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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
all risk is not the same, taos. as well, all rewards from risks taken are not the same.
was he foolish in how he went about his journey? of course he was. however he lived by the seat of his pants, trying to gather more unique experiences by the age of 25 than most of us will ever tally. while the path that he took might have been riddled with oversights and poor choices, it was that he even took the risk of going down that path that should be applauded. this was the message... perhaps not from him to us but, nevertheless, for us anyway.
was he foolish in how he went about his journey? of course he was. however he lived by the seat of his pants, trying to gather more unique experiences by the age of 25 than most of us will ever tally. while the path that he took might have been riddled with oversights and poor choices, it was that he even took the risk of going down that path that should be applauded. this was the message... perhaps not from him to us but, nevertheless, for us anyway.
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Taosman
Your Cousin In New Mexxico
What is a life worth?
Can it be measured by the amount of risk we take?
I don't buy into that thought. Or feel the need to applaud those that do.
Recently a man from California base jumped off the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. His parachute didn't completely open and he was very lucky to just break a leg and a foot. Unfortunately, he had to be rescued by Taos Search and Rescue. Those people had to risk their lives to save his.
Should he be applauded for risking not only his life but the lives of several others needlessly?
When someone dies taking a high risk; What message does that say?
Can it be measured by the amount of risk we take?
I don't buy into that thought. Or feel the need to applaud those that do.
Recently a man from California base jumped off the Rio Grande Gorge bridge. His parachute didn't completely open and he was very lucky to just break a leg and a foot. Unfortunately, he had to be rescued by Taos Search and Rescue. Those people had to risk their lives to save his.
Should he be applauded for risking not only his life but the lives of several others needlessly?
When someone dies taking a high risk; What message does that say?
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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
life is measured by many things, and surely it is not measured by only the risks one takes. however, taking great risks--life-threatening or not--often leads to great rewards. yes, those great risks can also lead to great costs. that's why they're risks, taos.Taosman;964893; said:
you shouldn't have the need to do anything. the story of mccandless does not "need" for you to do anything. for me, it was a parable. while there were many aspects of his character and his journey that i found to be open to ridicule and skepticism, there were also many aspects that i found to be enlightening and uplifting. do i regard him as a hero of sorts? i absolutely do not. do i regard him and his story as something that many of us could learn from? i absolutely do. you find me a perfect hero, and i'll find you a fantasy.
if he did risk the lives of those who attempted to save him, he risked the lives of those who assumed a position that has great risk necessarily attached to it. i'm sure that those who took the positions in that rescue team knew that great risk would be attached and that even their own lives may be endangered in order to save others who took even greater risk.
again, taos, with high risks come high rewards and high costs.
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OCBuckWife
I am the evil monkey in your closet
OSU_Buckguy;964879; said:
I'm not sure I understand. You say that the path he took was full of oversights and poor choices and yet we should applaud him for going down the path? I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like something I should give him some kind of credit for, it sounds like stupidity. "Oh look, there's a pit trap that is only sort of covered by a few leaves and some dirt but I think I will step into it anyway and see what it feels like."
I can give credit for trying new things, for always seeking to expand one's journal of life experiences but to do it without taking precautions, well, that's just not smart.
He was, by all accounts, an extremely intelligent person and yet he didn't take the time to learn what was edible and non-poisonous in the region he chose to enter with minimal equipment. How is that sort of decision making to be applauded?
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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
for one, i didn't claim that it "was." i claimed that it "might have." two, i am not just talking about the alaska journey portion of his trip. he had a handful of personal demons. three, just because you go down a path doesn't mean that the path will be free of errors and problems.OCBuckWife;964915; said:
okay... then don't.
you're assuming that he saw his journey and his time in alaska as a "pit trap."
you're mistaken. moreover, the differences between edible and poisonous plants can be minute. do you think even well-educated outdoorsmen haven't made their own similar mistakes?
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WyoBuck
Hall of Fame
The only thing that needs to be said about this idiot douchebag is thank god natural selection still works. Absolutely NOTHING that he did was admirable. Why? Because he failed, and the reason that he failed was that he didn't adequately prepare himself. AND HE FAILED AT SOMETHING THAT THE HUMAN RACE HAD TO LEARN TO DO MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO! Period. People have been dying in the wilderness since there have been human beings. No challenge there. On top of that, ALL of the information that he would have required to succeed had been around for a hundred years. FOR THAT AREA. He was EXCACTLY what Pete Christian described him as, which was, at best, Irresponsible, Ill-prepared, and idealistic. At worst, he was arrogant or possibly suicidal. There is a reason that people don't survive in the wilderness without adequeate preparation and provisions. BECAUSE IT CANT BE FUCKING DONE! Especially not in Alaska. I thought I was a bad-ass because I lived in a cabin w/ no running water and electricity in the Goldstream Valley when i was going to school in Faibanks. Hunted, hauled in my own water, cut my own wood. Rode a bike. Learned a lot about myself and human beings in general. I'm not a bad-ass. But there are people that are. If we were supposed to live that way, we'd still be doing it. I learned orienteering, how to hunt, how to track, how to fish, what plants were edible, what mushrooms were edible, how to butcher and preserve meat, how to find water, how to make water, how to find and or make shelter. I grew up in Alaska. Junior high and High school, we went on school organized survival trips every year. And didn't move away until 2001. I am well prepared to live the kind of life that this idiot "claims" he was trying to live, but even I wouldn't choose it because the chance of success is so slim. He was either stupid or had a death wish. End of story.
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OSUsushichic
Fired up! Ready to go!
Actually, he did do his research on edible plants. He carried a book in his backpack and was eating plants all over the West prior to his trip to Alaska.
The thing that I admire most about McCandless is that he could have done anything he wanted with his life, and he chose to follow his passion regardless of the cost. I know I don't have the courage to do that.
Never did I get the impression that McCandless was trying to be a "badass."
The thing that I admire most about McCandless is that he could have done anything he wanted with his life, and he chose to follow his passion regardless of the cost. I know I don't have the courage to do that.
Never did I get the impression that McCandless was trying to be a "badass."
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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
i see a collection of posters here who can't see the forest for the trees.
yes, that pun was intended.
yes, that pun was intended.
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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
i'll just add that if you thought that his story was actually about trekking the alaska wilderness, you have missed the bus.
yes, that pun was intended.
yes, that pun was intended.
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WyoBuck
Hall of Fame
OSUsushichic;965011; said:
I figured that people would have a problem understanding what I was trying to after I posted, but it was too long to change. But, using your line of thought. Yes. He was knowledgeable of edible plants in the west. Not Alaska. There are very few species that grow in Alaska that grow anywhere else. The documentation is there, he didn't refer to that documentation. It is readily available from UAF, ADFG, DNR, USFS, local sources, privately published guidebooks and filed guides, talking to natives, need I go on. My point is, really, that if he truly wanted to survive in the Alaskan wilds, the guidebook on how to do so was readily available, if from several sources. He chose not to do that. It is not admirable that someone chose a course of action that has been tested and proven time and again to be a failure just because the pursuit is difficult.
If i chose to set up camp in the middle of Boston's most busy intersection, and i got killed, would that be admirable or stupid? Its not like people don't know the dangers of trying to survive in Alaska. He chose not to take them seriously.
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OSU_Buckguy
Head Coach
you're focusing on his death. most who take something positive from his story will focus on his life.
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