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Posted

I don't think there are a lot more of them than us (full disclosure...I am very much a beginner), they are just a hell of a lot louder. Outside of the Hood threads and the rabble-rousing dimwits on cable, I have not heard a single person bitch about their tax dollars going to rescue "those irresponsible types." And I work with a very vocal crowd who do not like their tax dollars being used for anything.

Posted

I think all Americans should go and live in a giant underground Walmart. You will be safe in there.

 

It will also do much for reducing the overcrowding of the mountains.

 

You will still be allowed to read our trip reports from the legislated safety of your bunker though.

 

And when the cannibalistic mole people burrow into your bunker and begin the orgy of slaughter, we wil at least consider sending you some MREs or shoe polish or nail clippers or something.

Posted
Bill O'Reilly stated on his Fox show that he thinks climbers should be banned from climbing or going up on mountains when weather is or could be bad.

 

It's not just that worthless piece o' crap O'Reilly. There was an online poll on kgw.com (Portland TV station) today asking essentially the same question. I'm disappointed to report that at the time I checked, 73% of the poll participants agreed with O'Reilly. F'ing pathetic.

 

I worry that people with influence and control over access will see these numbers and feel the need to act accordingly.

 

As a person that works in TV news, I can tell you that most people that respond to these polls are scared to leave their couch and have nothing better to do. Your Saturday morning is a week's worth of activities for these deprived souls.

Posted

Close climbing when the weather is bad. Who decides the definition of bad weather? Ask a Norwegian and they will tell you “ there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”! Fuck off bill!

 

And for all of the bitches who agreed in the slightest bit with Billy O’Reilly, you can “Deri-lick my balls”!

 

Posted
We don't have to defend our sport to anybody...

 

We constantly bicker within our own ranks about bolts and ethics and style...but this is within our community. That's fine. We can argue with one another about whether a route is sandbagged or about the value of bouldering or about anything else. But all these arguements rely on the fact that our community understands and values the culture of climbing.

 

Those who comment on our culture from afar don't count. They don't know anything about our sport or our lifestyles fashioned around it. They don't understand us or why we do what we do. The reality is that they are as alien to us as we are to them. While we're in the mountains with our best friends having the times of our lives, they're watching TV. While we're arguing about the ethics within our sport they're still channel surfing. And when one of ours is lost and the whole community wants to go up and look for him, they're still zoned out watching commercials and wondering if they should go out for McDonalds or Burger King before the next episode of "Survivor" comes on.

 

And here we are...there are numerous comments in the Hood threads where we defend ourselves and the dead. There is a thread on why people take risks, and there is a thread on avy beacons. And then there's this thread...

 

Nobody is going to ban climbing.

 

And nobody is going to be able to explain our motives to people who spend all of their leisure time sitting in front of Fox News or shopping at a box store that smells like vomit mixed with disinfectant. So why try? Even though the right wing nut jobs want to kill it, we still live in a free country...

 

And we don't have to defend our sport to anybody...

 

Jason

 

you brought me to tears *sniff*

Posted
that would be cool if bill o'reilly relpaced minx as a moderator.

 

hush your mouth Punkin.... that is a terrible idea. Minx can in no way be replaced by an ugly old dude. she is positively lovely and fun to boot ;)

Posted
minx doesn't like me, therefore i don't like her. although i'm sure she's a sweetheart in person.

 

well does she have reason to not like you??? :moondance: man there are moments when i wish i had time to post all the time still :moondance:

Posted
Close climbing when the weather is bad. Who decides the definition of bad weather? Ask a Norwegian and they will tell you “ there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”! Fuck off bill!

 

And for all of the bitches who agreed in the slightest bit with Billy O’Reilly, you can “Deri-lick my balls”!

 

see you get over 1000 and you start to get cool ;)

Posted
One can compare Bill O'Reilly to Washington State's people's initiative process. Some uninformed wacko get's an idea and thinks there should be a new law. There's a good reason we have a legislature. Those elected officials are paid to study all proposals and come up with good laws. People think they can become an expert on anything, like climbing, in one week.

 

Good call. I was amazed to hear that a RATIONAL person could actually take that opinion... Then I had another terrifying thought... ;)

 

About initiatives, I don't think they are 100% evil, but yeah it's super dangerous because people are so easily persuaded by a few new bits of knowledge and don't have time to understand all the consequences. How do you think the poll would have turned out if a news cast of climbers put their own positive spin on the stories? I can't condemn initiatives though because it's another check & balance in case the legislature goes off the deep end.

Posted
One can compare Bill O'Reilly to Washington State's people's initiative process. Some uninformed wacko get's an idea and thinks there should be a new law. There's a good reason we have a legislature. Those elected officials are paid to study all proposals and come up with good laws. People think they can become an expert on anything, like climbing, in one week.

 

Good call. I was amazed to hear that a RATIONAL person could actually take that opinion... Then I had another terrifying thought... ;)

 

About initiatives, I don't think they are 100% evil, but yeah it's super dangerous because people are so easily persuaded by a few new bits of knowledge and don't have time to understand all the consequences. How do you think the poll would have turned out if a news cast of climbers put their own positive spin on the stories? I can't condemn initiatives though because it's another check & balance in case the legislature goes off the deep end.

 

We need government to tell us what is best for us. We are too ignorant to know for ourselves, and how dare we think otherwise!

 

Posted

Seriously, Jason: down boy. You won't win any points with anybody by calling those who don't understand your obsession with climbing a couch potato or right wing freak.

 

As I said on the last page: many people do not understand why someone would take the risk involved in such a silly game as mountain climbing. And this includes a lot of perfectly cool people, including atheletes, liberals, or whoever else it is that you respect.

 

You continue to suggest that "we are better than everybody else." You'll build more common ground if you look at how what we do is really not so unique after all. For example, some of those right wingers or couch potatos you so abhor enjoy activities such as boating or hunting, hobbies that are perceived as more "mainstream" but which generate significant searches and rescues and lead to occasional accidents or deaths.

 

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