Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
The most important question regarding law enforcement entities and their influence on diving (o/w, cave, wreck -- ANY diving) is whether we shall allow government to dictate what we are doing. Sure these agencies "just want to know where we are, what we're up to" in case we have a problem. And perhaps the situation starts out as "innocently" as this. So we allow for it. And we have to tell the law who we are, where we live, who our relatives are, our phone #'s, when we go in, when we plan to come out, etc. And since bicycling can be dangerous, let's require everyone to "report on those activities too. Mr./Ms.so-and-so, where are you going? When will you leave? When will you return? Where do you live? Who are your relatives? I'm sure you won't mind if we look over you bicycle. Where did you buy this? Who did you get it from? Saves everybody a lot of time if you get hurt, and we, of course, only want to know these things out of concern for your safety." And how about sex? That's very dangerous now too. So let's make sure that the authorities know WHO you are doing, and when and where. Is this an absurd extrapolation? Hardly! It is proven, by history, that whatever you turn over to government control will be abused by the entity that has control. It starts with people who don't care about a "little intrusion", and one day they wake up to the fact that their rights are GONE. Ever been to Singapore? It's been called "Disneyland with a death penalty." They have more laws to govern your behavior than you would believe. Chewing gum cannot be imported or sold there,; there are laws about washing your hands after taking a leak, and it goes on and on. With our sport, we are the only guardians of our rights. What if (as it is now in Jackson County) every place you want to dive is controlled by the cops? This is called a"police state." Look it up! How do normal social activities become regulated? It happens when everyone acts like sheep, shrugs their shoulders and says"Well, I guess that's OK." IF YOU/WE DO NOT STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS, THEY WILL BE TAKEN AWAY! And that's no joke. In the original posting, the writer referred to German terms that were included to remind us of what happens when fascism is allowed to flourish. It is sad, and even offensive to modern Germans, to be reminded of what happened in their own literate, enlightened culture. But it happened slowly, with "good intentions", day by day, while the citizens of that time LET IT. It didn't seem too bad at the time. Perhaps our counterparts, in countries where fascism is a recent, even personal experience can describe to the rest of us how intelligent people lose their rights , with their eyes open. Is this a diving issue? It wasn't until the Sherrif, in one county, wanted to control me, and you, and the next guy..... Christopher A. Brown The Technical Diving Video Library by Sci-Graphica PR/DOCENT FILMS Tallahassee FL 32311 chbrown@fr*.fs*.ed* P 904-942-7222, F 904-942-1240 It's not the pace of life that concerns me -- it's the sudden stop at the end.
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]