Unstable 9 #1 February 26, 2004 Argh, I need to vent and this seems like an appropriate place to do it...... I love DZ.com. I think it's absolutly amazing the brother/sisterhood shared between skydivers and the lengths we go for each other. Since I've become a Jumper, I feel like I belong the the greatest Family in the world! I always thought of myself as a friendly guy - sure, I have my faults, but I have never met a skydiver that I Didn't like. I go out of my way to make sure those around me are happy and comfortable, and I dont' step on anyone's toes.... Then Why is it That I have to deal with Skydivers who don't act like they belong to this family??? Those that even though I extend and arm of friendship to, still act like they are supream beings!! What REALLY bugs me is that this is in the SKYDIVING community!!!! I guess the long and the short of it is that I try to make friends with jumpers who have a beef with me, I am a peacemaker, and when I get rudely blown off when I run into someone, It drives me absolutly CRAZY!! Argh.... my Girlfriend says I take eveything to heart and way to personally - Could be, but damn it - Why do skydivers do this?!? Maybe DZ.com has given me a false sense of reality... That felt good, thanks everybody.....=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jarcie 0 #2 February 26, 2004 There is something unreal about relating to people online. There are people I know both on the forums and in person. It seems like the online vs. real relationships are actually separate things, even though they can affect each other. I think it may be difficult for people to be themselves all the way when they're posting on a public Internet forum. After all, this may feel like family (not to me, but to some), but anyone in the world with an Internet connection can read what we write here. My two cents. I'm not sure whether this really addresses what you're feeling, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #3 February 26, 2004 Community or no community, that's the way some people behave! There will always be somebody who thinks they are better than everyone else. I don't think it matters whether they are a skydiver or not a skydiver. Just my .02 worth. J -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #4 February 26, 2004 QuoteCommunity or no community, that's the way some people behave! There will always be somebody who thinks they are better than everyone else. I don't think it matters whether they are a skydiver or not a skydiver. Just my .02 worth. Yeah, maybe I'm just disappointed because I started holding skydivers to a higher standard... Probably my fault in the first place...... I internalize everything more than I need to..... I just need to learn to say "this person is an Asshat" and let it be at that....=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #5 February 26, 2004 Sounds like you need a beer guy. You in Manhattan right? JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #6 February 26, 2004 Yup, Manhappening Kansas.....=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #7 February 26, 2004 Quote Yup, Manhappening Kansas..... Das where I is right now Scars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougjumper 0 #8 February 26, 2004 One thing gets me..Change of Times Bro... Kinda know what U saying...There used to be a day when the older fun loving Skydivers Beards and all were alot of fun just to hang around with even if the day..was bad for jumping. Sometimes the Older more experienced guys would come just to be around the dropzone and hang out. They didnt have much quarrel with who looked the best gotta have latest or greatest Rig,Jumpsuit etc.. Political BS. They just were themselves..help you anyway possible.. Today seems like you better know someone or have some kind of connection to get in on a jump. Especially if your visiting a DZ you never been to. What happened to lets just have fun and maybe learn something low pressure kinda thing... I have seen a small trend change, attitudes and all in this Sport. I am similar to you as well in that manner. I like to think of it as "Im going to go Skydive and have fun" if anybody wants to let me jump with them great If not well im still gonna have fun..thats what its all about to me just a Sport..A unique one at that. The glass is half full or half empty doesn't matter. Let go and have the Lord guide your path. He will take care of it all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiles 0 #9 February 26, 2004 QuoteWhat REALLY bugs me is that this is in the SKYDIVING community!!!! I was just reading an article from old Skydiving Mag...by Austin Scott Collins- I will quote some of his article as I found it so well written: "Who are These People?" QuoteAsk any skydiver what he likes best about the sport and he is likely to reply, "The people in it." Quote"With its unique system of cliques, hierarchies, and values, the skydiving community brings together people who might never even talk to each other in any other context. Where else can you find the president of a multinational software company having a laugh with the guy who works the third shift at the corner convenience store? QuoteI've jumped with some folks for years and never known them except by their drop zone nicknames..and sometimes that's the best way. QuoteAt the DZ, status and prestige are based on freefall experience and proficiency and not much else. Heart surgeons defer to and take advice from pizza delivery drivers... QuoteSkydivers are as wide a cross-section of earthlings as you could hope to cut. Among skydivers you will find every kind of person. You will find people as different as they can be from one another, polar opposites. It seems the only characteristic that they all have in common is that they love skydiving. QuoteSkydivers mostly appear to come in four basic varieties. They are the Dreamers, the Punks, the Escapist, and the Freaks. Many skydivers fall under more than one heading, some start out as members of one group and then migrate into another. There are also some that no labels will ever neatly fit. Quote...Dreamers seek to become one with the sky. They have karma. They often don't seem to care too much about personal appearances. They do not aspire to material wealth or power....Dreamers are easy to get along with because they are, despite their faults and quirks, genuine, sincere, and forthright. Quote...The Punks are the fun-loving party animals. Boisterous, irrepressible, rebellious, and aggressive, they know how to have a good time and have no patience for those who don't. Many Punks rely on profanity for communication so heavily that one wonders if they could speak at all without it. The Punks embody and epitomize the wild and crazy side of skydiving, the frenzied chaos and exuberant debauchery that makes every major boogie a memorable exercise in unrepentant hedonism. Punks have no fear, no regrets, go for it attitude. QuoteThe Escapists are ordinary folks with regular jobs and otherwise normal lives...to get away from which, they skydive. While skydiving is a cherished part of the Escapist's existence, he still feels that he must prioritize his family and/or career above it. Although they usually tend to have fewer jumps, to jump less often, and to arrive later and leave earlier than the hard-core dz bums, the Escapists are also among the most stable, mature, and well adjusted of all the skydivers. They exert a moderating influence on the rest of us- metaphorically, they are control rods in the nuclear reactor that is the DZ. QuoteFreaks feel at home at the drop zone because skydivers are willing to tolerate just about any kind of eccentric conduct as long as it comes from a fellow skydiver. The Freak is so irresistibly unselfconscious that everybody just has to smile and accept it. QuoteAll these categorizations are amplified and exaggerated when you talk to BASE jumpers. BASE jumpers are the ludicrous extrapolation of skydivers. They are on the whole, some of the coolest and most outrageous people in the world. QuoteThere is nowhere I would rather hang out than a drop zone, and no group of people with whom I would rather hang out with than skydivers. In some way or another we're all Dreamers, Escapists, Punks and Freaks. What kind of person would you want to jump out of an airplane? The very best kind. SMiles Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
souleh 0 #10 February 26, 2004 That's nice. I like that! 'buttplugs? where?' - geno Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
