Phantasmal (04-23-2013), Steelplate (04-23-2013)
Yesterday I had a deposition in Ft. Lauderdale, it took all morning, but I decided to go to the beach in the afternoon instead of return to my office. I brought by bathing suit and changed in the car. When I got down by the water there was a crowd of people pointing into the water and screaming... Shark, Shark... and demanding people get out of the water.
A woman screamed and yanked her child out of the water while yelling at her husband, "see I told you it was not safe to let her swim here."
I looked up to see a famular sight from that beach, a pod of four Manatee swiming about 10 yards off the shore. They were beautiful and the two adults were huge, much bigger than all but the largest of great white's. Admittedly they were hard to see when they were underwater, but they swam way too slow to be sharks, and when they came up for a breath, you could clearly see they were not sharks.
I casually told the most vocal of the wacko's yelling shark that they were Manatee, and I quietly informed the mother who was screaming at her husband that they were harmless, that Ive been swiming with them before.
I went into the water to get a better look, and the wacko returned to screaming Shark, Shark and this time demanding that I get out of the water. I swam out toward the manatee who got spooked and moved down the beach, I watched as this sceen played out over and over again as they made their way down the shore.
Why are people so scared? Why do they instill that fear into their kids? Why do they get so upset when they meet someone who does not share their fear? Once they properly told me they thought it was a shark... why insist I get out of the water?
Even if it were a shark, the damm thing would have left me alone.
My father taught me from a young age not to be afraid of the ocean. I was afraid of sharks and so once when we were snorkling, he found one, a Nurse Shark about 6 feel long, sleeping under a ledge. The water was about 15 feet deep, he told me to watch from the surface and he dove down and yanked its tail. The shark shot out of there so fast your head would spin. THat taught me that conventional wisdom about things we fear is generally WRONG, and I have always carried that with me.
Please people, learn that lesson and more importantly TEACH IT TO YOUR CHILDREN.
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
Phantasmal (04-23-2013), Steelplate (04-23-2013)
These people missed a great oppertunity to see, maybe swim with and show a beautifull sea creature to their children.
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
It's hard to overstate how much "Jaws" changed the world....
ITs a powerfull example of how easily people can be influenced by pop-culture. Three people were killed by the bombs in Boston, and people are more afraid of that than an amonium nitrate plant being built in their back yard. I guess its good for the manatee, they get left alone.
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
Phantasmal (04-23-2013)
Fear is a powerful motivator.
Unfortunately, some people are afraid of everything.
A demonstration if just how frail humans are.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
Phantasmal (04-23-2013)
When I saw Jaws in 1975...I was 10 years old. We were on vacation....in Wildwood, NJ. The VERY next day, we went to the beach. Every shell I stepped on, every crab that moved under my feet, every piece of flotsam and jetsam was a fucking SHARK in my mind.
But the funny thing was, as nervous and frightened as I was the rest of that vacation....for a long time afterward, I didn't want to be a fireman, policeman, or a sports figure....I wanted to be Matt Hooper. I'd go to the library and read up on sharks, when my mom and dad would take me shopping, I'd pest for shark books and magazines ( after the movie, there was a glut of gruesome "shark attack" tabloids).
You see, for me.... it wasn't the scary parts of the movie that attracted me. It was the second half....that was pure adventure.
Jaws to this day, remains in my top 5 of all time. I just watched again on HBO the other day....could have been Cinemax though.
LOL
Why are people so scared? Why do they instill that fear into their kids? Why do they get so upset when they meet someone who does not share their fear? Once they properly told me they thought it was a shark... why insist I get out of the water?
I blame the media, they keep reporting stories like this.
Mother Saves Daughter From Shark Attack in Florida - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...ck-in-florida/
Sharks Along Florida Coast Cause Beach Closures - http://news.discovery.com/animals/sh...h-closures.htm
Why sharks are joining kids in Florida for spring break - http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/201...ing-break?lite
Great White Shark Spottings Increase Off Florida Coast (VIDEO, PHOTOS) - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3057747.html
Shark migration closes beaches - http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...rk-attack-file
Don't be surprised if you start seeing more "warm water" species of sharks in Northern latitudes with all that fake global warming going on.
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
Phantasmal (04-23-2013)
List of things I do not fear:
Sharks
Manatee
Terrorists
Robbers
ocean swimming
walking the neighborhood at night
New York City
Death
List of things I fear but do anyway:
Driving on the innerstate
Flying
Defending an innocent person
Letting others take my kids places
Things that scare me:
Drug addicts
Cancer
Waisting my life
hart disease
dying before my kids are grown
Pain
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
meanwhile the others on the beach were saying "why is that pale, skinny guy standing there looking at manatees when that bloody shark is right behind him"..........
USFREEDOM911 (04-26-2013)
4,487
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
44 U.S.C. 2202 - The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
LOCK HIM UP!
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