Why do so many divers who we talk to in our area have what I will call The one upsmanship? Meaning no matter what we have done or experienced, the people we talk to have done it better, longer, etc. The local dive store staff seems to be the best at this game. In some instances, it seems they are talking down to us.
Like just about everyone else, I've seen this sort of thing. Some people simply lack perspective. The way I see it is that there's *one* person on Earth that is the *best* diver, and I will never be that person, so I just enjoy myself wherever I am. If you're not setting a world record, there are people better than you; if you *are* setting a world record, you can brag, but you'd know you don't need to.
The whole elitist thing was one of the reasons the
Dork Divers organized. We're just in it to have fun (safely, of course), so we just decided not to care about who might be better than we are (or how much they'd like to say so). Except for the few who think of diving as a competition, doesn't *everyone* dive for the same reason: to have fun? (Okay, some people dive to get paid, but they're in a different class.) If diving in a blue drysuit with a yellow pony, a backplate with pink webbing, and a red tank is fun, enjoy it! If you enjoy a 30-foot dive in murky, cold water, great! If you only dive in tropical paradise... um... can I come?
It's really hard for even the most self-centered elitist diver to argue, "Yeah, well on my last trip, I had *twice* as much fun as you!" :biggrin:
