How do you deal with derision?

[Leejnd]

After watching how the DIR and non-DIR folks "get along" down in Florida, I'm kinda appreciative of our local community. Most folks up here just want to go diving ... and have a happy conversation about it in the parking lot afterward.

I don't care if you're DIR ...
I don't care if you're DIW ...
I don't care if you're DICE ...
Just don't be a DICK ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

ROFL! Love it!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

LOL! I am DIR curious and oh so wish we had GUE/UTD instructor closer or any divers in the area interested (closest ones are 3+hr drive). As far as black or Muslim... they are in much better position than atheists in US even black and Muslim usually gang up on us.

... that's cuz you're living in the Bible Belt ... move to someplace like NY or LA and nobody will care ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[rx7diver]

I figure being a DIR diver in the greater diving world is the closest I'll ever come to being black or Muslim -- a member of an often despised minority.

TSandM,

FWIW, I find this highly offensive on so many levels. I suspect I'm not the only one. I hesitated writing this, but I'm almost certain you didn't intend to offend as such.

Safe Diving,

Ronald

 

[rx7diver]

As far as black or Muslim... they are in much better position than atheists in US even black and Muslim usually gang up on us.

... and this as well. Isn't there a forum more appropriate (less inappropriate?) for this kind of thing? The Pub, maybe?

EDIT: Scratch that. I can't think of any place remotely appropriate for this kind of thing!

Safe Diving,

Ronald

 

[BluewaterSail]

I have always followed a different drummer, so my DIR tendencies, and the expected negative responses are of no surprise to me. But what makes it hard for me is that I am still very new to diving (19 dives as of this past weekend). I look to learn from instructors, DMs and experienced divers. But this is hard when they are constantly advising me that what I am trying to do is not the correct way, and suggesting how to rearrange my gear to improve it. For example, I got a lecture from the young DM who took me to do my Deep AOW dive, that an Octopus needs to be in the triangle and also needs to be yellow and it is unsafe to have it anywhere else or be any other color. He also was sure that the reason that I didn't let the air out of my wing early enough on ascent (I will leave you to guess what the result of that stupid blunder was, but I lived to tell the tale none-the-less) was that my Halcyon wing does not have a dump valve on the top right. He went on and on about how unsafe my bp/w and long hose set-up is. In another example, my Nitrox instructor kept trying to move my spg to the top D-ring, because "you need to be able to see it without touching it".

I wouldn't worry about the negative social reactions to DIR from people who don't know any better and can't think outside their little boxes. What I find that I need to concentrate on is keeping to the path that I know I want to follow, before I am at the skill level that I can "show by example the advantages".

 

[Leejnd]

... and this as well. Isn't there a forum more appropriate (less inappropriate?) for this kind of thing? The Pub, maybe?

Safe Diving,

Ronald

I can't speak for the two people who posted those lines, nor do I presume to in the slightest. I am speaking only my personal thoughts on it. But I will say that I think you are reading something into it that isn't there. *MY* take on Lynne's comment was that we (she and I) happen to be in demographics that, for a wide variety of reasons, are not faced with much discrimination, bigotry, prejudice or derision, in comparison to people who are in racial and/or religious minorities. While being a DIR diver certainly cannot compare to being a member of a minority that is faced with the experiences of being hated and derided simply for who they are, the point is that this is likely our first time feeling someone's derision simply for being who "we" are (or, in this case, the "type of diver" we are).

In my mind, this does not in any way minimize or belittle the experiences of people who are actually in minority groups faced with bigotry. We are just experiencing something slightly akin to that, however mildly.

Please don't twist it into something it ain't.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Problem is, I'm going to have to go to him for fills, since he's the only op that pumps Nitrox anywhere near me.

It's time to get an oxygen cylinder and fill whip in your garage.

 

[drbill]

In the past I've been a bit derisive of the DIR label, in large part because I felt the label (NOT the diving strategy) was derisive in and of itself. I have no problem with GUE or UTD or any one of a number of other labels that do not imply the practitioners are the only ones "doing it right." The arrogance of some DIR practitioners early on was rather obnoxious. I think that has changed and I am pleased to count many who utilize these techniques as personal friends. They do not preach about their methods. I fully accept that their methods often lead to much safer diving conditions, and are far more appropriate than mine for a number of diving situations that I do not practice (cave and wreck penetration for example). I think this segment of the dive community has matured over the last decade and cast off certain attitudes that would cause others to criticize it.

As for me, I find backplates to be a royal PITA and much prefer a soft harness (the old ScubaPro X-Tek) to any backplate I've tried for single tanks. I do own a backplate for doubles however which is a different situation. Being a solo diver and underwater videographer, I have little use for a 7 ft hose... but certainly understand its value in team diving. I don't expect others to dive the way I do... they should find whatever is comfortable (and safe) for their personal needs and the type of diving they do. I may tease a few of my team diving friends, but respect their choices. They seem to return that favor (at least when they're not behind my back... tee hee).

 

[LiteHedded]

... and this as well. Isn't there a forum more appropriate (less inappropriate?) for this kind of thing? The Pub, maybe?

EDIT: Scratch that. I can't think of any place remotely appropriate for this kind of thing!

Safe Diving,

Ronald

considering the penalty for apostasy in the koran is death. I would tend to agree to an extent

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

TSandM,

FWIW, I find this highly offensive on so many levels. I suspect I'm not the only one. I hesitated writing this, but I'm almost certain you didn't intend to offend as such.

Safe Diving,

Ronald

I'm not sure what you find offensive about it, and I suspect if you ever met Lynne in person you'd find her to be one of the least offensive people you've ever met. But her point is that no matter what you do, there are going to be a certain percentage of people out there who will despise you for no reason other than that you're not like them. In our American culture, being black or muslim are just two obvious examples. In the diving world, being DIR is perhaps the most obvious example ... because, frankly, many people feel threatened by the very existence of DIR, and therefore look for reasons to despise those who dive that way.

Personally, I try to take the approach that the whole point of diving is to have fun ... and being offended by someone else ain't much fun, so I try hard not to be either offensive or offended. If someone else chooses to be offended by something I say, or some choice I make about how I dive, that's really their problem ... I don't have the desire to carry it around on my shoulders ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)