Saw a piece from Texas on the news. Even though everybody was just having fun, they protrayed it as a bunch of rowdy drunken idiots....there were lots of beer cans in lots of hands however! Of course, over and over they kept going back to the shot of the ATV's wallowing in the mud........

 

Well, some of the stuff they did was pretty stupid. The mattress toss involved drinking beer, hopping in a truck and driving. Suprised no one got hurt doing that. And there was a whole lot of drinking going on. It looked bad because it was bad.

The place the games were held at is a well known orv area in east Texas. The owners says he had no idea what they were doing. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But the liabilities that could have come from an accident would tell me if it were my place, I'd be paying a little closer attention.

But once again, this is a few (quite a few in this case) people making the rest of us look bad. Any other time, the riding area is filled with mostly responsible riders.

But that's a story that won't make the news.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Scootergptx



But once again, this is a few (quite a few in this case) people making the rest of us look bad. Any other time, the riding area is filled with mostly responsible riders.



But that's a story that won't make the news.</end quote></div>


[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Scootergptx

"...It looked bad because it was bad....Any other time, the riding area is filled with mostly responsible riders....But that's a story that won't make the news.</end quote></div>

I guess that my point over the years has been that we shouldn't be getting good press until our leadership stands up against the bad in these same mediums.

I haven't witnessed an orv leader in the 9 years that I have been following this who showed up in either print or on tv with a 'game plan' that effectively divides us all up into sides on these isuues or who mentioned the word 'zero tolerance' even once.

I'm tired of this "oh, by gosh no...don't show or talk about that in public; it's bad publicity" crap from these national leaders...for the simple reason that not a single one of them is out here beating the drum to increase fines; penalties and/or impoundments to the point that nobody would dare try this crap in the first place.

You can't go after these people if your own leaders aren't even out there making enemies of them...and if these guys haven't pissed off enough of these jerks to the point that everybody in the community knows it...they aren't doing their jobs and never have been.
I don't want somebody lying to the public that we've got this all under control and that everything's an 'isolated' incident...I want some guy or gal shaking up the troops and reminding them that national leadership could care less how "that's the way we roll" in TX or the Appalachias...we're coming after you.

The sledders didn't come up with zero tolerance on their own...they were forced into going down that road after things got radically out of control...which is exactly where we're at right now sans any stand up like a man truly united leadership, to stop it.

 

LOL