Lennie wrote:
Soaring is basically a cluster of rich old
conservatives, and they brought their rich
old conservative ideas and attitudes toward
others with them.

I can only speak for one sailport, but the community of pilots there includes a
wide variety of ideas, attitudes, personality types, political persuasions,
lifestyles, income levels and ages, from the youngest permissable to older than
dirt!

When you think about it, other than enjoying home, nature and family, which no
doubt should be given time and appreciation, most adult free-time passions cost
some money. But that doesn't mean that all who participate are rich old people!
Sailing to skydiving, go-carting to golf, rafting, fishing, racing, RC cars,
motorcycling, boating, windsurfing, hang gliding, traveling ... the list goes
on, and most have their own degree of risk/danger. If a person reaches a point
where they no longer feel that the personal rewards are worth the cost or the
risks, they give it up. Nothing wrong with that. But why is it necessary to
continually justify the reasons for leaving, or to knock the activity or put
down those who still participate and enjoy? Not being facetious, but if the
activity were truly no longer of interest, why would a person still spend any
time at all in this newsgroup?