Re: 3 Kayakers Pointedly Ignored Me

Posted by Charlie43 on
URL: http://riverswest-forums.266.s1.nabble.com/3-Kayakers-Pointedly-Ignored-Me-tp366p372.html

Mark,

A couple years ago, someone disrupted a rowing race in the UK, claiming that rowing was "an elitist sport" and shouldn't be tolerated. The same accusation is made of sailing.  The same can be said of high-end wooden boats. There is merit in those accusations.  But the solution to the perceived "social inequality/social injustice" shouldn't be to take away those activities from them already pursuing them, but to point toward the avenues of access that do exist for those who would want to join.

Most of the envious won't follow up, of course. Rowing is a brutal sport, requiring many hours each week of grueling effort, as does sailing, as does high-end boat-building. I think that effort should be acknowledged, not disparaged or banned, which is why I expect a nod and wave when I'm on a bike or in a boat I built myself and why I'm quick to extend one to others, not from a sense of "elitism", but because it's fun to encounter other members of my "tribe".

"Did you build it yourself?" is my favorite question.  
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I'm glad you broke that oar. Had I been a half mile off shore when it happened to me, I'd have been in serious trouble.

Charlie