My question was not why are you so negative, but why are you so angry?
I’m in agreement that this is most likely a fool hardy, doomed to failure endeavor, but I'm still left with my original question. Why are you guys so angry?
Maybe Stowe is incredibly stupid – why does that anger you? This is America and we are free to be stupid.
Maybe he is a rotten, inept, ill-prepared sailor – I understand your commenting “negatively” on it, but why does it anger you so?
Maybe he is a deadbeat dad that has had been in jail – shame on him, but why does that anger you?
I know NASA won’t give him the time of day, but if he has delusions that something of scientific value will result from his trip – what’s it to you?
So he talked some gullible sponsors into giving him money – “adventures” have done that throughout history – let the buyer beware - why does that anger you?
So he’s sweet-talked some young coed into spending 1000 days alone with him at sea – sounds like the premise of a bad porno movie – but she’s an adult (albeit a very idealistic and naive adult) and free to do any damn thing she wants. Why does that anger you so much?
I understand that you think he’s a charlatan on a fool’s journey (and you very well may be correct) and I have no problem with you exercising your right to free speech to comment on what he is trying to do. Stowe has made or at least tried to make this a very public endeavor, so public comment on him and his trip is fair and expected.
I understand that as sailors you want to protect the integrity of your sport, but let’s be honest, there is nothing that Reid Stowe can do that is going to hurt any of you or your sport. If he ultimately ends up as shark food the sport of sailing is not going to be restricted or outlawed and the MSM isn't going to show up on your front door demanding to know why YOU let this happen.
I understand you considering him a pathetic fool and saying so, but when I see all of the animosity, the vitriolic name calling and profanity and going to all the time and trouble to create a website just to castigate another human who is doing nothing more than living out one of his dreams and who is not hurting anyone and especially not hurting any of you – I’m left asking why is everyone so freakin’ pissed off?
And I’m not trying to defend Stowe (I don’t know him & think he’s flaky has hell, but I don’t wish him ill) I guess my problem is that I see our society becoming so crass and mean spirited, especially on the Internet and just felt compelled to inquire about it in this case.
IMHO, unless this guy has done something specific that has harmed one of you; I don’t see the need to be hateful towards him and especially toward Soanya. Personally, I love parody and sarcasm, and Stowe makes it SO easy some days, but when "parody" is done with malice and the specific intent to deliberately harm another person it ceases to be funny.
But, I’m no one’s judge and you guys are free to continue ridiculing and besmirching Reid Stowe as you wish, but I just thought I would stop by and ask why? And it is probably more important that you answer that question for yourselves than for me.
Sincerely,
No Longer Bemused, but still Confused in Tennessee
PS
If nothing else you guys are guilty of looking at the Reid Stowe glass as half empty – on the plus side for the next 825 days Stowe will be at sea and not around to bother anyone.
5 comments:
I'll answer for me...I'm not angry. I'm actually rooting for him to finish; I think it's fantastic that he's doing it. A few years ago, I was sitting in the cafe in Horta noticing the incredibly wide variety of people who were there. Every single one had sailed there and we all had that in common. But to this day, the only stories I relate from that week in port are of the angry Norwegians and stoned Hippies. It's the fringe outliers that make the best stories.
I just find his writing to be so funny and ridiculous and full of rainbow sweetness that I can't help mock it. To be fair, I mock my own sailing adventures.
Others on SA write what they do for their own reasons, I just find him to be so ridiculous that I enjoy the parodies. Wait until the Around in Ten guys go, that's going to be fun.
Hi Again!
I'll second what evk4 said--I'm not angry with Reid at all. I am interested in getting the "real story" about him, and the truth about his voyage, but I am not angry with him.
I think if you read the SA thread carefully you'll see that the only thing close to anger is reserved for the other posters on the forum, some of whom could be considered ReidHovians, who come to our forum and speak from their ass. But no big deal--it's Sailing ANARCHY and we deal with them.
Reid has been a great source of entertainment for us, and most of our posts are either parody or disputing Reid's reality. But no hate or anger towards him. None of us want to see them die, and this type of back-and-forth is certainly not reserved for Reid.
We taunt each other in other threads (SA is far from a big love in). We really aren't treating Reid any different than we treat anyone else--he just gives us so much more to work with.
Some reasons to be angry at Reid:
- This guy is a lazy liar
- He is taking a naive girl onto a trip that she will probably not survive
- He is fleeing from paying child support
- he is probably a rat
Some Reasons to be Angry at Soanya
- she is naive
- she is lazy
- she is stupid
- she follows Reid
Some reasons to be angry at the Reid Hovians:
- they are naive
- they ar stupid
- they follow reid
- They post a ton of crap on SA
Some reason to be angry at the sponsors
- They donate stuff or money to a suicide trip
- they trust someone who is obviously not to be trusted
- they show something about the sailing industry that we would rather not see
Am I angry? Not really!
Tacking
Some reasons to be angry at Reid:
- This guy is a lazy liar
- He is taking a naive girl onto a trip that she will probably not survive
- He is fleeing from paying child support
- he is probably a rat
Some Reasons to be Angry at Soanya
- she is naive
- she is lazy
- she is stupid
- she follows Reid
Some reasons to be angry at the Reid Hovians:
- they are naive
- they ar stupid
- they follow reid
- They post a ton of crap on SA
Some reason to be angry at the sponsors
- They donate stuff or money to a suicide trip
- they trust someone who is obviously not to be trusted
- they show something about the sailing industry that we would rather not see
Am I angry? Not really!
Tacking
i’ll try to answer your questions and ask some of my own.
1.stowe=stupid. don’t care if he is stupid all the live long day, but if his stupidity puts others in mortal peril (his girlfriend, rescue team, people on other vessels he may really run into) it pisses me off. why doesn’t risking lives other than his own NOT anger you?
2.stowe= rotten, ill-prepared. don’t care if he is rotten and ill prepared as long as it doesn’t put others in mortal peril (see above), it pisses me off. again why wouldn’t you be angry that others may lose their lives because he had 10 yrs to get his shit together and chose not to?
3. stowe=deadbeat dad. that’s between him, his ex and his kid. if i thought the kid had suffered because of his deadbeatiness, it would piss me off. why not you?
stowe=jailbird, i could not care less. It’s just an interesting piece of his profile his web site neglected to mention.
4. stowe misrepresenting NASA involvement NASA has a PR problem as it is without his lies posted all over the world wide web having tax payers wondering WTF is NASA wasting time and tax payer money on this bullshit for? why wouldn’t it piss you off to have your money wasted on this bullshit expedition?
5. stowe=con. you are correct, buyer beware, but there are many legitimate causes they are NOT supporting because they wasted it on stowe. doesn’t piss me off so much as think it’s shameful. are you o.k. with someone taking money under false pretences?
6. soanya, now you sound a little heartless there. while I do not believe she is naïve as she is portrayed, she was lied to, she trusted the person that lied to her, she made a life threatening decision based on those lies. she should have (and chose not to) done more research on sailing, safety at sea, etc. it’s everywhere, everything she needed to know except the hands on experience.
7. reid put his life on the world wide web= public domain, to bad. i have said the same thing before, so we agree there.
8. see, you had me thinking you were above board til this paragraph. none of us think anyone will knock on our doors because reid is a dumb fuck. that is just a stupid comment, sorry, and you know it. but…as far as him hurting the integrity of the sport, i take that personally. when i read their blog it makes me cringe. that they are portraying themselves as sailors to the non sailing world pisses me off and i take it personally. that they are trying to pass their bullshit off as knowledge, pisses me off. that reid presents himself to the world as the ultimate sailor/adventurer is insulting to anyone who has made a serious effort in the sport and i take that personally. think of whatever it is that you feel strongly about. then think of some jackass, with exposure spouting nonsense about your passion and people believing it. doesn’t piss you off? why not?
9. why are you compelled to ask in this case? what’s it to you?
10. as explained, i do take it personally. there is nothing that has been done by any of us that has or will harm them personally. as a matter of fact, many of us have tried to help by imparting knowledge, based on experience. their blog meister has chosen to censor it. we don’t wish them ill. they are making themselves ill all on their own with a little help from their mission control.
11. bwahahaha. i think we are all capable of deciding what is important for us to ask ourselves, but thanks for the laugh. try going over to the 1000daysat sea blog and ask them why they have chosen to ridicule and disparage people with vastly more knowledge than they will ever dream to have. but then again, you already know that. hypocrite.
12. the p.s. no guilt here. you are barking up the wrong tree. the reid stowe glass is not half empty, it’s full of shit..
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