stealth6
insert witty tagline here
Scenario:
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Really.
Bob decides to go to a launch. He reads their launch site rules before attending, and he finds out that they have a 10,000 waiver, and that they dont allow sparkie motors. This is quite explicit, and there are reasons given for the policy. There are plenty of other launches to attend where waivers are much higher, with no rules against sparkies, but for this particular site the rules are plain and everyone in this club understands (even if a few of them wish it was otherwise). But Bob wants to go to this launch. And Bob really likes sparkie motors, has a long history of flying them, flew them with his Dad when he was just a boy, and believes that they are perfectly safe and acceptable. He also has a rocket/motor (a sparkie motor) that sims to 20,000 that he really wants to fly. So, he decides to launch what he wants, shows up with this rocket/motor, and lets it fly. (the RSO didnt check too closely)
A few of the folks at the launch see this and call foul. The club president lets Bob know that this was not cool, and asks him please to not do it again. The rules are the rules, after all. Bob is kind of upset about not being allowed to launch as he pleases, but says he understands and everyone calms down. This was all very civil and calm.
So, the next weekend, Bob comes to the launch again. This time he does bring a different rocket/motor ..one that only sims to 16,000 but is again a sparkie. It somehow gets by the RSO and Bob lets another one rip. In his mind he just knows that if he flies these, others will see how great they are and will want to do the same. Plus he feels that he shouldnt be bound by the rules. More folks are upset, the club officers and upset, and this time they are a bit more harsh with Bob. Some even shout a bit, and things get a little more heated. Bob is given a more stern warning from the club.
Next weekends launch, Bob shows up again, and yes he comes with a sparkie motor in a rocket that flies well above 10,000. The RSO catches it and does not allow him to fly. He can fly another rocket (under 10k) or another motor (non sparkie) but hes not allowed to fly that one. Bob gets upset about this, and feels that he is being targeted unfairly. He says that anyone thats upset about the rocket/motor that he wants to fly is not much of a rocketeer, and that they are oppressing him.
So Bob stays home the next couple of weekends.
But he comes back to another launch a bit later, and yep, he brings a high altitude sparkie to fly. Some folks by now are tired of him pushing this line and get in his face a bit about it. A couple even make fun of him for simply not getting it. One ridicules him for being such a hardcore flyer that thinks hes so much better than everyone else that he doesnt have to play by the rules. He calls them all sissy rocketeers. The RSO again wont let him fly, but this time Bob is prepared. He sets up his own launch rail and fires it off himself. High altitude, big and sparkie. A few folks are pissed off, and this time things get even more heated. Shouting, accusations, threats yuck, it starts to get ugly.
Bob sees it that hes being oppressed. He feels that the rules dont apply to him and that anyone who has issue with it is wrong. He thinks that he should be free to fly as he wants, when he wants, and what he wants. Hes an American after all, and this is a free country. In his mind, anyone who thinks otherwise is not a real rocketeer, and he needs to show them how its done.
So, Bob continues to come to these launches, continues to launch or try to launch high altitude sparkie flights, and tries to find all kinds of sneaky ways to justify it or to bypass the rules. Or, most of the time, he just ignores the rules and flies as he pleases.
So, the question(s) is/are:
Is Bob basically being a jerk, or should he be allowed to continue doing this?
Or conversely, are the folks at this launch treating him unfairly, singling him out and targeting him for his ways, and are they in the wrong when they call him on it (even when they frustratingly get pushed to the point of shouting, ridiculing, or otherwise acting like jerks themselves)?
A plea and a pledge:
The plea -- Please lets try to keep this thread civil, honest, and respectful. Bob is fictional, and this scenario is just that; a scenario. No personal attacks, no hostility, no ugliness. Please? (and yes, I know that some of you are thinking thats pretty rich coming from me, but still). I know that some of you might think that this is a thinly disguised attack on someone and that you think you know who it is. You are of course free to think whatever you want, but I'll tell you that you are most likely wrong. Take that however you want.
The pledge -- I myself pledge to fully stay out of it from this point forward. This initial post will be my only one in this thread. Im sincerely interested in what you all have to say about this, but Ill keep my own mouth shut from here on .with one last bit as an exception, which is this:
I really like high altitude flights, and I think sparkie motors are way cool. Honestly I do.
Discuss.
s6
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Really.
Bob decides to go to a launch. He reads their launch site rules before attending, and he finds out that they have a 10,000 waiver, and that they dont allow sparkie motors. This is quite explicit, and there are reasons given for the policy. There are plenty of other launches to attend where waivers are much higher, with no rules against sparkies, but for this particular site the rules are plain and everyone in this club understands (even if a few of them wish it was otherwise). But Bob wants to go to this launch. And Bob really likes sparkie motors, has a long history of flying them, flew them with his Dad when he was just a boy, and believes that they are perfectly safe and acceptable. He also has a rocket/motor (a sparkie motor) that sims to 20,000 that he really wants to fly. So, he decides to launch what he wants, shows up with this rocket/motor, and lets it fly. (the RSO didnt check too closely)
A few of the folks at the launch see this and call foul. The club president lets Bob know that this was not cool, and asks him please to not do it again. The rules are the rules, after all. Bob is kind of upset about not being allowed to launch as he pleases, but says he understands and everyone calms down. This was all very civil and calm.
So, the next weekend, Bob comes to the launch again. This time he does bring a different rocket/motor ..one that only sims to 16,000 but is again a sparkie. It somehow gets by the RSO and Bob lets another one rip. In his mind he just knows that if he flies these, others will see how great they are and will want to do the same. Plus he feels that he shouldnt be bound by the rules. More folks are upset, the club officers and upset, and this time they are a bit more harsh with Bob. Some even shout a bit, and things get a little more heated. Bob is given a more stern warning from the club.
Next weekends launch, Bob shows up again, and yes he comes with a sparkie motor in a rocket that flies well above 10,000. The RSO catches it and does not allow him to fly. He can fly another rocket (under 10k) or another motor (non sparkie) but hes not allowed to fly that one. Bob gets upset about this, and feels that he is being targeted unfairly. He says that anyone thats upset about the rocket/motor that he wants to fly is not much of a rocketeer, and that they are oppressing him.
So Bob stays home the next couple of weekends.
But he comes back to another launch a bit later, and yep, he brings a high altitude sparkie to fly. Some folks by now are tired of him pushing this line and get in his face a bit about it. A couple even make fun of him for simply not getting it. One ridicules him for being such a hardcore flyer that thinks hes so much better than everyone else that he doesnt have to play by the rules. He calls them all sissy rocketeers. The RSO again wont let him fly, but this time Bob is prepared. He sets up his own launch rail and fires it off himself. High altitude, big and sparkie. A few folks are pissed off, and this time things get even more heated. Shouting, accusations, threats yuck, it starts to get ugly.
Bob sees it that hes being oppressed. He feels that the rules dont apply to him and that anyone who has issue with it is wrong. He thinks that he should be free to fly as he wants, when he wants, and what he wants. Hes an American after all, and this is a free country. In his mind, anyone who thinks otherwise is not a real rocketeer, and he needs to show them how its done.
So, Bob continues to come to these launches, continues to launch or try to launch high altitude sparkie flights, and tries to find all kinds of sneaky ways to justify it or to bypass the rules. Or, most of the time, he just ignores the rules and flies as he pleases.
So, the question(s) is/are:
Is Bob basically being a jerk, or should he be allowed to continue doing this?
Or conversely, are the folks at this launch treating him unfairly, singling him out and targeting him for his ways, and are they in the wrong when they call him on it (even when they frustratingly get pushed to the point of shouting, ridiculing, or otherwise acting like jerks themselves)?
A plea and a pledge:
The plea -- Please lets try to keep this thread civil, honest, and respectful. Bob is fictional, and this scenario is just that; a scenario. No personal attacks, no hostility, no ugliness. Please? (and yes, I know that some of you are thinking thats pretty rich coming from me, but still). I know that some of you might think that this is a thinly disguised attack on someone and that you think you know who it is. You are of course free to think whatever you want, but I'll tell you that you are most likely wrong. Take that however you want.
The pledge -- I myself pledge to fully stay out of it from this point forward. This initial post will be my only one in this thread. Im sincerely interested in what you all have to say about this, but Ill keep my own mouth shut from here on .with one last bit as an exception, which is this:
I really like high altitude flights, and I think sparkie motors are way cool. Honestly I do.
Discuss.
s6