On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 14:03:16 -0800, Dr. Anton.T. Squeegee
wrote:

In article .net,
says...

I canceled my Leage membership after their first restructuring proposal for
amateur radio. Now, after seeing their new proposal, I wish I had NEVER
been a member! Seems the Arrl philosophy is that: if ham radio is to
survive it MUST sound like CB.


Tee'd Off

Seems to me like you're getting mad at the wrong people.

Ham radio, like Life itself (I've said this before, and I'll
probably end up saying it again), is a mirror. You get back EXACTLY what
you put into it.

What you hear on the air is a reflection of the PERSONALITY of
each INDIVIDUAL operator. It has NOTHING to do with how hard they
studied for their license, or how much they know, or how many letters
they have after their name.

If ham radio is declining in the "quality" of what's heard on the
air, it's because of poor operators making life miserable for the
newbies, apparently all because of some misguided sense of loyalty. To
what or to whom this loyalty is directed, I have never understood.

Let me ask you something: Have you ever made comments on the air
that were derogatory to someone who was new to the hobby? Have you ever
adopted an air of superiority in the presence of a newbie?

If so, then YOU are part of the problem. If you do not feel you
can be civil to a new operator (remember, there was a day when NONE of
us had ever seen a microphone or transmitter, let alone operated one),
then simply ignore them and move on to something else.

The "Death of Ham Radio" has been predicted by many others for
many years. Yet, the Amateur Radio SERVICE endures to this day.
Different from what it was ten or twenty years ago, yes, but it endures.
This tells me that new licensees aren't the problem, and it tells me
that the ARRL isn't the problem.

What I see as the REAL problem are those "veterans" in the HOBBY
who have become so obsessed with their own ideas of whom is superior to
whom that they will deliberately make life on the air miserable for
anyone who doesn't measure up to their own standards. I think such
people would be doing much better to offer polite-but-firm correction to
operating errors, and be willing to SHARE their knowlege as opposed to
zealously guarding it like some grumpy dragon guarding their hoard.

You may not like the ARRL for whatever reason. Fine. That's your
choice (I'm proud to be a 'Lifer' myself). But would you find it so very
hard to remember and respect "The Amateur's Code" that they publish? It
dates all the way back to the League's founding, and the days of Hiram
Percy Maxim (without whom we wouldn't even HAVE Amateur Radio).

Chill out. The only things that will truly kill amateur radio are
forgetting its origins, WHY we have it today, and more anger and hatred
at newbies just because they have an easier time getting licensed than
some of us did.

Well said, Sir.

73, Leo