[pct-l] New Mountain Education videos on YouTube!

[Luce Cruz]

On Jul 2, 2014 3:28 PM, "Jackie McDonnell" <yogihikes at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> A "suggested contribution" is an implied fee, plain and simple.

No, it's not. That is your opinion. Not everyone will share it. I don't. My
guess is maybe about 50% of folks might make that leap. I have nothing to
back that up, it's only my opinion.

>  In all
> environments, people who don't pay the "suggested contribution" are viewed
> as moochers.

Again that is your opinion. Again, not everyone will share it. I don't.
Maybe 50/50. You might have this attitude because you don't operate a
non-profit or a suggested donation for your product versus a set price.
Again, only opinion, and I'm not judging. I expect to get paid for my work,
it's the implied and lawful agreement I've made with my employer, and we
seem to be doing fine. I know a half dozen professional writers, and many
seem to do so much free or damned near free work just for self promotion
that it's a wonder they can eat much less keep a roof over their head, but
somehow they pull it off. My hat is off to those that choose this line of
work for the struggles inherent with it. I've seen that it's not easy.

That being said, it doesn't give anyone a right to act like an asshole. The
questioning of the way Ned runs his classes or the business could have been
done in a nicer way with the intention of publicizing what is believed to
be important information, but we've already been exposed to the "I don't
give a fuck about anyone else" attitude of two very obvious members of this
list.

As to the specific incident mentioned where someone in one of Ned's classes
was injured, I'm curious about what the severe injury rate is for this kind
of thing: an  inexperienced group being led by an experienced leader and a
trained assistant or similar kind of thing. When looked at with a broader
view, this incident may be statistically tragic, or statistically
insignificant.

In light of some of Ned's explanations for some of the things his business
was accused of, which sound plausible, this one piece of information, the
severe injury rate for a business like Ned's, which might be impossible to
find, could be the difference between personal opinion of two folks that
have shown before they are happy to gang up for some bashing, or a problem
that is far worse than the statistical norm.

Ned? Do you have any injury figures you would share with us that we might
get down towards the bottom of this? Maybe some info on how many have taken
your classes, and how many of those people were injured during the class? I
understand you are under no requirement to furnish the info, but it could
provide some exoneration. It could also be damning.

Myself, I expect an occasional incident when folks go out beyond their
skill and education level into someplace or a situation they may have never
been in. I, however, tend to think I deal with the reality of everyday
living with a broader consideration of the risks involved than the average
person with a life that is similar to mine. I also don't normally place
blame without gathering as much factual information as I can. My knee has
been known to jerk, but it usually only hurts me when I do it.

Luce Cruz