On Tue, 20 Mar 2001 23:29:29 +0800, Chris B. McKinney
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:


>> >Once I helped resuscitate a young boy who had drowned.
>>
>> Weren't you the one who possessed the 1983 Webster's unabridged
>> dictionary?  What did it say about "drown"?  My
>> dictionary says, "To DIE underwater or other liquid ..."
>>
>> >The boy, who had apparently been under for almost 10 minutes, lived.
>>
>> Did he or didn't he DIE?
>
>I'll answer that when you give me your definition of life and
>death.

Nah.  I wasn't suggesting a GAME.  I was merely pointing out that
the dictionary game in which you played was just as irrelevant to
the issue at hand as the definition of "DROWN" would be.


>You are addressing the issue of responsibility for the fatality;
>Kuty and I were addressing the (separate) issue of psychological
>response to a Death.

Excuse ME!  You responded to MY post.  You quoted ME to make your
comment.  I didn't realize you were talking to Kuty.  Besides,
your example had NONE of the characteristic of Kuty's cases, as
I had pointed out, mistakenly thinking that you were talking to ME. ;-)


>> Your narrative seems to suggest (to ME) that you ladies and gents
>> should find a shrink and have a GROUP THERAPY session <:-))> on your
>> guilt-complex.
>
>Now it sounds as though YOU are sympathizing with ME.   :)

No, no, no.  I just thought that was a more suitable forum for
your analysis.  :-)

>
>> 20-20 hindsight and "Monday-night quarterback" (USA term) are NOT
>> going to teach a victim (especially the DROWNED one) any lesson
>> about self-reliance and self-responsibility he SHOULD have learned.
>>
>> My post-hoc comment/analysis of the tragedy is in the hopes of
>> convincing those readers who are ALIVE to pay more attention to
>> the OWN responsibility and RELY less, much less, on rules that
>> may or may not be applicable to them, and especially
>> NOT to rely on another DIVER for their own safety.
>
>Consider that another effect this kind of discussion might have
>is to make some people less likely to instruct or in any other
>way assume a position of implied responsibility in diving.
>
>Chris

Perhaps.  I don't play speculation games unless that's the MAIN theme.

If I am not mistaken, that was precisely the reason given by Strike
that he STOPPED renewing his teaching license as an Instructor, because
of the liability issue.  That was LONG before this thread came up.  :-)

YOu seemed to have missed MY POINT altogether.  IF divers are stressed
to take RESPONSIBILITY for THEMSELVES, by their trainers, by the
dive industry and all related segments of societies, then we
WOULDN'T have fine Instructors like Strike (and some other fine
instructors and DMs I personally know) dropping out of scuba teaching
and dive-guide professional role, because people TEND to blame THEM
for mishaps that are mostly (or wholly) the fault of the IRRESPONSIBLE
DIVER.

-- Bob.