Question about J.A.

[CBRnick 0]

Wow, what a wave of hate for this guy is sweeping the board...
I didnt think that personal attacks were allowed and would get you a ban, but there is obviously an exception in his case.

Anyway, bearing in mind that I live in the UK and so dont get to see any of the TV broadcasts or hear the radio broadcasts, all I know about this man and what hes been involved in are the last two threads in this forum bearing his name.

What on earth has he done to gather so much hate?
From what I can gather, hes a base jumper who jumped off a tower on his birthday, had an accident that ended up being a fairly high profile rescue operation and then subsequently gave interviews on TV.
HEs done a few stupid things on the TV as far as I can make out such as having certain jump location tattoo's which some people clearly dont like, and the jump location is now hot or unusable for a while.
But that could happen to anyone who has an accident at a less than cosher location and the tattoos... well each to thier own.

But does that really warrant people wishing him death and suffering and raining hatred on him?
Ive listened to the recording of the 911 call from the link here, and I hear a very scared man talking to a half wit phone operator, and the amount of people mocking that call is suprising.
I dont know how many other people have been in a situation like the one he was in, but I should imagine that anyone would be in a mental mess at that time.

What exactly has he done for you all to hate him so much? Im guessing that hes said something in the TV interviews or am I missing something obvious?

[RhondaLea 4]

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What exactly has he done for you all to hate him so much?

You must have missed the part about this being his third time around.

"Hate," however, is a pretty strong word. How about "disbelief," "contempt" and "outrage"?

The guy is a self-aggrandizing moron. He richly deserves the public outcry.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[fab777 0]

I don't really feel confortable about hating a guy for being the victim of something that could happen to me ( since I'm not on the local scene, I don't know about the other parts of the story ), but you have to agree with me: knowing the lucky end of the story, listening to that was a kick! Couldn't stop laughing for 15 minutes...

Exactly the same way one can laugh at a friend's tree landing vid'

Fabien
BASE#944

[nicknitro71 0]

Off that tower you have time to take a snack in FF. He ended up in the wires, he must have fucked up. This is not an accident by any means. This incident just represents the guy's own stupidity, his phone conversation his character, or lack of it.

I would not trust this BASE-Tattoo-look-at-my-scar-on-my-back-I'm-so-fucking-cool-dude with a potato gun in his hands.

Also, I do not think anyone here really hates the character, he comes across as dumb as a gold fish but not malicious. We do hate what he did for the sport.

I've seen many people in much tougher situations than this one and they showed courage not a whining behavior you should not even see in a child.

I do feel ashamed that I, among other people that I respect immensely, are now associated with this guy and the distorted perception of BASE.

Nicely done John! Keep up the good work!

PS
Do you BASE?

Memento Audere Semper

903

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Aside from the off-humor comment here or there, I don't think there's anyone wishing for his death. But you do have a number of pissed-off jumpers. Here's my analysis of why (read into it my own opinions, as well...they're certainly in here).

What you have is a jumper with a history of poor judgement and few alies. Back up to a year ago, he has an accident in Vegas, of which I'm not certain of the specifics, but from what I've heard, it leaves him with two rods in his spine and a couple other severe injuries. This is a horrible accident indeed and in and of itself, makes me feel for the guy, just like I would for any jumper. Without the specifics, I'll just mention it as a part of history.

Flash forward a year later and he's burning objects in Colorado Springs without calling any of the locals (as it's been told to me). Get up, go to the bathroom and come back and in that time he's managed to 'recover' enough to climb a well-known and oft-jumped tower, under-delay and wind up on a guy wire. Again...in this much, I do feel for the guy a little. I don't wish this shit on anyone.

But when it's time to leave well enough alone and just go on his merry way, he gets in front of a camera and starts talking, and not well at that.

I'm not into the publicity of BASE anymore than the rest of us who are using it to get laid (joke), but following a major rescue on a prominent and historical object is not the time to spout calls for "legalizing" BASE. Nor is it the time to make yourself the self-proclaimed spokesman for a cadre of brothers and sisters who on the whole, shun media attention for the simple fact that the media most always GETS IT WRONG. Grandstanding for a camera before the man who rescued you the night before has even had time to wake up and have his morning cup of coffee is just asinine; equally so the lack of reference and thanks to the people who worked to save your ass.

My opinion, show a bit of humility and turn away from the cameras. I'd wager a guess that's what's got most of us pissed-off, but really, I can only speak for myself.

Regarding the "half wit phone operator"... You're expecting her to be familiar w/ BASE when JA's spouting all manner of shit that's indecipherable to a whuffo.
-C.

[TomAiello 26]

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...he has an accident in Vegas, of which I'm not certain of the specifics...

Incredibly poor gear selection. Specifically, taking a slider up rig off a slider down altitude building, and impacting before the slider had fully descended.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[mr2mk1g 10]

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I didnt think that personal attacks were allowed and would get you a ban

Insults are only personal attacks if the subject is a poster. If JA signs up to the forums it'd all have to stop... till then anyone can call him a tard.

[DexterBase 1]

Whoa you guys! How many threads can we have going about the same person at one time?

I've heard of splitting threads when the topics start to drift, but I've never seen so many threads about pretty much the same thing.

Wouldn't this question fit just fine under the "John Agnos discussion" thread?

[CBRnick 0]

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Whoa you guys! How many threads can we have going about the same person at one time?

I've heard of splitting threads when the topics start to drift, but I've never seen so many threads about pretty much the same thing.

Wouldn't this question fit just fine under the "John Agnos discussion" thread?

Good point and taken on board, but I split it to another thread to ask a seroius question about the guy away from the thread bashing him in the hope that Id get an objective answer rather than just another flame. At least in my eyes that was a valid reason, but I dont have a problem if the thread is chopped and appended to the other thread if you feel thats where it should be.

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I don't really feel confortable about hating a guy for being the victim of something that could happen to me ( since I'm not on the local scene, I don't know about the other parts of the story ), but you have to agree with me: knowing the lucky end of the story, listening to that was a kick! Couldn't stop laughing for 15 minutes...

Exactly the same way one can laugh at a friend's tree landing vid'

This much you are right, I agree with fully.

For everyone else that answered, thanks for filling me in on the missing parts of the puzzle.
I had missed the part about it being the third time, and didnt realise the way that he was using the broadcasts.

I am now beginning to see why he is making himself unpopular.
Hes hardly a good spokesman for the sport.

Thanks for the replies :)

On a side note, hes a good reminder for people like me, that I still have a lifetimes knowledge to absorb about canopy behavior and control in skydiving where I at least have a greater margin for error :)