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You have obviously never visited Lake Wobegon.

Whatever you grow up with probably seems normal. And it takes extra effort to see beyond your narrow field of vision and/or to critically assess what you think you know. Not seeing something doesn't make it non-existant. Consider an iceberg. From the surface it may look small. If a diver tells you "dude it's actually HUGE" and you don't believe the diver, it's because you are relying on the small part you have seen or heard about (what you think you know), and not the facts. There are many places in the world pointing to America right now as an example of how fucked up things can be and they are thankful not to be in the US. They see what a lot of Americans don't/can't/won't see: the American Dream is a myth. Pulling up exceptions of success despite the odds does not change those odds. The fact that it is possible to climb a mountain, barefoot, without tools, during a blizzard, is not proof that the mountain does not exist. Re pandering to so-called victims... How about we stop telling ourselves the lie that they just need to work harder? Like they are the problem... How long have we been saying to women stop wearing short skirts?? Shouldn't we be teaching men to stop raping??

There is no such thing as White privilege, it is a ridiculous idea that ignores reality and at best becomes a crutch, an excuse for failure. The idea is detrimental to all There is economical privilege period. In homogenous countries where they don't have the melting pot that we have in the US, guess what? people with money get treated better then poor people. That's the case now that's always been the case. I am not talking about bribes, Its stuff like being able to afford to live in a better neighborhood, there is generally less stress for everyone including the cops who patrol these neighborhoods compared to the ghetto. Add to that list all the things that wealth can offer and the the fact that having more money generally improves the probability of safety health and success for you and loved ones anywhere on this planet. There are plenty of poor white people with no privilege and plenty of rich minorities who get all the privilege its about $$$ Can we also admit that perception is something we all have and we all when presented with a new human make some prejudgments good and bad? Can we admit the way you talk, look and present yourself matters! or have most of us left reality!? Can you understand why at the airport me a middle eastern male gets randomly selected everytime by the TSA and the little old white grandma who is 78 doesn't....if you can't or have to pretend you cant understand that, know that i do understand and its not racism to me its called common sense. I understand that the biggest representation of brown,tan people like me in the past i don't know lets say 20 years or so is explosions Islam and death. Now i am glad that i live in a country where my rights are preserved and i am viewed equal under law, however it would be disingenuous of me to pretend to not understand why some people who don't know me personally might have some reservations or prejudgments......why do so many pretend not to understand this? However my biggest issue with the term white privilege is that it takes attention away from the actual problems. Like no fathers, no family unit, no values, no discipline! and gives an impression that you can only succeed if your white! which is untrue. Why is it so many immigrants who have come here with less of a foundation then even the poorest Americans, who also have to deal with the same system deal with racism and judgment dig themselves out of poverty? Why is it so many African Americans, Latinos , Asians and other minorities do outstanding in this country and are the picture of success? It's there families and the values they have been taught by them. It starts at home. The only way you can fix any problem is by being honest about the cause, not pandering in a cloak of sympathy thats detrimental to the very people you think you're helping Its been very frustrating watching the dialogue of this country in the past few years, I have read often white people who are coming from a good place make the dumbest statements, like We are such a Racist country!! I always ask them, have you been anywhere else? i don't mean on vacation have you ever lived anywhere else? do you know how people in europe pick any country on the continent feel about certain people? how about Asia? the Middle East? Africa!? you know where they cut your hands off in certain places if your from a different tribe? America is the least racist place on this planet. Work hard make better decisions sacrifice for the greater good of your family and you can have some privilege too.

15 years ago today, 420 skydivers exited 5 C-130's over Udon Thani and built the world's first 400 way formation. It was very close. A last minute replacement went low right behind me, and John Peschio managed to reach down and pick her back up into her slot. (That never works.) We were starting to have hypoxia problems going to 26,500+ feet without bailout oxygen. But on this one jump everything came together and we managed to hold the formation for ~4 seconds before breakoff started at 7500 feet. The next day we did the largest mass freefall jump ever (1000+ people) over the new airport near Bangkok. Both are still records today.

Looks like a lot of people don't understand the difference between "making good choices" and "having good choices".

Not at all. Just one example. ?? There is no such person. What are you going on about? Are you claiming that the only problems black people face are the problems they create for themselves? I didn't think you were that clueless. Absolutely! But walking around black is a lot more likely to get you shot than walking around in a grass skirt. Yep. Now imagine because of your skin color you start off in the position that they assume you said FUCK the police, because the last person like you they saw they arrested for breaking into a liquor store and he was saying "FUCK the police." You OK with that? You OK with getting pulled over, saying FUCK the police and taking your chances? Maybe if you play Beethoven it will be OK. Of COURSE I prejudge people. It's something called homophily and it's something I have to be on guard against. If I see a guy who looks different, has a really thick accent, dresses differently and smells funny, I am going to tend to have a negative opinion of him. I have to fight against that to judge such a person fairly. If you pretend that none of that affects you - then you will judge people unfairly who don't look like you. Who is this Evil white person who is oppressing you so? The only people who think there's no such thing as white privledge are people who have never seen it because they benefit from it. "People starving? But I am at this nice restaurant, and everyone I see has plenty to eat. There's no such thing as hunger!"

The whole "if someone is not shooting at you right this very second then you are imagining things" argument doesn't work. If you are a black woman, working at a place that has an aggressive DEI program, that's great. But if you live in fear that police will kill your son because he's driving while black, that's not "imagining things." That's a real fear, based on incidents that actually happen. That some minorities (blacks in this case, applies to many others in different ways) are systematically and structurally discriminated against. We have gotten much better in the past 50 years. We still have some work to do. That work is important. There are still laws on the books in Virginia that say things like "no child shall be forced to attend an integrated school." They are in the process of being changed; great. But the process is not complete yet. So yes, there ARE still racist laws on the books. Help them yourself if you can. If not, support efforts to help them. Because there are many minorities that are greatly successful. No one is arguing that minorities cannot be successful - just that it is much harder for them to be as successful as their white counterparts. Let's take a skydiving example. You are on a bigway attempt. The organizer says you have to wear 20lbs of weight, a slick suit and he's going to put you in the outer ring. Will you be successful? Or will you go low and get cut? Now, I know a few people who have to wear 20lbs of weight to be on a dive like that, even if they are near the outside - because they are 5'9" women who weigh 105 lbs. Would it be valid to say "Hey, she was successful! What are you bitching about?" Is doing that while the cops arrest you once a month for walking while black a supreme effort? Could you work 9 to 5 every day if the cops arrested you periodically and put you in jail for 24 hours? Just to "check you out" of course, no discrimination, you just looked black like that guy who robbed a liquor store. If you got fired because of that, because you kept missing work, would it be because you are weak and lazy, and couldn't wait to spit out kids?

I'll pray for you.

Many years ago before I started skydiving, a fellow SCUBA instructor taught me a very valuable lesson. He taught me that the best teachers are also the best (and eternal) students. This means that no matter how much you may know about any subject, there is always something to be learned. Always look for new ways or ideas to expand upon your current knowledge base. Also, be willing to listen to students (and others) ideas. Don’t be too quick to dismiss them or say “tried it, won’t work”. If they come to you and say “I have (X) idea” and you had tried it and it didn’t work, relate that to them with your personal experience/results and encourage them to look at it from a fresh perspective. They may discover a crucial detail you missed and make it work.

Just wanted to update this post to say I found a local jumper that had a Viso II+ for sale and jumped on it. It will do well for me as my first digital Altimeter. Maybe in the coming years if the FFDS DigiAlti becomes the "one to have" I can upgrade then but for now a tried and true L&B alti will be what I use. Thanks again for all the replies.

His reading comprehension is fine. He's not posting things that he believes, that are honest or that reflect anything at all; he is posting things intended solely to piss you off. From his own post: "I posted the quote from a “denier” knowing that you would be triggered" That's his only goal here - to anger people. He has said as much several times. You keep falling for it.

The agent appraising the property thought the sellers were gullible. So in a tough market he under-priced the appraisal so it would sell quickly. So with little work he gets paid quick and the sellers are SOL. From the Realtor 201 course 'underprice for quick sales and no work".

Ok, this has gone way beyond the dry humor of my original post. But instead of conceding, I'm going to go full-on republican denialism and double down and say: Don't try and confuse me with facts! My mind is made up. I have no time to read stupid articles to become informed on any subject that does not mesh with my preconceived notions. I know I'm right and that is all that matters.

I always thought the glass was too small!

It's a magical place where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

I have to admit the US is kicking Canada's ass in getting the vaccine into people. Our P.M. bought millions of doses of almost every vaccine variant. Canada was among the first countries to buy. But our idiot and chief must have told the pharma companies that polite Canadians like to wait at the end of the line. Canada 2.4% the US 12.3% and with that rate Canada should be fertile ground for the upcoming S. African/Canuck superspreader variant.

I think I am more of a glass is too big person.

No apologies necessary. Really, if you are going to play here you'll need to get used to being unfair, ignoring nuance, and taking things out of context, too. Feel free to practice on me. When you get good, subject to the usual disputations here, I'll help you find someone more deserving.

I wake up everyday and thank Cthulhu that Westerly primary occupation is posting nonsense on DZ.com, instead of something involving public health, medical research, or anything science based that goes beyond the level of a 5th grade baking soda volcano. The AstraZeneca news out of South Africa is definitely interesting, and concerning. It shows just how much complexity is involved. South Africa has halted their early phase rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but their decision is pretty nuanced. A trial of 2,000 individuals showed that it wasn't effective at reducing mild to moderate disease from the SA variant in younger individuals. I believe the trial participants were in their 30's. I believe that it still reduced severe disease and death, and it is hard to extrapolate to the higher risk population. Since the initial phase was going to health care workers, who are younger and lower risk, you really need to consider whether you give them a vaccine that shows poor protection of mild to moderate disease. There are limited doses, there are ethical constraints about giving someone a treatment shown to be ineffective for their primary risk, and then there the optics and social impacts of people getting a vaccine and then getting sick. If they were at the stage of vaccinating seniors they may have made a different choice.

I’m not saying there is no racism, there is and is found all across the planet in every country and in every race. I am saying the concept of “white privilege” is a myth. As far as systemic racism? That would be the policies pushed by Democrats which resulted in the destruction of the Black nuclear family. That is not “white privilege” that is two parent privilege. “in 1964, only 7% of American children were born out of wedlock, compared to 40% today. As Jason Riley has noted, “the government paid mothers to keep fathers out of the home—and paid them well.” https://ifstudies.org/blog/family-breakdown-and-americas-welfare-system

Hi Seth, The invoice for my consulting services will go out tomorrow. Jerry Baumchen

Okay. I’d like to redirect the conversation back to getting input from coaches, instructors and S&TAs and their perspectives regarding recommending a WL > 1 for A and B license jumpers, if they do it and why.

I’ll join in on the pedantry: I accept that people say things like “1.5 to 1” or write “1.5:1”. Yes we understand what they mean (so their language has worked), but it is a messy way to state things and shouldn’t be encouraged in formal use. It is entirely redundant to say something like “a wing loading of 1.5 to 1” when one could just say “a wing loading of 1.5”. Either way, units are missing and we assume that one is using US standards. It isn’t a true ratio of the same units on both sides of the equation -- you aren’t comparing square feet of one thing to square feet of another thing. The units are different, pounds vs. square feet. Using a ratio in this situation is as dumb as saying that you inflated your car tires to “32:1”.

Oh dear... Can't believe I am posting this... American legislation in particular was designed by white men who owned property. They actively denied the vote to anyone else and this is a tradition that continues today. And nevermind suppressing the vote... It should come as no surprise that rules favour the rule-makers. Always. If all your rule-makers have historically been white men who owned property, you can't then turn around and say "but that doesn't exist anymore." It sure as hell does. Look... Those slaves who were "set free." Did they get back pay for allllll those years where they worked without pay for the white man??? Did they get dividends from their direct contribution to their owners' increase in wealth??? Setting people free and not paying them for their work or their contribution, not allowing them to vote, not allowing them to own property, et cetera, et cetera... Well, what kind of "freedom" is that, really?? That's like taking a bird from it's tree, ripping off it's wings, and throwing it off from your balcony and saying: there you go, now go fly with the other birds! And then claiming those wingless birds have the same opportunities as the other birds is just plain crazy. And the descendants of wingless birds who never had anyone to teach them to fly are STILL operating with a handicap. Et cetera, et cetera. Change - significant, real, long-lasting change - takes a verrrrrrrry long time. Racism exists. White Privilege exists. Sexism exists. Saying otherwise is either stupid as fuck, or extremely disingenuous.

Always fascinating to me that the people who often struggle the most with understanding such a simple concept like privilege, somehow always tend to be straight, white, middle-aged dudes who are at least moderately well off. Just can't put my finger on why those things match up. A mystery for the ages?

My takeaway is in about two weeks, we are going to see a Covid spike and a whole lot of people wishing they would have made smarter choices two weeks ago. Isn't that how it always goes? Person does as dumb people do and disregard every CDC recommendation. Said person gets infected and ends up in the hospital. Then said person really wishes they would not have gone to that all-night rager, but it's kind of too late at this point. Then said person dies, the message is lost and history repeats hundreds of thousands of times more. Sometimes the hard way is the only way.

that took all of a minute for me to debunk this idiot. at 1.20, i figured out that he is talking about collective guilt, and he is correct when he says THAT is wrong, but that was a clever tactic since that IS NOT white privilege. white privilege exists, and is not saying that you are responsible for anything because you're white, it is saying white privilege is the thing that is inherent in the system that you benefit from by being white. maybe if you were able to understand that, you would begin to see that you are a racist (passive as i explained previously. lots of people are unknowingly like i was) and take active steps to help others who are in your situation fix themselves, like i did over 20 years ago. when enough of us do it, it will disappear, or at least be relegated far enough into the fringes that it won't be systemic any longer. good luck.

I suspect it was both. A few key points: The left has been opposed to Keystone for years. Democrats won in a landslide, so it stands to reason that democratic leaders would see that victory as a mandate to implement things their voters want. It's how representative government works. Keystone does not provide a much-needed pipeline that is missing right now. It provides a SECOND pipeline (the XL) which increases capacity over and above the existing Keystone. Pipelines are marginally safer than rail shipping. So in terms of safety, the Keystone XL wins. The pipeline will employ a lot of people to construct it. But all those jobs will go away once the pipeline is complete, putting them out of work. In comparison, shipping oil by rail takes a fair number of workers, and always will. So you have lots of jobs short term vs. a moderate number of jobs long term. Improvements in efficiency will allow oil demand to remain flat (or drop) thus hastening the obsolescence of any pipelines constructed now. All in all I don't feel strongly either way. The XL would be a nice to have. It's not critical.

I think the game would have gone much better for Kansas City if they sent the Shawnee Mission East High School football team instead of the Chiefs.

In some ways Keystone is it's own animal. The oil it will transport isn't the most environmentally friendly goop, compared to West Texas Intermediate, for example. If we need more oil that bad I'd actually be for more fracking instead. The pipeline jobs in the US are transitory, at best. And, with great respect for our Canadian partners, I don't think the tar sands oil industry is all that stable. I base that on my own experience leasing PT6-65B and -67D engines to support maintenance for the Beech 1900's that haul workers to the fields. I noticed that it didn't take much of a hiccup before maintenance was deferred and aircraft were sold off. I picked up a nice Caravan that way. Also, it seems logical to me that when oil is needed less products like tar sands oil would, or should, be the first to go. So from my perch it just wasn't a great decision.

Bullseye. I'd rather watch two bad teams in a close game than a blow out with a good team.

I wonder what more Alan Turing would have achieved, had he not been hounded to death on account of his sexuality.

And may even be assaulted on occasion for fun. But if she complains about that she's not "part of the family" because families don't complain about such things. And if she goes outside the company? She is told "people can say virtually anything and that the person or the business about whom they say it is deemed to be guilty until proven innocent." Then they have a retirement party for the guy who assaulted her. And she's blacklisted. https://amp-kansascity-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.kansascity.com/news/local/article248877119.html?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA%3D%3D#aoh=16121113351354&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kansascity.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farticle248877119.html

Depends on the company culture. Because if it's a good ol' boy company, where a decent amount of the culture and influence are shared outside of the office, then she doesn't have equal access. She probably isn't going to be invited to the skeet shoots, the hunting trips, the gold games, and the titty bars. So that means that at best, she's got equal opportunities and no disadvantage. At worst, she's got disadvantage. Which means that industry-wide, she's paid less for the same job. Wendy P.

Agreed with all the above. I wouldn't even call it racism at its core - I'd call it homophily. We are most comfortable with people like us. If they are foreigners that manifests as xenophobia; if they are a different race we call it racism. It takes conscious effort to overcome this. There are a great many people who exhibit this sort of homophily (as almost all people do) but deny it, for reasons you mention above. These are the unconscious racists, the people who make decisions based on how they feel about people, unaware that much of those feelings come from that base of homophily. Awareness of this is essential if anyone is to overcome that bias.

Definitely not! He sounded like Trump but he said his name was John Barron.

Regarding the bigway record: there's always rumours, but nothing serious has reached my ear. I would image a serious attempt is going to require a multi-year plan with build-up of the bigway skills for the current jumpers. Most of the bigway stuff that I've seen and been involved in during the past couple of years was more recreational-style, having fun and playing around with formations up to 50-ways, but more typically smaller than 36-ways. And there was some stuff going on in the multi-point bigway records and night bigway records last years.