First of all, Spence, thank you for your original post. My gear was one of the rigs that was tampered with. I walked into the hangar on Sunday morning to find my rig tangled and stuffed inside a garbage bag, tape wrapped around the outside of the bag from bottom to top. I was disgusted and appalled to find my gear like this, and was having a hard time trying to figure out how to deal with the situation, considering that my friends had done this.
Your post affirmed how I felt about the situation: disrespected, disappointed, and, as you were, disheartened. Being a new-ish jumper, I had been under the impression that messing with someone else's gear is a huge no-no. Sure, I've seen people put a few line twists in a canopy laying out, but the condition that my gear was in was truly disgusting. My gear was tangled in pretty much every possible way it could be, and the most appalling thing to me was that there was chewed up food inside my canopy.
I've spoken to several experienced jumpers about this situation, and from their opinion, and that of others who have posted on this thread, I know I'm not alone in thinking that messing with someone else's gear is not acceptable.
I also know that there are people who belive that it is OK to tamper with someone's gear, including two of the people I've spoken to who were directly involved.
That being said, I'm pretty sure that the chances of us all seeing eye to eye on the issue are slim. What I do ask of the peolpe involved is this: Please, do not mess with my gear, ever again. I know that you weren't trying to attack me or make me feel disrespected: in your eyes, it was a joke, but in my eyes, it went way too far. I do feel disrespected, disregarded, and highly offended. Please respect me, as a friend, by never, ever again doing that or anything like it to my personal property.
I understand that there is an inherent risk in leaving my gear out overnight: someone could spill beer on it, or someone could trip over it. Something could happen by accident. I accept this risk and I'm prepared to accept the consequences. What I don't understand, though, is this logic: someone has left their gear out, so let's ensure that it is tampered with in some way. I find it hard to accept that. I can't.
To those who have apologized to me, I thank you and deeply appreciate it. I love my home DZ and the people there. I love jumping and partying with you guys, I love that we all do learn from each other. Without you guys, that place would mean so much less to me. I want to continue to feel comfortable, at ease, and at home there.
If I don't put my gear up at the end of the day, please don't mess with it when it is entrusted to everyone's safe-keeping overnight in the packing area.
