On Monday, October 19, 2020 at 6:11:19 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Recently there was an apology issued from the SSA and the SSF and Editor for a so called offensive interpretation of the depiction of a historical portrayal of a young lady and a glider pilot on a previous edition of Soaring magazine. After reading the complaints from the women associated with the WSPA I decided it is now time to voice the other side of the story.
That depiction reminded me of the 1970's when I met my wife at the Kendall Gliderport in Miami . I was flying my Std. Cirrus and she was a student pilot for gliders. So to say that that depiction was sexist is completely ridiculous. The SSA should have never apologized because of an orchestrated attack on the publication , Editor, and the SSF.
The complainants are without merit, totally offbase and have a directive in place that only undermines the overall objective of the SSA, SSF, and Editor. You would think that this bunch of misfits, have no understanding of how this is an inclusive activity and not directed by any one gender.
Ladies, listen up, much has been done by the SSA and others to support women in the sport of flying gliders. Let me take a moment and share a story with you about compassion and inclusion.
During the past year we has a lady member whom became sick from a serious stage of cancer, a few of us at our club took notice and understood the severity of the situation and made it possible for this lady to achieve her goal of becoming a CFIG. We made sure that this was done at no cost, and guess what, she completed her CFIG even while on chemotherapy.
Sorry that you think the SSA must apologize for your mis-interpretation and misguided effort . I think that the lack of cognizance is appalling. Bob Youngblood
At this time I would like to request that there NO further post to this thread. We have all made our points, expressed our perceptions and personal attacks. I do not look at this as a winning or losing debate and at times I saw unfortunate post from people whom I have a lot of respect for, I hope they feel the same about me.
May I ask each one of you to throw the pen and paper down take a deep breathe say to ourselves that we have something in common. Enjoy your life, continue the wonderful adventure of sailplane flying and most of all stay healthy. My final words on this subject. If you wish to opine do so privately. Bob Youngblood, Vero Beach, Florida.