A somewhat sad conversation last night

[maxdeco]

A negative impression is quite a broad stroke. Perhaps, he meant intimidated which is probably common considering the wide gulf in knowledge between DIR trained divers and beginners. Just my 2 psi worth.

Nothing else between DIR trained divers and beginners? I'm not DIR trained. Does that make me a beginner? Cave and Trimix certified, active Instructor, widely published UW photographer. 37 years of experience? I guess so.

That is the attitude that is such a turn off. Go be smug with your own kind. Don't dive with us "strokes". You'd be one too! Some of the GUE/DIR true believers behave like an exclusionary fundamentalist religious cultist. Be one of us or be damned is the attitude I detect. Well go to your heaven and please leave me behind.

Maxdeco

 

[PfcAJ]

Oh look...a false dichotomy....

le troll...

 

[OldNSalty]

I don't know about troll but it is ironic I think that the OP is talking about how someone had a "very negative impression of DIR" and the very next post is basically 'You do not think we are asses-you are just intimidated by our greatness." I don't know Scott L-might be a super great person who did not desire to come across that way but when i first read it I thought-either he is trying to make a joke or this is exactly why people have this 'negative impression.'

For the record, many of the very best divers I have met (best in terms of just being super great people) are DIR...and some of the worse.

 

[nimoh]

Nothing else between DIR trained divers and beginners? I'm not DIR trained. Does that make me a beginner? Cave and Trimix certified, active Instructor, widely published UW photographer. 37 years of experience? I guess so.

That is the attitude that is such a turn off. Go be smug with your own kind. Don't dive with us "strokes". You'd be one too! Some of the GUE/DIR true believers behave like an exclusionary fundamentalist religious cultist. Be one of us or be damned is the attitude I detect. Well go to your heaven and please leave me behind.

Maxdeco

I didn't gather that from the post by Scott L at all.

I think he was referring to the interaction between DIR trained divers and beginner divers. The long hose, the can light, maintaining formation during dives, etc. would be very foreign to some divers that just finished doing fin pivots on a training platform.

With you being Cave/Trimix and having 37 years of experience, beginner divers are probably intimidated by you as well when you show up with all of your gear ready for a tech dive (actually, I am a little intimidated too lol). I don't think anybody was suggesting that you would be intimidated by a DIR diver.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Nothing else between DIR trained divers and beginners? I'm not DIR trained. Does that make me a beginner? Cave and Trimix certified, active Instructor, widely published UW photographer. 37 years of experience? I guess so.

That is the attitude that is such a turn off. Go be smug with your own kind. Don't dive with us "strokes". You'd be one too! Some of the GUE/DIR true believers behave like an exclusionary fundamentalist religious cultist. Be one of us or be damned is the attitude I detect. Well go to your heaven and please leave me behind.

Maxdeco

Nice 2nd post Maxdeco

I know Scott L and you totally misunderstood his post.

 

[lowviz]

To anyone listening (and nobody in particular): It IS possible for one to peacefully co-exist with both DIR and non-DIR divers.

However, this can only be realized IRL.

 

[Crush]

I have a fresh and personal take on TSandM's original question.

A recent post about DIR/GUE led to some good feedback. However, all the only posts that I can vividly remember felt like a pile-on. It doesn't take many to make a bad impression.

TraceMalin made an analogy between DIR/GUE and religion some time ago. I'd like to run with that. It seems to me that the skill and certainty of some DIR/GUE divers has supplanted their compassion. We have heard "love the sinner, hate the sin." To some DIR/GUE divers the sin and the sinner are one in the same, and both are worthy of contempt. Rather than meeting the sinner "where they are at," showing them understanding and compassion, and then showing them a better way of living their lives, they ridicule the sinner, often using cryptic phrases of arcana which mean nothing to the person they are admonishing.

 

[nimoh]

I have a fresh and personal take on TSandM's original question.

A recent post about DIR/GUE led to some good feedback. However, all the only posts that I can vividly remember felt like a pile-on. It doesn't take many to make a bad impression.

TraceMalin made an analogy between DIR/GUE and religion some time ago. I'd like to run with that. It seems to me that the skill and certainty of some DIR/GUE divers has supplanted their compassion. We have heard "love the sinner, hate the sin." To some DIR/GUE divers the sin and the sinner are one in the same, and both are worthy of contempt. Rather than meeting the sinner "where they are at," showing them understanding and compassion, and then showing them a better way of living their lives, they ridicule the sinner, often using cryptic phrases of arcana which mean nothing to the person they are admonishing.

well, it goes both ways, many GUE divers are ridiculed for being sheep drugged up on kool-aid.

I do appreciate your phrasing "some DIR/GUE divers...", as I don't ridicule people for they way they dive, and I most certainly don't try to show them a better way, but I will answer questions.

 

[Crush]

I do appreciate your phrasing "some DIR/GUE divers..."

I strive for accuracy. It is the minority that are assholes. Unfortunately, they are memorable assholes.

as I don't ridicule people for they way they dive, and I most certainly don't try to show them a better way, but I will answer questions.

I appreciate this. Please continue posting so as to help to drown out the voices of those mentioned above.

 

[TSandM]

Sigh.

I think the point of the original post was that, no matter what kind of impression of GUE divers you get from ScubaBoard, when you meet people in person, they are often quite different.

For example, Brian Nadwidny has a nice sense of humor . . .