Why is DIR controversial?

[Cacia]

yes. Your argument is sound.

 

[H2Andy]

The number one rule of communication is "the message received is the message."

like i said, that's how you receive the message (and others as well, of course)

tons of other people (including me) don't receive that message

when someone asks, "Why is DIR controversial?" my follow up is "To whom?"

and perhaps, "what isn't controversial now a days?"

why is it so bad to be controversial?

maybe the world needs more controversial things to get us off our butts and thinking

maybe we should be challenged more often rather than coddled with sales language that wants to flatter us and take our money ...

maybe the last thing the world needs is another feel-good diving agency

 

[Diver Dennis]

But my point is that the "few" you may be referring to may, in fact, not even be part of the whole. They are more than likely not DIR divers.
.

But perception is reality. They say they are so people take their words as if they are. If they are not, then they can be diffused by someone who actually is, challenging them. I don't see that happening.

 

[rjack321]

Message smeshage its all about the speedo

 

[Diver Dennis]

ain't nothing that can be done about taht, brother

the Catholic church is having this little problem with pedofile priests... you might have heard

Yeah, ain't that the truth...:shakehead

They could mitigate the problem though by cleaning up the mess and speaking out against the guilty ones.

 

[Bill51]

exactly ... it is controversial because enough people are insecure enough to react to the term, one way or another

it's just three words .... just three little words

Horse puckies! Your attempt to assign motives for why people don’t want to be around arrogant elitist people makes me laugh and think of Martina Navratilova this week accusing sheep ranchers of being homophobic because they’re trying to thin gay rams out of their herds.

It’s economic and it can mess up the fun many have diving. Compared to the cost of finding a dive charter or building half your equipment in the 60s, diving today is cheap because of the growth of the sport – and how easy and fun it is now for people that aren’t making it the driving passion of their lives. The cost is reasonable and safety supreme today because of the economies of scale as the sport has grown, and I want to see the sport continue growing. I get the “feeling” if the more radical DIR proponents had their way all growth of the sport would halt until every diver had the same skill sets as they do, which would in turn drive the cost of the sport up.

My wife has never been on this board or read the threads, but I told her this morning about this thread and how I’d thought about that wild morning with the DIR folks in Coz. Her first comment was, “oh, those obnoxious paramilitary wannabees.” She said if her first introduction to the sport had been someone like them she’d never have learned to dive. She doesn’t share my passion for the sport but loves to dive and have fun interacting with fellow divers on the boat, so having jerks of any kind along reduces the enjoyment of everyone – whether they’re DIR or not.

I don’t not hang out with rappers because I’m insecure – I’d just rather hang out with people listening to music I like rather than stuff I don’t like. I also think Lynne has a great point that some of the most arrogant egotistical divers tend to migrate to DIR – whether they last or not I don’t know.

 

[H2Andy]

Horse puckies!

hey!

two of us can play at that:

bull puckies!

(you're insecure and a bad diver, get over it ... give me a ton of money, and i'll make you the best diver in the world ... at least you'll think you're the best diver in the world .... resistance is futile!)

 

[RonFrank]

there's inherent elitism only because you believe there is

i find no inherent elitism in those words

maybe the problem is perception, not the term itself

Have to agree with Rick on this. The very idea that there is one right way to do things, smacks of elitism, and to add to this argument, it's just not true.

A good analogy is religion. Every religious group believes THEY are right, and by the nature of that thinking, everyone else is wrong. That sure does creates a LOT of trouble....

 

[H2Andy]

i don't think that if i say "I am doing it right" that implies that is the only way to do it right, or that everybody else is doing it wrong

i just don't see the leap. but it could be me.

for example, i use the term "living right" a lot. that doesn't mean everybody else is living wrong, or that my way is the only way to live right.

i think for people who believe in absolutes that could be threatening. it's not to me.

 

[Rick Murchison]

But perception is reality. They say they are so people take their words as if they are. If they are not, then they can be diffused by someone who actually is, challenging them. I don't see that happening.

The "DIR" forum is a safe place for "DIR" practices & procedures discussions. It's in the charter for this place. This thread isn't about practices or procedures, it's about the nature of the controversy that follows "DIR" whenever it's mentioned, and that is, in my opinion, rooted in the acronym (and the defense of it) rather than the practices, procedures or equipment.
If someone wants to drag a particular DIR item (one that may be controversial in and of itself) out into an open forum, for discussion on its merits rather than its "DIRness," then you'll see the challenges appear that are absent here because of the special rules.
Try these for bait...
"Long hoses in open water"
"Solo Diving"
"BP/Wing vs Jacket BC"
"Optimum hose lengths"
"Bungeed wings"
even something as specific as "Floaty Yellow Hoses"
If you run out of fun with those I have (lots) more...
Rick