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>>...They ARE NOT ASKED HOW LONG THEY HAVE >>SKIIED, OR HOW MANY LESSONS THEYHAVE HAD---THEY ARE ASKED TO MAKE A FEW >>TURNS. A qualified instructor then decides what level class to put them in. >>A percentage always goes to the "NEVER, EVER" class, for people you can >>immediately tell will never learn to ski. >> >>...I think its >>time that certifying agencies WAKE UP and figure a way to create some new >>checks and balances to prevent obvious merchant mentalities from selling >>technical diving to persons who are obviously GOING TO DIE OR BE INJURED! >> Yeah, right. And forego all the money that these people willingly fork over to combat their ineptitude? I'm not defending irresponsibility in business, but I'd much rather live knowing it goes on than live with no choices of my own. The cause of this problem is greed. As the owner of my own software company, I know all about it. But there is a remedy for this problem, and it is realism. Realism about what you can accomplish tempers greed and foolish actions, causing realistic people to back off from situations where they KNOW they will be the NEVER, EVER type. But some people are too STUPID to be realistic about their own limitations, and yes, they will get injured or killed. Tough. It's always been this way, in all fields of endeavor, and hopefully always will, as long as we can keep government, litigation, and other oppressive forces out of our way so we can make decisions for ourselves. In your analogy, what if you went to a diving instructor who made you "do a few turns" and decided that you were incapable? How would you feel? Is he a better judge than you? One would hope so, but the fact is that many in positions of "knowledge" or "authority" (mass-market O/W diving instructors top the list) are not good judges or good leaders. And so we shouldn't welcome ANYONE making decisions for us that we could possibly make better for ourselves. If there's one thing that our cancerous government should teach us, it's that if you don't DEMAND to keep your right to make decisions for yourself, someone less qualified will make them for you. This issue of individual decision-making goes a lot farther than diving certification, but it is supremely important in our sport. We've been successful at self-regulation so far, but resigning ourselves to the attitude that "someone ought to do something about this" is one step away from giving up our rights. Joe Helmick
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