I base my friendships on character and actions. Most beliefs are not a major part of that equation.
I try to be tolerant of others and respectful. I also expect the same in return.
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You can judge a person most accurately by the groups of people that hate or oppose him far better then by those that love and embrace him.
To be hated by those that love evil, or who refuse to think for themselves is an honor, not a mark of shame.
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As well as empathy and tolerance.
Appreciate others for the positive attributes and overlook the negative, otherwise youād only end up making.excused for your own shortcomings.
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To get back to your original questionsā¦
- Iāve both self-taught and had lots of instructions, plus have instructed many myself. There is no question that you can eventually teach yourself, but youāll progress much faster, avoid blind alleys, and avoid ingraining poor habits by getting competent instruction early on. Certifications arenāt everything, but someone who has passed the ACA instructor or UK Paddling coach criteria has at least demonstrated competence to someone else who is competent.
- Social media posts are one thing; actual instruction is something else. Iāve seen plenty of āpoliticalā or āideologicalā on-line commenting by friends & acquaintances who are superb instructors. Iāve never seen them introduce it into their real-life in-person instructionāthere isnāt time for it.
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Let me ask you a question, is no instruction better then bad instruction?
Hummmmmmm
I doubt that could be answered. If you get bad instruction itās then too late to get no instruction, so there is not a way to make a comparison.
Unfortunately, I have chosen to simply mute a few of the ACA instructors on social media due to their endless political rhetoric and one-sided thinking. No big loss though as I am confident that I will find the right person or group, whether certified or not to build my paddling skills this year.
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I find it interesting you wonāt just come out and say what this rhetoric is. Is it really that polarized?
yeah, this puzzles me too. Iāve been getting kayak coaching from various people for over 12 years, including from ACA and BCC certified instructors in both structured and unstructured settings. I donāt remember any one of them ever bringing up political discussions or ārhetoricā, even when we were socializing after training or outings. Some had strong opinions on specific aspects of paddling but i simply weighed their particular viewpoints against those I heard from others or my own experience ā it didnāt "offend me.ā
Makes me wonder if the one complaining is the one that is actually bringing up those topics himself and then grousing that others voiced opposing views on them. (BTW, that is the definition of ātrollingā).
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Wow, thereās a lot going on in here. I learned how to brace and roll pretty much on my own or with friends who didnāt know either, at the time.
Iām not going to say shut your ears or your mouth but I will say something that helped me out. Once youāre upside down under water, relax! Catch yourself and figure out where youāre at before you sweep. I wear contacts, so I had to wear swim goggles when learning, it helped me to see what I was doing.
As mentioned, plenty of videos of you choose to avoid an instructor.
Good luck, let it rip!
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@NDKlover, by writing this post, you have confirmed my suspicions. As an instructor (yes I have renewed my ACA Instructor status after publicly announcing that I was quitting) we assume a leadership role. Since we make money teaching, it becomes a business by default. The quickest way to kill a business is to jump on social media and divide your audience by taking stand politically. Iāve seen it destroy companies too many times.
Iāve had to silence several accounts because it was just too much and I donāt condone āfeeding the machineā. We as instructors, canāt preach inclusiveness in paddlesports while publicly sowing division online. It is sad to watch so many people I considered friends and leaders in the community so angry and expressing it regularly in such a public way. Iāve had several phone calls with fellow instructors, one as recently as last Sunday, where we both were concerned that the current state would show up on the water. I have been at one event where it did.
We, as instructors need to be aware of the influence we have, on the water and online. Since the business side of paddling instruction is so personal, the lines can get really blurry with social media.
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I worked for 39 years in the government intelligence field. I had no idea of what political afffiliation my coworkers supported. We didnāt discuss climate trends or whether we agreed with policies. We did our job.
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It has always puzzled me why any business owner would publicly stake out a position on any divisive issue. Yet last fall, several retail goods and services businesses in my small town (< 10,000) did just that with political banners, signs, and such ā¦ some quite rude (IMO). Isnāt running a successful small business difficult enough without antagonizing half of your potential customers? And when those businesses fail, the owners will be first in line to blame everyone else for not buying local. Itās crazy.
Thankfully, my area paddle shop owner has way better judgment.
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āā¦some quite rude (IMO)ā. Depends if they were Left or Right.
Everyone has different experiences and a different point of view. I donāt even tell my kids how they should vote or why. The value of free speech is that it promotes debate to air facts. The problem is that many people donāt weigh facts. They have a preconceived notion. When you think about it, everything you believe has been sorted out and validated or rationalized in your head. So why would the typical person value the opinion of someone else. Why would you not trust you own logic or judgement.
The reality is that signs, banners and bumper stickers are meaningless for changing minds. Itās nothing more than passive aggression that leads to greater dissent and eventually greater disunity.
The prudent thing is to do with it, or go elsewhere. Let people vent and donāt take it personally, or seek the service elsewhere.
Tolerance starts with each individual.
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Everything has become tainted and soiled anymore, so I guess I shouldnāt be surprised when I see it online when it comes to kayaking.
I really do appreciate your comment though about inclusiveness when it comes to the standpoint that the ACA takes on it, especially since it was multiple ACA instructors who I initially viewed online spearheading such division. The continuous posts that mock what āAmericansā have voted for, daily lectures, or world history views presented by these so-called experts and historians, became so nauseating that I deleted my social media account and opted to withhold any potential fund spending on any courses or symposiums that they are affiliated with. Simple as that.
On a positive note, I have found someone who is certified and comes with excellent recommendations for the paddling instruction I seek, which is what I wanted in the first place. Time to move on forward.
Were they posting their views that you donāt like on their own personal social media accounts or in some forum associated with kayak instruction? If the former, why are you even following them? If the latter, I think you have a legitimate gripe.
The odd truth is that most people actually seek different opinions. They may not agree with the.opinion, but that doesnāt stop the curiosity. If you ask a person why they listen to a news source they donāt resoect, the answer is typically: I wanted to hear what they had to say . . .
Mother Jyak had a saying, āCuriosity killed the cat.ā She first said it in a Slovic dialect, which was curious . . .
Some days that seems inconsistent with todayās reality, but I do hope you are right.
Unless it is ā Charlatan Piffle.ā