Is Side Mount the new DIR??? Building resentment towards us as a group...

[Razorista]

...Why should our sport be any different from every other group of people on this planet?...

Because our 'fad' works?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well said. In reference to the original question posed in this thread, I do see resentment towards sidemount divers, but I don't see that the resentment spawns from any particular attitude from the sidemount community.

I don't see this in real life, but here on Scubaboard I see it basically going like this:

Sidemount Diver: "Hey, I really enjoy diving sidemount, lets talk about our sidemount diving experiences sidemount folks!?"

Non-Sidemount Diver: "What you do is a stupid fad. It doesn't work for X, Y and Z. All sidemount divers gear up slowly, can't exit a boat, _________ (insert random demeaning generalization here)"

Sidemount Diver: "Ouch, that's kinda unrepresentative and doesn't really fit the reality. Maybe you should try sidemount before making up your mind on it?"

Non-Sidemount Diver: "Stop nagging me to learn sidemount. You guys are fundamentalist about your stupid fad. This reminds me of DIR mentality. You sidemount divers are so wrong. You never shut up about it. It doesn't even work......."


I'm wondering if a certain demographic of divers feel threatened by sidemount? Is that what happens when the old dog realizes it can learn no more tricks?

Over the past 14 years I've heard similar attitudes about pretty much everything from split fins to backplates to dive computers. It's silly ... and generally boils down to people trying to convince themselves that they made all the right choices, and therefore anybody who doesn't dive like they do didn't ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[gypsyjim]

Of all the fads in this sport, which is yours?

My most recent "fad" has been enjoying my new Kraken, DH, a style of regulator I decided against when I opted for the latest fad, the new single hose regulator that was the newest trend at the time.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

.
A few years ago I trained with a pretty well known man, who had a colorful way of describing CCR.
HE said that every second of a dive the CCR was trying to kill you.
Your job, diving CCR, was to at every second, keep it from doing so.

Recently I learned that this instructor has become an avid CCR fan.

... I believe it's the Meg that has a label right on it that says, basically, that the device is constantly trying to kill you ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[gypsyjim]

... I believe it's the Meg that has a label right on it that says, basically, that the device is constantly trying to kill you ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I have friends who dive CCR. I looked, but am not yet tempted enough, although I can understand the appeal.
I think that remembering the line, that it is constantly trying to kill you, is not a bad thought to keep in mind should I ever dip my toe into that particular fad.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

View media item 200075

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I'm in Cave Country this week with a bastion of Side Mounters all over the place. It's like mecca for me, in that regard. I was at one of the favorite gas stations (no, not petrol) and happened upon a couple of great friends. Mind you, we like to tease each other and it shows. But then, my teasing took it just a bit too far when I made a comment about their (shudder) two sets of back mounted doubles in their car. I didn't mean for it to do that, but all of a sudden ice was in the air and I was wearing shorts.

So, let's go back to the beginning, the OP. It appears, which is the norm, that the BM divers did not start the teasing about the SM's diver gear. So, when NetDoc started the teasing he starts a thread," Is side mount the new DIR??? Building resentment towards "us" as a group..." I have tried to point this out before but it has fallen on deaf ears. I dive BM and have dived with a SM kit which I own. IMHO, it really is not a, "either you embrace SM or you hate SM," situation. Never in all the years of diving have I ever seen anyone trying to push one system on the diver doing it differently. All this does is give SM zealots a sounding board. I dive with mix teams and we respect each other's choice for the kit that they use. i.e. Never once when I met Oliver at Peacock, and I asked him about Waterhole, did he talk bad about my BM kit and I never said nothing about his SM kit. He was very nice and willing to describe the dive, what to look for, jumps, etc. My friend and I had a great dive.

As for who is fastest in the water is a pure BS discussion. There really is no race. But, I hear it all the time that, "I went to SM because I had an injury and can't carry BM tanks." If a back injury, then I fully understand. But for the others, I find it hard to believe that you can not stand up on a boat, walk two to six feet and jump in. Let's also discuss the SM divers that have to ask others to hand them their tanks and wait for them to clip them off and then the opposite when getting out of the water because their injury prevents them from climbing up the ladder with their tanks on.

Talk about fast. Let's talk about Cow or Peacock.
BM: you unload the gear, get in it, walk to the water, do the dive and then walk back.

SM: Unload the gear, walk the tanks to the water, walk back to your gear, walk back to the water, do the dive, drop your tanks, walk back to the gear staging area, drop off your gear, walk back to the water to get your tanks and then back to the gear staging area. And that is if you can carry both of your tanks in one walk.

In Cow the SM caves are getting trashed and that is not done by BM divers!

So, to each is their own, respect the choices of others, don't start a B#@$%ing contest, dive and have fun.

 

[The Chairman]

I have tried to point this out before but it has fallen on deft ears.

It was a pretty stupid point, actually. No one really gave it any credence because it didn't deserve any. The amount of "tease" here was pretty minimal, and the reaction seemed way out of proportion. During the discussion, it became apparent that I was the straw that broke the camel's back. They feel they have been constantly criticized for not choosing side mount. You can deny it all you want. You can say it's just me. You think you're perfect and don't want to change or even think about change. Hey, that's your decision. That's what the guys who trash out the caves and blame everyone else do.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I have really got to disagree. It is not a stupid point but rather a stupid thread. Only now did you try to downplay what happened by saying, "the amount of tease here was pretty minimal." Minimal to who? You might have thought at the time that it was minimal but the teasing was not view the same from the BM team. If it was enough to tic you off then it was more than likely out of line to start with. I can deny what? I do not deny anything. As I see it, you started the teasing, they fired back and then you went home and started a thread about how others are building a resentment toward "us" (meaning SM divers). I really do not know where you get that I am perfect and do not want to change. I never said that I am perfect. The only diving that I have not had a chance to do is ice and CCR. I embrace all aspects of diving and have fun doing so. As for me not wanting to change, it is very simple. Once I have exhausted what my open circuit can do then I will likely go to rebreather. When I have seen all of the caves that BM will allow then I will go to SM for the smaller caves. The reason that I dive side mount and have a kit to do so is because it makes it very easy to have double redundancy with tanks where doubles are not available and it is a different way to dive. so it really is your decision. Dive and have fun or tease others that do not dive like you and then get pissed off and start a thread. Question? Do the Mods ever mod you? Even the owner can make mistakes. Take care and no ill wishes.

 

[JohnnyC]

The phrase is "deaf ears." Deft ears would mean quite the opposite of what you mean.