Request Denied. I will continue to use free soloing as my "stick...to measure" the coolness of all other climbing endeavors.
And what you lose from ad hominem attacks is credibility.
And what you lose from ad hominem attacks is credibility.
Free soloing is not a publicity stunt, but 99.9% of the time, free soloing with a camera crew is.
I'm not a big fan of people who do that, since it encourages people to stupidly emulate what ought to be a deeply personal (spiritual, even) choice made by someone with the experience to choose wisely. "Coolness" only enters the picture if you're an idiot.
You may be right, that I am an "idiot" because I think free soloing is "cool" and admire people like John Bachar. I don't judge the right way to climb or not, you are probably in a better position to judge other people and the correct way to climb, who has the right to emulate what, who is wise and who is stupid. I guess we disagree about my right to think of free soloing as being cool, but I prefer not to call you or anyone else names, and would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my opinions.
Even look at your most recent response. Mentally, I can see you saying with this greater-than-thou smug look on your face, "Request Denied."
I encourage you to, before you respond to someone, read what you wrote to them as though it were being said to you. Do you seem heartless, rude, a jerk? Write it again without the insulting tone. You don't get points for being mean. In fact, in the real world, you lose them; and you're not Dijkstra. You're not allowed to be rude and continue to earn favor anyway, yet.
If calling someone out for being rude is an ad hominem attack (it isn't), then calling somebody out for using ad hominem attacks is a 'argument from fallacy' fallacy (it isn't, for similar reasons).
(both are not applicable here because nobody basing their arguments on them)
Furthermore, don't deal it if you can't take it...
But you are right, the fact that I don't see the appeal of the middle ground, and that I expressed my opinion in a "subjectively rude manner" was a mistake. Of course, I was disappointed that rather than just ignore a honest personal opinion or explain the joy of the middle ground, people attacked me personally. But that is fine, and I would like to apologize to anyone who was offended by my personal opinion and attempts to defend myself. Life is too short and I don't want anyone feeling bad about what I said. I apologize if I offended anyone.