The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Hey all,
You know, I take offense at the last statement... just because I am not a DIR diver, does not mean that I can not benefit from SOME of their gear set-ups. Or even use what I want to use and leave the rest of the crap behind. I have no reason to quibble about how "stringent" the DIR/GUE crowd wants to be... thats their choice. To infer that LY, or myself are merely accidents waiting to happen comes from a total lack of respect for other diver's view points. Our actual safety has nothing to do with it. This may not bother some (mostly DIR/GUE people doing the bashing), but for many of us who see no need to dive 10 hours straight and have deco tables for different gasses memorized, we see it as non-DIR bashing.
Thats right... the very thing many of the DIR crowd accuse us strokers of, is actually what many (not all) of the DIR crowd are guilty of: bashing the other side! Smacks of hypocrisy, doesn't it?
Now whether you agree with or disagree with Ed is of little concern to me. The man asked questions and did not accept the answers he was given at face value and he was attacked! He then asked for clarifications and he was deemed a threat to himself and to others. These assumptions were made without ever having dove with him either. Whether he wanted to string the DIR way or not, was not the issue. He asked what others were doing, just as I would do when I don't understand something. What a shame. I fully understand the vehemence with which he wrote.
This might be a shock, BUT... You don't have to be a "true" DIR/GUE diver to dive safely in an open water environment... or a wreck... or even a cave... or where ever you have the training to go. DIR divers belong to a strict discipline that seems to have a great track record... hell, DIVING in general has a great track record compared to other sports. I respect and admire much of what I do see. Still, it's not the only discipline in the water and you are not SCUBA gods; beyond reproach or discernment. If you continue to treat the rest of us divers as "strokers", do not feel that our collective disdain for you is without merit. In your exclusionary fraternity attitude, you have made many a people first cringe at how you treat others, and then sooner or later start to resent your "holier than thou" diving mantra.
As a caveat, let me point out that it is probably not MOST or even many of the DIR crew who feel this way... just a vocal minority. Unfortunately, the few bad apples make the rest of the diving community very concerned about what the real attitude is. GUE's website makes the statement that they do not consider other ways of diving "wrong" but they had simply chosen this way as "best". This is a far cry from some of the posts I have read. I could live with this diplomatic distinction, but not that I am just an "accident waiting to happen"...
Consider me... the Stroker's Advocate! :devilish:
-you can continue to ignore me now-
You know, I take offense at the last statement... just because I am not a DIR diver, does not mean that I can not benefit from SOME of their gear set-ups. Or even use what I want to use and leave the rest of the crap behind. I have no reason to quibble about how "stringent" the DIR/GUE crowd wants to be... thats their choice. To infer that LY, or myself are merely accidents waiting to happen comes from a total lack of respect for other diver's view points. Our actual safety has nothing to do with it. This may not bother some (mostly DIR/GUE people doing the bashing), but for many of us who see no need to dive 10 hours straight and have deco tables for different gasses memorized, we see it as non-DIR bashing.
Thats right... the very thing many of the DIR crowd accuse us strokers of, is actually what many (not all) of the DIR crowd are guilty of: bashing the other side! Smacks of hypocrisy, doesn't it?
Now whether you agree with or disagree with Ed is of little concern to me. The man asked questions and did not accept the answers he was given at face value and he was attacked! He then asked for clarifications and he was deemed a threat to himself and to others. These assumptions were made without ever having dove with him either. Whether he wanted to string the DIR way or not, was not the issue. He asked what others were doing, just as I would do when I don't understand something. What a shame. I fully understand the vehemence with which he wrote.
This might be a shock, BUT... You don't have to be a "true" DIR/GUE diver to dive safely in an open water environment... or a wreck... or even a cave... or where ever you have the training to go. DIR divers belong to a strict discipline that seems to have a great track record... hell, DIVING in general has a great track record compared to other sports. I respect and admire much of what I do see. Still, it's not the only discipline in the water and you are not SCUBA gods; beyond reproach or discernment. If you continue to treat the rest of us divers as "strokers", do not feel that our collective disdain for you is without merit. In your exclusionary fraternity attitude, you have made many a people first cringe at how you treat others, and then sooner or later start to resent your "holier than thou" diving mantra.
As a caveat, let me point out that it is probably not MOST or even many of the DIR crew who feel this way... just a vocal minority. Unfortunately, the few bad apples make the rest of the diving community very concerned about what the real attitude is. GUE's website makes the statement that they do not consider other ways of diving "wrong" but they had simply chosen this way as "best". This is a far cry from some of the posts I have read. I could live with this diplomatic distinction, but not that I am just an "accident waiting to happen"...
Consider me... the Stroker's Advocate! :devilish:
-you can continue to ignore me now-
". Care to explain that? I would just like to know the depth of experience that enables you to provide us with such expert opinions.
