George Tincher
The purpose of such a group would not be to pat ourselves on the back. If that were the case, it would fail miserably. But what it would be is a unified voice of the chaser community. As of now, there is none.
I'm no expert by any means, but the key thing I see here is that it seperates the responsible chasers from the idiots. When a media report comes out, it may or may not make clear that most chasers are responsible. People outside the weather community probably learned about stormchasing through Twister. So all bad reports may be viewed as the norm. Therefore we must have a voice that's ready to counter such media reports. There's always two sides to every story. I can see it as beneficial to make sure this side is heard. If an article is printed in a paper for example, that unfairly attacks chasing...and may contain faulty or biased info, such a group could have a media relations person write a letter to the editor explaining it from the chaser's point of view...or correct erroneous info. As of now, who is going to do this? I am sure most people would sit around waiting for someone else to do it. But as a united and coordinated group, it would get done.
Nobody is saying this is perfect. But until someone suggests something better, I see no reason not to explore the potential of this idea. If it fails, it fails. But why avoid trying to just because there's a chance it fails? There's a 9 in 10 chance that each chase you take will be a bust. Yet does that stop you? Again, I just can't see why anyone would be opposed to something that can only bring good to the community. It's no risk, other than what little time and effort we'll invest in it.
I guess the reason I am so supportive of this idea is that I've dealt with a similar thing for years in another hobby. I am an active shooter and work to preserve my right to own a firearm. There was a point in our history when the thought that guns might be banned was considered laughable. Now we have several restrictions already in place and more being introduced in congress each year. Think of how the media treats that situation. Remember Columbine? Gun owners were blasted by the media after this tragedy and numerous politicians were ready with new anti-gun legislation almost overnight. Yet the sad fact is, this is identical to the dangers chasers may face to their rights in the near future. Most gun owners are not criminals who are careless or murderers. Yet that doesn't seem to matter in the eyes of some politicians. We all know that most chasers are not crazy people who block roads and drive like maniacs either. Yet watch what happens the first time a chaser is at fault for an accident that results in serious injury or death to someone else. When the media gets hold of it, they will milk it dry. And you can bet political heads will turn. Therefore just as gun owners need the NRA to represent them and stand up for their rights, storm chasers may very well need this same type of representation. Think of the parallels here and you will see I have a valid point.
Again, if there's a better way to go about this, I would be all for it. But I am yet to see any alternatives mentioned. It would be great if there could be some way to deal with the troublemakers directly. But short of mob-like activity in which a muscled Italian guy in a leather jacket beats the crap out of these problem individuals and promises to boil them in oil the next time they pull a hair-brained stunt, I see no way direct action against them can work. LOL. We can report illegal behavior, but that is only one step of many that we all can take. While I agree that those of us who care enough to post to this thread are not the problem, how does the outside world know who is responsible or not? If you have a group of 500 or 1000 people that include many veterans, who have written rules of conduct and work to make this info available to the average person or politician, then that's a tremendous advantage over having nothing. It would also show that the vast majority of chasers are responsible people. You can't just assume people will think that, especially if there is no info available to prove it.
I have basically said my peace here and will just sit back and see what everyone else thinks. But I can see this starting good and getting better and improving with time. There's so many other good things such an organization could do that we haven't even thought of yet. I hope to see it implemented and successful. All that's needed to make that happen is simple participation. I hope people will decide to contribute. Only time will tell I suppose.
-George
I'm no expert by any means, but the key thing I see here is that it seperates the responsible chasers from the idiots. When a media report comes out, it may or may not make clear that most chasers are responsible. People outside the weather community probably learned about stormchasing through Twister. So all bad reports may be viewed as the norm. Therefore we must have a voice that's ready to counter such media reports. There's always two sides to every story. I can see it as beneficial to make sure this side is heard. If an article is printed in a paper for example, that unfairly attacks chasing...and may contain faulty or biased info, such a group could have a media relations person write a letter to the editor explaining it from the chaser's point of view...or correct erroneous info. As of now, who is going to do this? I am sure most people would sit around waiting for someone else to do it. But as a united and coordinated group, it would get done.
Nobody is saying this is perfect. But until someone suggests something better, I see no reason not to explore the potential of this idea. If it fails, it fails. But why avoid trying to just because there's a chance it fails? There's a 9 in 10 chance that each chase you take will be a bust. Yet does that stop you? Again, I just can't see why anyone would be opposed to something that can only bring good to the community. It's no risk, other than what little time and effort we'll invest in it.
I guess the reason I am so supportive of this idea is that I've dealt with a similar thing for years in another hobby. I am an active shooter and work to preserve my right to own a firearm. There was a point in our history when the thought that guns might be banned was considered laughable. Now we have several restrictions already in place and more being introduced in congress each year. Think of how the media treats that situation. Remember Columbine? Gun owners were blasted by the media after this tragedy and numerous politicians were ready with new anti-gun legislation almost overnight. Yet the sad fact is, this is identical to the dangers chasers may face to their rights in the near future. Most gun owners are not criminals who are careless or murderers. Yet that doesn't seem to matter in the eyes of some politicians. We all know that most chasers are not crazy people who block roads and drive like maniacs either. Yet watch what happens the first time a chaser is at fault for an accident that results in serious injury or death to someone else. When the media gets hold of it, they will milk it dry. And you can bet political heads will turn. Therefore just as gun owners need the NRA to represent them and stand up for their rights, storm chasers may very well need this same type of representation. Think of the parallels here and you will see I have a valid point.
Again, if there's a better way to go about this, I would be all for it. But I am yet to see any alternatives mentioned. It would be great if there could be some way to deal with the troublemakers directly. But short of mob-like activity in which a muscled Italian guy in a leather jacket beats the crap out of these problem individuals and promises to boil them in oil the next time they pull a hair-brained stunt, I see no way direct action against them can work. LOL. We can report illegal behavior, but that is only one step of many that we all can take. While I agree that those of us who care enough to post to this thread are not the problem, how does the outside world know who is responsible or not? If you have a group of 500 or 1000 people that include many veterans, who have written rules of conduct and work to make this info available to the average person or politician, then that's a tremendous advantage over having nothing. It would also show that the vast majority of chasers are responsible people. You can't just assume people will think that, especially if there is no info available to prove it.
I have basically said my peace here and will just sit back and see what everyone else thinks. But I can see this starting good and getting better and improving with time. There's so many other good things such an organization could do that we haven't even thought of yet. I hope to see it implemented and successful. All that's needed to make that happen is simple participation. I hope people will decide to contribute. Only time will tell I suppose.
-George
