Another example of "the ugly American"...

[plot]

When your loved ones safety is involved... all common decency goes out the window.

At least he was man enough to pseudo-apologize the next day.

 

[H2Andy]

i got pseudo apologized once... i think i liked it

 

[Jarrett]

Mistakes were made on both sides, apologies were offered and I bet the diving was still awesome. No major party foul as far as I can see. Dive on

 

[CJ Waid]

On my last trip to Cozumel there was an incident that definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. Our group ascended dive pair by dive pair. My partner and I were picked up and as we de-geared, others were getting aboard. One of the last to board was a man-wife couple, and they were hot! (as in "angry"...not attractive) The man was extremely upset and he bawled out one of the dive masters in a voice everyone on the boat could hear (perhaps even on some of the other boats, in fact). It seems that the man had boarded first, but as his wife tugged on the tagline, it detached from the boat leaving her reeling in slack line! If I have my story straight, she became partially entangled in the line, she became uncomfortably agitated, and it took a divemaster assisting her to get untangled and on board.
The husband was beligerent that his wife "had been thrown an unattached lifeline" and berated one of the divemasters about their "negligence". He went on to say that his wife had recently had medical issues and that the line was "extremely important and would the divemasters please quit laughing because we don't find it a d*** bit funny!"
True, the DM he was addressing was smiling, but I think he was simply trying to disarm a tense situation. The guy was still mad when we got back to shore.
However, that didn't keep him from diving with the same service the next day and, to his credit, he did offer an apology of sorts to the crew by explaining that his wife's health concerns tended to make him protective.
Okay, SB'ers...what's your spin on this situation and what would ya'll have done or said? I have to say up front that I loathed to see a diver act this way for I felt (and told them so) that the DM's and Captain were doing a great job and I appreciated their professionalism. My partners and I came away feeling that the man really gave folks down there cause to dislike some of their American visitors. I hate it when we get labeled "ugly Americans", especially when it's true!

if I would have been there when this happened, I think I would have just went on about my business and ignored the whole situation, ease dropping of course, but not acknowledging it. You never know what either of them are really thinking, the dive master could have been thinking (wow, I shouldn't have smoked a doobie when everyone was underwater, I wonder if that is why I threw an unattached line, I wonder if they can smell it on me) and the guy might have been thinking (You stupid idiot, why did you throw her an unattached line, and then help her out of it, I could have been rid of her finally, but now I have to yell at you or she will think I hate her and try to make me even more miserable) Moral: Let it be, let it be, speaking Words of wisdom, let it be....

 

[herman]

The guy was a jerk, apology or not. If he was so worried about his wife, why was she diving with medical problems and what the heck was HE doing on the boat first, my wife is always in before me. Her safety is my responsibility. In addition, that is a convenience line, NOT a safety line. It coming loose is nothing more than a nuisance, esp on a Coz drift dive.

 

[namabiru]

Yep, jerkish reaction. While the line should have been secured, misteaks happen.

The woman, though, went against basic training. When you have a problem in the water--whether you're on the surface or below, the last thing you want to do is get all fired up and excited. She got all agitated and frustrated, which makes problems worse.

She was near someone who could help--the divemaster, her husband, etc. All she had to do was stop, then signal or call that she was having problems. If the divemaster/support crew was watching closely, they probably would have seen forthwith that there was a problem and gotten ready to help.

 

[Summer06]

Well, if this guy was really concerned about his wife, how about not leaving her in the water alone, and letting her board the boat BEFORE him? Hello? I think jerk is a better word.

Laughing...excellent point

 

[rawls]

We all, at times, have said things in a way which could be worded differently...I know I have. That the man apologized says alot...

 

[Dich]

Thats "eavesdropping", not ease dropping. That is something else.

 

[Guba]

Thanks for all the input, ya'll. I was sorely afraid that the "ugly American" line would cause battles that were not intended, and I appreciate everyone's restraint in not letting that become the focus. I was more interested in finding out what folks would have done/not done in response to the situation.
I have to say that I am also keenly interested in attitudes to what happened. When I dive abroad, I undertake to behave as if I were an "ambassador" of sorts. Certainly, I pay good money for dive charters, accomodations, food, service, etc...but I also realize I am a guest in that country, and I try to act as such. For example, on one dive I got a "bad tank" that plugged up my first stage and severely limited the amount of air delivered (translate that to 20-30 percent and an emergency ascent on the DM's octo). Obviously, it was the charter's negligence that caused the problem (sure I could have upturned the tank and checked it before I attached my regulator, but how many of us actually do that? That's another thread...), but I refrained from throwing a fit. Instead, I discussed it with the DM and we came to an agreement about things such as repairing/cleaning my reg and the loss of a dive. It was done calmly and out of earshot of the other divers.
I suppose I expected the fellow with the problem on this trip to do something similar. Yes, I was embarassed that a fellow countryman couldn't show behavior that didn't involve red-faced ranting and bulging blood vessels in the neck. I would like to think it was an exception for, as many pointed out, there are folks in every culture and nationality that can show some pretty nasty tempers and behaviors. I prefer to hope that Americans would choose to represent their nationality well.
Thanks again!