Mark Allen M wrote:
I'll state it again that there's a time and a place to study the causes of such accidents and there's a way the achieve constructive results from the time spent viewing a tragic and graphic video on an internet forum which doesn't involve losing one's sympathy and morality in the process.
I very much respect your comments and I agree very much with the spirit of what you are saying. I completely understand your position and have been the friend and/or acquaintance of those who have been lost to aviation accidents. I can also say that immediately following the shock and sorrow my first reaction was "how could this happen?" This of course leads to speculation and I think to a certain extent it is a natural part of the grieving process. I'd like to ask a question though and I don't at all mean it as a flippant remark, but when is the right time and where is the right place? I guess though it seems as though there is always a lot of discussion about what not to do in this situation with very little coaching on what the appropriate channels are for these discussions.
While many of us may have the fortune of having a community of local, like minded aviation enthusiasts around us to have an outlet to discuss things in private, not everyone who visits this site is in that same situation. To many, this site is their community of like minded enthusiasts and when something happens there is a sort of public grieving that occurs. As you mentioned there is the right time, so when is that time? Is it after the factual is released? Is it 3 months later? Again, I agree with the sprit of what you are saying and I appreciate the extremely tragic situation that this is for anyone involved.
Mark Allen M wrote:
As for the rush to speculations, accusations and negative opinions concerning the outcome of such tragic events, unfortunately this is an all too common approach with the culture of internet forums. As we all should know this approach only continues to add fuel to an already confused fire. The answers will come, they usually do and it's usually from folks who take a neutral stand in the matter and not one of optimism or pessimism.
Mark, again while I respect our comments, I don't understand what internet discussion forums are if they aren't to discuss, and it won't always be discussing the good times. We could all wait for the "proper authorities" to announce their finding. We could all also wait for Warbirds Digest or Air Classics to publish a story about the things that interest us, but we all come here for the real time discussion. Sometimes the onus does have to be on the consumer of the information to filter our what offends them. If someone I care about has been involved in a tragic situation sometimes it is best to just stay away from media that could possibly be further upsetting. It is a time to be with family and friends and then reengage later. Anyway, my comments aren't meant to offend.
Ryan