following letter was sent to fayette tribune. the response from the editor was very encouraging, inviting more opinions from other jumpers. the letter and response are also posted at www.theflyinghellfish.com
An open letter to residents and business owners of Fayetteville and Oak Hill from a BASE jumper,
We did not become the greatest nation on earth by the actions of bureaucrats such as the members of the Bridge Day Commission. We are the greatest nation because of our love of personal freedoms and our iron will to protect those personal freedoms. We value the personal freedom to practice whatever religion we choose, to assemble
peaceably with whomever we choose, and to bear arms. We value the right to privacy and to pursue personal activities that do not harm or endanger other citizens, such as skydiving and BASE jumping.
The action of the Bridge Day commission set a dangerous precedent for future Bridge Day events. If their action was due to simple ignorance and cowardice it would be understandable and possibly forgivable but they knew that there was no credible threat and cancelled the event anyway. Why? The reason is that they wanted to demonstrate they could cancel the event. 9/11 had given them a power they never had before and
suddenly a small and insignificant board had the chance to take an action that would gain them national publicity. And they did it, not because of any real public safety concern and certainly not because they were looking out for the interests of
Fayetteville or West Virginia, they did it to satisfy their own needs for notoriety and power. Terrorists did not cancel Bridge Day, the commission who is more concerned about their own personal power and agendas than your local businesses, they
are the ones who cancelled Bridge Day. They took it upon themselves to cancel the event with no
specific, credible threat, and this arrogant mindset is still in place today.
I urge each resident or business owner who enjoys or benefits from Bridge Day to voice your dissatisfaction with the Bridge Day commission. Just a few of the results of their poor decision making are the following; 1) lost revenue, probably
millions, for cancellation of the 2001 event (yes, I realize that the "Spirit of Bridge Day" was still
held, but lets be honest with ourselves, BASE jumping is the heart and soul of Bridge Day) 2) we are in the process of losing the best organizers that the event has ever had, Avery Badenhop and Harry Parker 3) we are hearing rumors that the commission wants to impose stringent new restrictions on who can actually jump at Bridge Day,
and that they want a Gestapo/Taliban-like tally of every BASE jumpers' personal information including photos and other private information. These are unnecessary, unconstitutional and un-American requirements. I'm not giving up my right to privacy to any board/organization that's intoxicated with a new found power that they manufactured as a
result of a national tragedy.
If you haven't noticed, many of us are still upset that the 2001 event was cancelled. Forgive me for my emotion but Bridge Day was a constant in our
universe, we set our calendars to Bridge Day. We would make whatever arrangements necessary to
travel to West Virginia from all over the country and the world on the third weekend of every October. We have families and businesses and some of us actually have full time jobs, believe it or not, and all of these things took a back seat when
Bridge Day was concerned.
The actions of the Bridge Day commission went against everything that America stands for and against the request by our president to live life as we always have and not live in unjustified fear. I agree completely with Sheriff Laird (Oct. 18,
2001, Fayette Tribune) who said "If you sit around and deal with every 'what if' you sure wouldn't get
out of bed in the morning." That's not how BASE jumpers approach life and that's not how real Americans approach life. That's not how our veterans and servicemen and women approached each day as they were/are fighting for our freedoms. These are my own opinions as a BASE jumper and a visitor to Fayetteville and Oak Hill for
several years, but these opinions are shared by many fellow jumpers.
The Bridge Day commission has already done a lot of damage with their decision last year and they should apologize to the Fayetteville/Oak Hill community and to the BASE jumping community for their actions. Yet, they seek to perpetuate the
damage with new conditions and restrictions on us. If they continue down this path I will not support them. I will not attend Bridge Day, even if it is held, and there are many others who will take similar action. The Bridge Day commission is not representing the best interests of your community and they apparently have no idea how to run a
successful Bridge Day. Their 2001 decision and the fact that they are indifferent and arrogant with
Avery Badenhop and Harry Parker (see March 11 article "BASE jumping headed for new guidance in 2002"), demonstrates this fact. I urge you as citizens to take control of this situation and make sure that the Bridge Day commission is not allowed to make future self-serving decisions. Their quest for power and their intoxication with it, will lead to
the permanent end of Bridge Day.
You have a wonderful community and a beautiful state that all of us thoroughly enjoyed visiting each year. You had the greatest BASE jumping event in the world. The Bridge Day commission and other state and local politicians are taking this away from
you and from us, don't let them.
John MacDonald
Team Flying Hellfish, Skydive/BASE
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