The Mountains We Love: a different perspective!

I agree, Ron, It saddens me to see the slamming back and forth (yes, including lightly throwing the term "nazis" around). So unnecessary; so unproductive, and so over the top. Perhaps it's been too many years, and folks should refresh themselves on the history of the period of Hitler's rule of Germany before using this analogy. Maybe find one of the few remaining concentration camp survivors and talk with them. And then see if they think the analogy still applies to something like rules for overflights. Get back to me when folks are being put in extremely harsh camps for nothing other than their birth, when they are being subjected to nightmarish human experiments, when they are being send to gas ovens, and so forth. Not just when someone is suggesting perhaps changing a voluntary "rule" to something that might invoke a little fine  : (to me, thinking these are at all analogous is a sign of a "kook"). And to reiterate, I have no problem with the flights - it's the Glenn Beck and Nazi analogies that sadden me.

The OP assisted greatly in the supposed "hijack" of this thread, IMO. If that's how he wants it to flow, so be it, but it's too late to squawk about how others may have responded. Great shots for sure, though...

Actually, just like he draws road ragers, snowolf seems to be a magnet for politcal 'discussion'.
I'm sure he is enjoing the banter.

Any one watch ice road truckers in India? Maverick trucker with the purple mohawk? That's snowolf!

so, when do we start talking about touring with our pistolas?

Sorry I couldn't join you for the august 6th flight.

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I may have indeed fanned the flame when the first comment about my altitude showed up, but I ask you to honestly tell me what I did wrong in my White Pass trip report that warranted the blind sided attack I got for it? When I get a response like that from a benign post, I think I might have some right to maybe poke the bear a bit to see if that kind of attitude is pervasive through the community.

We aim for good faith, non-inflammatory discussions here, as best we can.  You got blind-sided in the White Pass report and I don't think anyone has really said differently.  This one was maybe a bit more of a mutual derailment effort, with several parties joining in...

For my part, while it's clear that "Nazi" has become an internet colloquialism, it's also an instant-derail.  It may be consistent with your intent, but the description has way too much baggage and the discussion quickly becomes more about that than about muffled-exhauste engines and constant speed propellers in a mountain environment.

But yeah, derails aside, thanks for sharing the pictures and video.  Very cool perspective.  Sweet mohawk too.

What do you find disturbing about the Glenn Beck reference?  I was compared to him based on someone`s view that I was being liberal enough. As a progressive, I should be the one offended by that comparison and I think I would rather be compare to Hitler than Glenn Beck.....

I did not say I was disturbed by it, merely saddened. I perceived the use was an attempt to attack you personally, just as your use of "kooks" and "nazis" comes across as a personal attack on another poster. I just don't like seeing personal attacks like this on forums, as I have yet to see them increase the value of the discourse. It is entirely possible to argue a point of view about a topic such as overflights w/o labelling or otherwise personally attacking those who hold alternative points of view. I think that use of such labels is simply cathartic for the poster, and destructive to enlightening discourse (enlightening about things other than what folks write when they're pissed off past the point of reason). And I suspect it's usually also lazy - shorthand language relfecting fuzzy thinking.

As for the White Pass thread, I do not like how you were jumped on either, and tried to insert my own hopefully constructive response into the thread, including noting that it is tough to judge the actions of others in a complex situation such as a tour from a brief trip report. I guess I don't see the fact that you were jumped on by a few folks there as providing any sort of free pass on conducting personal attacks elsewhere...

If you think that poking folks is a good and healthy activity, carry on; but I don't see the point (beyond trolling). There are a few other folks on the board who relish the opportunity to jab folks here - from some of the PMs I've received when responding to such jabs, I suspect that if enough "pokers" get active here, you'll likely manage to get the board to yourselves soon enough. This gets at another aspect of such poking that saddens me - I know some folks who otherwise have made very positive contributions to this and some other forums go away when this sort of jabbing becomes prevalent. Folks can say all they want about growing thicker skins and all that, but the fact remains - it will drive some folks away.

By the way "grammar nazi" is quite different from the plain word "nazi." And fwiw, I'm not personally outraged by your use of the term "nazi" - I simply think it was both lazy and antisocial usage (and yes, such usage is prevalent on the internet, I realize, and yes, over time, usage does redefine words). And I think Godwin had a good point in his response to this common usage.

FWIW, I have appreciated your more constructive contributions to the board, including the OP on this thread and your WP trip report. I hope to see more along those lines over time.