[pct-l] Sorta OT - Reaction to Abby Sunderland's Rescue

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

In my household we disagree about this event. I say more power to her  
and he says kids that age have no business doing something like that.

Does our upbringing have something to do with that? He had a nurse  
mother who told him stories of kids coming in to the hospital  
suffering all kinds of horrible diseases and accidents. My mom was a  
70s feminist who dragged her daughters around the country with a tent  
trailer which at that time was a brave thing for a woman to do  
without a man present.

Anyway, that girl who sailed looks to me like someone who can handle  
it. I wouldn't have even thought up something that adventurous at  
that age. All I wanted then was a dark tan.

On Jun 13, 2010, at 9:16 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> So by now moist everyone knows about Sutherland's rescue. There was  
> an article in the LA times about her reaction to people  
> condemnation of her age and the season she made the attempt.  
> Nothing really surprising until I started reading peoples comments.
>
> Take a look for yourselves at the LA Times Article:
> http://tinyurl.com/33mkznb
>
> My company is working on a project that has made me look at how  
> generation X and (even more so) the millennial generation are  
> abandoning experiencing nature. One of the more disturbing factors  
> is what I have come to call "The Fear" that people permeate in  
> discussions regarding experiences that occur out in natural. Also,  
> having just finished reading "Last Child in the Woods" as part of  
> my research for this project it was especially poignant for me to  
> read the comments from people about Abby's failed attempt.
>
> All of my context for my research has been related to why young  
> people are not hiking, camping, fishing, hunting or just playing in  
> the local woods anymore. But the response in the comments of this  
> article are also blatantly ripe with "The Fear" that parents are  
> now passing on to their kids.
>
> Our daughter was 15 when she spent her first summer working a pack  
> station in the central Sierras. My wife and I were not naive to the  
> unique dangers she would be exposed to working with large animals  
> over treacherous terrain but we were also certain it would be a  
> rewarding experience for her that would help shape her in a way  
> that High School could never do. I won't bother to go into all the  
> details but she is 21 now and by far the most grounded person I  
> have ever met in her age group.
>
> So were Abby's parents reckless in supporting her quest to  
> circumnavigate the world? You can guess my opinion, but I would  
> like to hear from a group of people of whom most are not influenced  
> by "the Fear".
>
> BigToe

Books I've written:
~ Piper's Flight
~ Adventure and Magic
~ Santa Barbara Hikes
http://stores.lulu.com/dianesoini

We're not here for a long time, but we are here for a good time