Update on My SummitPost Post

I sent an e-mail to Fat Cyclist regarding the thread I started on SummitPost.org to which he had replied. Below that you'll see his response.

Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:10:18 -0400
From: Daniel
Subject: SummitPost Post - Thank You
To: fatty

Hi Fatty –

I’m an occasional reader of yours and also happen to be the ‘F.A. Heelhook’ on SummitPost.org who posted about “Fifteen Minutes of Shame”. I just wanted to take a second to let you know that your retrospective thoughts on your actions were admirable and, as such, my post was in no way intended to single you out. More importantly I was concerned about the judicial system’s attitude towards the affair as portrayed in your post. I thought that your reply to my original post on SummitPost.org did an excellent job of articulating, once again, your regret for your actions and your willingness to bring this fact to your readership’s collective awareness.

As an avid road & mountain cyclist myself it would be a bit ridiculous to apologize on the behalf of my fellow e-climber’s for their sweeping generalizations regarding my two-wheeled comrades, though it does disappoint me what the thread ended up degenerating into…as internet forum threads are often wont to do. What disappoints me even more, however, was what many of your readers failed to gain from your post. They seemed to overlook the lesson you took away from the incident and merely viewed it as a comical inconvenience you were subjected to at the hands of the judicial machine. The fact of the matter is that, while not commonplace, deaths have and continue to result from incidents similar to yours where the offender is not as lucky or careful as you were. As a father, the Peter Absolon incident (referenced in my post) is one that always sticks in my mind upon thinking of a family loosing a father and husband as a result of a young man’s momentary indiscretion.

I posted something to a similar end on my own blog (admittedly FAR less read than your own) in the hopes of bringing a similar message to my own half a dozen readers. I apologize if such a seemingly trivial action on your part has brought your unnecessary recrimination from the masses over at SummitPost, but I am grateful for the opportunity to share what you ultimately took away from your experience to the few non-climbers that I know. I think your suggestion of bringing this issue to light by way of your blog was a noble one and I don’t think it would be a lost cause even if it’s something that the court system wouldn’t entertain as a form of recompense.

Anyways, thanks for your time and your enjoyable posts.

Dan

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From: fatty
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:53 AM
To: Daniel
Subject: RE: SummitPost Post - Thank You

Hi Dan,Thanks for taking the time to send that email. I appreciate it.Like you, I was disappointed that some people took the wrong message away from my post. That's pretty common, though -- some people will just misunderstand. What I like to hope is that it's just a vocal minority doing that.And you're absolutely right: it's not your job to apologize on behalf of any group. Some people are nice, some people are jerks. What their hobbies are doesn't enter into it.If / when I get a chance to bring the seriousness of this matter to light again -- by writing or in real life -- I definitely will.

Thanks!