Posted by Wayne on June 07, 2001 at 10:07:09:
Is there any one other than me who has become extremely offended by the behavior here lately? I have. There has been a level of nastiness that is amazing. Let me list a few that come to the top of my head (in no way do I suggest that these are the only ones involved or that this is DIR vs REC).
Catfish, one who posted anonymously, sent in an obvious ploy to get Kelphead to mention MHK in a reply. Then this thread was used for character assassination. MHK jumped on Kelphead in a wild set of accusations meant to discredit her. For example, he loaned her a piece of gear (a BC) to try out and now ridicules her for her buoyancy control, and trim while experimenting with a new gear configuration! This is outrageous. Think about it. She should have asked: “Hey MHK, I am thinking of buying new gear. May I try one of the demo sets you have? Before I do the dive, let me make sure of one thing. Do you plan on ridiculing me and my diving skills as part of a personal attack at some future date? Is the actual price of the “free” gear rental?”
I can tell you that I would not borrow gear from that source as the price is too high and it is not established at the beginning of the relationship. How about you others out there who are thinking of upgrading your gear. Let’s say you are relatively new to diving and want to buy the best, the stuff used by the “serious” divers. So do you open yourself up to be the object of public ridicule because your skills in unfamiliar equipment did not impress the divemaster? I think not! You will go to a non-threatening place like the internet and buy stuff that does come complete with insults (BTW, I recommend buying your gear from reputable stores owned and staffed by folks who love to dive). If I represented the manufacturer, I would pull any loaner equipment and find a new spokesman!
I am deeply offended by the way MHK has taken to character assassination as a way to silence people who do not agree with him. Seahunt mentioned this recently and I went looking back and I can see that this is a recurring theme. I had been thinking that it was just that civility was taking a backseat to fervor over safety issues as he sees them. I no longer believe this to be the case. I think that the plan is to insult and humiliate anyone who questions his methods or authority. Then they will go away and leave him the king of the hill position. It is easier to win at king of the hill if you can convince the other kids to not be at the same playground.
Then we have this garbage from “reason” who is trying to make embarrass another diver. He quotes a bunch of derogatory remarks of others from elsewhere, just in case we have not had the opportunity to see a fellow diver castigated. You who take pleasure in seeing someone taken down a notch -- legitimately or not – have serious ego problems and need to find a thrill sport and leave diving IMHO (how about street luge?).
Anyway I wanted to get this off my chest. I am getting sick of the mean spirited offensive personal attacks. As Grandma used to say, If you do not have something nice to say…
Wayne