US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

This keeper is worthy of it's own thread.
I'll comment later.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.ph ... 8&start=60

John Wright, aka: knumbknuts wrote

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 7:22 am Post subject: #72
1. Hi Warren! Nice to see you found a little petri dish of an online forum over there that you probably won't be booted from.

2. Dennis, the point I am making is this: Bob has been very helpful to you, as he was to me over the last two years. In return, you, like I, are defending him and advocating on his behalf.

You are making a request for him better than he could make it for himself. I suggest you let him make it himself.

I am also warning you that, just because you are defending him and advocating on his behalf, do not think he won't some day post something relating you to a lynch mob, literary villains, and other various insults and innuendos.

Because that is a possibility, I am suggesting you be careful not to go too far in your defense of him. You are saying some things that could easily be taken wrongly by those whom you are saying them to. I figure that's just you, that's the way you are, and I have yet to take anything personally.

I am just sharing my experience: it sucks to defend Bob, have Bob turn on you, have to completely shut Bob out of your life because he knows no boundaries, and then have to come back to those same people that you were pissing off on Bob's behalf.

In my case, I am now living in San Diego. I fought the general San Diego flying community on Bob's behalf in the recall election and I can tell you, it got personal and ugly. I took some real hits.

What do I have to show for that? Well, I am Bob's arch villain. That's fine, as long as it doesn't interrupt my "normal" life, so be it.

But, as I enter the San Diego flying community, I find that I am still associated with Bob, avoided because of my defense with him, and generally walking around with a Scarlet B on my chest.

To what gain? All I got was a guy who made it his life goal to drive a fire truck up my a** and raise the ladder.

Just trying to help another guy from making the same mistake: defend Bob or don't, but it's not worth going to the extent of pissing other people off.
http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.ph ... 8&start=60

I posted these comments in the other topic, but I wanted to add them here as well...


About John Wright ...

What seems to go right over John Wright's head is that none of this is about defending people. It's about defending what's right.

John is so caught up in his loyalty to Jack, that he can't bring himself to criticize Jack when Jack is in the wrong. That's the same kind of behavior that allowed Jebb to become such an unchecked bully in San Diego. It's also the same kind of behavior that allowed USHPA to become such a bully as well.

John, I don't see you or Jack or JB as "bad guys". But you've allowed yourselves to go astray in your actions because you're acting out of gang-like loyalty rather than out of objective fairness. You've made it all about people when it should never be all about people. It should be all about people's actions. You say that you are "Bob's arch villain" - but you're not. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a guy who's been making some bad decisions. When you stop making bad decisions, you'll find I'll be just as friendly as ever. Heck, I could get along with Brad Hall or even David Jebb if they just did the right thing. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they'll tell you that's true.

So let me ask you a question John. You say you have a "Scarlet B" on your chest from defending me. Do you feel you ever did anything in defending me that wasn't right?


About Dennis ...

I can't say enough about Dennis having the courage to do what he's done on hanggliding.org.

There are people who will see someone in trouble by the side of the road ... and just keep on driving. Dennis didn't do that, and he stopped to help. I wish there were more people who would do that.

Dennis stood up and tried to fix something that he saw was broken. He knew that would make him a target, and now he has to walk on egg shells as his reward. Warren said: "Now they have Thomas Paine in the crosshairs" referring to Dennis. That's quite a compliment since Thomas Paine is often considered "The Father of the American Revolution". That kind of praise looks good on you Dennis. Wear it well.

Does that make Dennis perfect? No. Does that mean Dennis can do whatever he wants for the rest of his life without criticism from me? No. If Dennis screws up, I'll call him on it, just as I have with John, Jack, and JB. That's what we should all do for each other.

It's not so important that we all make mistakes ... because we all do. What matters more is how we respond when we're called on those mistakes. Those who wall themselves off from criticism are doomed to spiral into the false feedback of their buddies. That's how Jebb got to be such a bully, and I suspect that's how Hitler became such a bully as well (go ahead and "Goodwin" me if you like). The only thing that keeps humans on a straight path is being willing to hear and accept the criticisms of others. Jack and John have insulated themselves from that criticism and they're basking in the false "peace" it provides.