[at-l] Perception/Quote

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 12:15 AM 1/13/2005 -0500, RoksnRoots@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 1/12/2005 8:03:08 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>janl2@mindspring.com writes:
>
> > or a discussion would ensue by the "AT Community") (what a joke)...
>
>Not to pick on Roks, because this is a human condition and I need to
>hear this again as much as anybody, but we DO play a role in creating
>our own reality. I'm not particularly religious (tho I respect anyone
>actually living their creed of mercy, and not just mouthing empty
>words), but I have observed that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap"
>*
>
>          My point was that persons who pretend to have a considered opinion
>about cell phones and the AT almost universally fail to honestly respond 
>in the
>form of honest debate when cell phones appear unfavorably. To me that looks
>like they don't really care in the first place. The point was that an honest
>Trail Community has to care if it is going to live up to its title. If the 
>men
>took unnecessary risk *because* they had a cell phone it should be noted.
>
>            I don't see where anything Jan wrote has anything to do with 
> that.
>I agree with "as you sow so shall you reap". Unfortunately real "AT" is
>evidently a language too many who promote themselves visibly as AT members 
>don't
>really understand. Too bad. These are people who when ATC makes a desperately
>needed move by changing its name can only make superficial *negative* 
>comments
>about the move without showing any understanding of exactly why they did.
>That's why the internet Trail Community and its chat medium is a farce to 
>me and
>only serves as a drag on the real "Conservancy" AT...

In the greater arcana of the Tarot deck there is a Zero card called the 
Fool. The image is a young man in dandy dress with a small pack of 
belongings on the end of a stick over his shoulder. He is gazing off at the 
clouds in the sky and unaware that he is on the verge of stepping into an 
abyss. As with anything the meaning of the card can be positive or negative 
depending on the circumstances. RnR suggests that the hikers in the report 
he responds to went out with inadequate knowledge and equipment *because* 
they were carrying a cell phone and thus felt that replaced otherwise 
prudent precautions. There was nothing however in the report that indicated 
that they deliberately left at home things they would have taken had they 
not had the cell phone. I regard the hikers at point to be more like the 
Fool in the Tarot, having focused on some distant vision, they failed to 
see the abyss at their feet. Had they not had the cell phone I strongly 
suspect they would have gone unprepared anyway but likely with tragic result.