yourhog said:
For no reason other than redneck entertainment.
Speak for yourself; I am certainly not a redneck.
yourhog said:
Airshows are largely political, even if not intentionally. They are often set up to raise public interest in a particular arm of the military...
Maybe in the US. In Canada, the Snowbirds are an integral part of our history. Watching them reminds us of what they did for us back in WWII - much like the services on Rememberance Day.
yourhog said:
Along the same vein, during any airshow these planes burn an inordinate amount of highly refined, ultra expensive fuel made from the same barrels of oil over which the current war was started.
Are you kidding? Thousands of flights going around the world on a daily basis, and you are going to bring fuel economy into this???
yourhog said:
You get to see these awesomely capable machines run by awesomely capable people and part of most of us naturally says "God I'd love to see that thing fucking something up!"
I suspect you are in a distinct minority. Most of the people that watch air shows are interested in watching the planes fly and do tricks, not in seeing the planes "fuck something up."
yourhog said:
Use a search engine and look up the number of air show accidents documented where a plane plowed right into a crowd of people, killing 20 or whatever of them.
The Snowbirds have had 6 fatalities in over 35 years of flying, doing 60+ shows per year... none of the deaths were spectators. Maybe, in other countries, a little more training should be required, and a few more safety precautions put in place, before allowing the shows to go on.
I don't care that $billions annually are generated due to air shows. I'm not impressed by someone who's just doing their job. And I actually find it insulting that so many people justify such a wasteful spectator sport, including NASCAR and any other form of excessive fuel consumption. The world's energy isn't limitless and there is no reason to pour money into such an event. When there can be a green airshow, where all the dollars generated are given to causes that advance the human race rther than encourage cousin-fucking in the travel trailer on top of a cooler stocked with Natural Ice and Bartle and Jaymes, then we can talk about how tragic the deaths of two pilots is.
But really, this is just my opinion. I realize there are a lot of people out there that help make up existence as a whole, and if you're one of those types that squirts man juice every time the laws of gravity are defied by tons of metal then by all means enjoy your sport, I just won't be in the stands when the next dumbass crashes into you.
Finally, I don't think Mr. King's "racial slur" was all that bad. I'm not Polish, but the irony of the standard "How many pollacks does it take..." set-em-up-and-knock-em-down joke was very apropos and rather amusing. Considering air shows happen in every country, it could have easily been "How many rednecks", or "how many _____(fill in the blank)________" and still been funny. Don't be so uptight, people. It's just a commentary, it's just an opinion and it's just a fucking joke.
I don't care that $billions annually are generated due to air shows. I'm not impressed by someone who's just doing their job. And I actually find it insulting that so many people justify such a wasteful spectator sport, including NASCAR and any other form of excessive fuel consumption. The world's energy isn't limitless and there is no reason to pour money into such an event. When there can be a green airshow, where all the dollars generated are given to causes that advance the human race rther than encourage cousin-fucking in the travel trailer on top of a cooler stocked with Natural Ice and Bartle and Jaymes, then we can talk about how tragic the deaths of two pilots is.
But really, this is just my opinion. I realize there are a lot of people out there that help make up existence as a whole, and if you're one of those types that squirts man juice every time the laws of gravity are defied by tons of metal then by all means enjoy your sport, I just won't be in the stands when the next dumbass crashes into you.
Finally, I don't think Mr. King's "racial slur" was all that bad. I'm not Polish, but the irony of the standard "How many pollacks does it take..." set-em-up-and-knock-em-down joke was very apropos and rather amusing. Considering air shows happen in every country, it could have easily been "How many rednecks", or "how many _____(fill in the blank)________" and still been funny. Don't be so uptight, people. It's just a commentary, it's just an opinion and it's just a fucking joke.
also hate them. I believe that the era (at least where I'm from) when we could afford to be entertained by waste is sorta over. Of course Thoreau more stylishly said basically the same thing 160 years ago and no one cared.
yourhog
Dallas, TX
February 2005
SEP 08, 2007 08:37 PM