a particular friend and i recently had a conversation about our friendship that was/is falling apart, that it always seems to be in a slow glide towards catastrophe. for the past several years, we've gone through at least a half dozen times when our friendship was literally hanging by threads, when it was torn and beaten and neglected, when we couldn't say a kind word or hear anything without feeling scorned or disrespected. usually, we'd air (most) everything out, explain as best we could what's been going wrong, and mull some more over it as the anger and pride fermented inside.
and here's the funny part: every time, within a couple weeks or months, we'd be right back on track. if anything, things were better afterwards each time. we'd understand each other more, be a little easier going, and gain some patiences and feel more like kin that anything else.
and that's when we realized that we have it backwards.. things between us are almost always getting better but it's these short little bouts that highlight the past and stick out like pungi sticks in the sand. sure, we fight and we will again and it'll suck and feel bad.. but it gets better. and maybe it gets better because of the fights, because of the bitterness that we each grow and grow together. as long as there's some basic connection, i have no doubt we can survive the harshest of words.
long story short: sometimes you need to hit rock bottom to see everything you had when you were standing in the sun with two feet on the ground. and sometimes even the fall and climb out make you all the stronger and smarter than you were before.
this whole situation happened/is happening/will happen again. to me, the more important question is this:
what are we learning from all this?
plenty, i think. look around and see..
Problems at the Red
Amen.pigsteak wrote:shut down this site for the entire summer, except for the online guide..maybe we all will climb more and bitch less.
The internet is the Devil.
In my mind, this site has always been a blessing AND a curse.
It's how we use it that creates problems and division, but I guess that's human nature or some shit.
It's so easy to be mis-understood, talk something to death, be an anonymous, shit-stirring asshole, try to be better or cooler than others, the funniest at all costs....
It all creates a vibe that is not so good. Then once we are actually climbing at the Red we want it to be a diferent place than what we make it on here.
You can't go back in time, but how would things be if when you wanted to know something you would actually have to speak face to face with someone?
I like your suggestion Kip.
Challenge on?
Warning: Link to Christian Doctrine. I find it appropriate. You can learn a lot from religion, regardless of your spirituality.
http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm
Oh and I don't follow this very well but I think it's humbling to strive for it even for one day.
http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm
Oh and I don't follow this very well but I think it's humbling to strive for it even for one day.
Jesus only knows that she tries too hard. She's only trying to keep the sky from falling.
-Everlast
-Everlast
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the lurkist
- Posts: 2240
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 2:07 pm
I too think this might be a good thing to try. If there is a way to just shut down the forum on this web page but keep all the fund raising stuff and the online guide. Shut down the forum for only a short season and see what happens.pigsteak wrote:shut down this site for the entire summer, except for the online guide..maybe we all will climb more and bitch less.
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squeezindlemmon
- Posts: 1452
- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:02 pm
Potential Closing of Torrent!
Save the PMRP!
Temporary Closing of MVNP!
Shut down RRC.com!
Shutting down rrc.com would be akin to the top three alerts on the homepage. What we need to do is be better stewards of our resources. We call ourselves climbing advocates and yet all we do is try to shut everything down. RRC.com is just like a private climbing area. We're just lucky that Ray and Michelle let us piss and shit around here and curse all we want without kicking us out. Now we are telling them to shut the place down.... I see a pattern here....
Save the PMRP!
Temporary Closing of MVNP!
Shut down RRC.com!
Shutting down rrc.com would be akin to the top three alerts on the homepage. What we need to do is be better stewards of our resources. We call ourselves climbing advocates and yet all we do is try to shut everything down. RRC.com is just like a private climbing area. We're just lucky that Ray and Michelle let us piss and shit around here and curse all we want without kicking us out. Now we are telling them to shut the place down.... I see a pattern here....
Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our mind. ~Bob Marley
All these closures and potential closures scare the hell out of me. Climbers are being selfish and ignorant (nothing new) but I see a new breed of RRG climbers surfacing; Ones that are more aware and active in securing climbing access; Ones that "know better" and are making the effort to better our community and secure climbing.
As more and more people come into climbing, more and more egos surface. Although a person may contribute to climbing at the Red, certain behaviors are becoming more and more unacceptable and will not be tolerated. To me, this is the mindset that is going to make RRG climbing and the RRG community continue now and into the future.
I hear people constantly complaining about the safety of the routes here yet the RRG is one of the safest climbing destinations around. Routes sometimes get poorly bolted here (as they do everywhere) but the methods used by some people to attempt to remedy these situations are rudely horrifying! Then we got people who think they're rockstars because they climb hard or put up routes and are egotistical as hell because of it. My God, 20 years from now do you think you're going to be remembered for sending a line or being an a**hole?
Personally, I am becoming intolerant of unacceptable behavior. I'm sick and tired of hearing the rumors, whining, and bickering of folks when no one is taking action. If some punk at the cliff pisses you off by his actions, tell him. If that doesn't do anything to stop him, tell other people to tell him. Ostracize the freakin' hell out him if that's what it takes. And if someone is proudly being rude, bitter, verbally abusive, and creating access problems, I'm not going to "play nice"...no matter who they are.
Enough is enough.
As more and more people come into climbing, more and more egos surface. Although a person may contribute to climbing at the Red, certain behaviors are becoming more and more unacceptable and will not be tolerated. To me, this is the mindset that is going to make RRG climbing and the RRG community continue now and into the future.
I hear people constantly complaining about the safety of the routes here yet the RRG is one of the safest climbing destinations around. Routes sometimes get poorly bolted here (as they do everywhere) but the methods used by some people to attempt to remedy these situations are rudely horrifying! Then we got people who think they're rockstars because they climb hard or put up routes and are egotistical as hell because of it. My God, 20 years from now do you think you're going to be remembered for sending a line or being an a**hole?
Personally, I am becoming intolerant of unacceptable behavior. I'm sick and tired of hearing the rumors, whining, and bickering of folks when no one is taking action. If some punk at the cliff pisses you off by his actions, tell him. If that doesn't do anything to stop him, tell other people to tell him. Ostracize the freakin' hell out him if that's what it takes. And if someone is proudly being rude, bitter, verbally abusive, and creating access problems, I'm not going to "play nice"...no matter who they are.
Enough is enough.
Does he have a strange bear claw like appendage protruding from his neck? He kep petting it.