). But it has found a happy home in DIR.
DIR has some very good points, but its proponents are often its worst enemy. When we speak to non-divers, we are ambassadors to the underwater world and need to use our knowledge and experience to assist them in learning to love the sea and all that is in her. When DIR proponents speak to us Non-DIRs, they should be ambassadors of the higher level of dive safety that they profess to have. I think if DIR is to become mainstream, it needs to control its image and self ordained spokesmen.
Wayne