Islam...the religion of peace?

[billvon 2,475]

Good post, and thanks for the first hand perspective.

[Driver1 0]

billvon

Good post, and thanks for the first hand perspective.

Seconded. Sometimes its a perspective we need to read about. He makes good points. Every time something bad happens in the middle east, the news jump all over it.

Anyway, Suslique, from your perspective... How should ISIS be handled? Who should do it?

There will be no addressing the customers as "Bitches", "Morons" or "Retards"!

[Suslique 0]

Driver1

***Good post, and thanks for the first hand perspective.

Seconded. Sometimes its a perspective we need to read about. He makes good points. Every time something bad happens in the middle east, the news jump all over it.

Anyway, Suslique, from your perspective... How should ISIS be handled? Who should do it?

she, please :) I'm an "opressed muslim woman" :)

thank you, guys, for kind feedback.

politically? i have no idea. we don't even know where they came from and who funds them, we can only speculate with limited amount of info that comes our way (have you guys read couple of articles and videos where canadian special services agents recruit people to isis? remember lost british girls? google it).


well we (muslim community) are trying to get youth involved and make them learn proper Islam before someone else does it. Many lectors and sheikhs and universities (Al Magrib university, Al Qalam university etc) are focusing on doing exactly this for many years but especially in the light of the latest events. they get personal threats from isis fan boys on regular basis btw.

youth needs to learn the understanding of what jihad is - it is a BASIC knowledge, that should be taught to kids from the early age. the main definition of jihad is the fight WITHIN a person against his own self. for instance, new convert, used to drink alcohol every friday, now he can't do that. he still craves it sometimes, he resists -- this is his jihad. the war as a jihad had its strict rules and regulations. it is a fight against occupier, it is a physical protection of your own house. and there are strict rules of an islamic war. it is shocking how perverted the representation of islam is by isis and by mass media.

i feel sorry for all young boys and girls who got into isis trap. most of them have no idea what they got into.

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[winsor 191]

Going all Godwin here, since my copy of the Koran sits beside my copy of Mein Kampf I do not greatly distinguish between the two (six of one, half a dozen of the other).

People have harsh view of National Socialism, but they overlook the bulk of the good things that NSDAP brought about. Germany was impoverished to the point of starvation and people's lives were destroyed by the economic devastation of the '20s.

The NSDAP brought about a break with the Imperial past, and these egalitarian changes are still with us. The economic powerhouse that is today's Germany is largely the result of the paradigm shift brought about by the National Socialists.

Sure, there were excesses and the odd setback, but the end result was a country that is the envy of its rivals.

Etc, etc.

Islam is, like Scientology or the Mormon church, an ism made up of whole cloth by a charlatan as a tool to wield power.

Islam is a virulent mental illness. The level of its pathology varies, but it is fundamentally evil. Followers of a psychopathic pervert are necessarily suspect, as well they should be.

Btw, I have spent a large amount of time in the company of Nazis (real SS types, not wannabes) and Muslims (Sunni, Shia and lesser offshoots), and spent a fair amount of time in lands that made up the Third Reich and those that made up the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire.

While I am hardly a fan of things Nazi (for a variety of reasons), Islam has earned a level of loathing and contempt by which National Socialism pales in comparison.

BSBD,

Winsor

[rehmwa 2]

So we have a huge contrast between Suslique and Winsor's portrayals of Islamic culture. I know you two will correct me, but this is what I'm seeing.

Winsor - the culture itself is poisoned from the beginning and a generic expectation of people from that culture should be weighted by this image

Suslique - the culture is what it is, people are similar all over the world, but the fanatical fringes of any culture has poisoned the overall image of people associated with it. Muslim culture has this problem strongly and people need to see what those inside are doing to try and fix that.


I'm more inclined to agree with Suslique's view.

But what do I know? - all the Muslim's I know are personal friends and co-workers that are as good and decent (or naughty) as all my other friends. And they all seem to despise what religious nuts have done to the representation of what they hold dear.

I suspect most muslim individuals are about as linked, associated and aware of fanatics cutting off heads, as your everyday christians is of individuals blowing up abortion clinics, or an everyday liberal is to people going out and boobytrapping trees to kill lumberjacks - in otherwords, NOT at all, and also outraged by the perversion of a belief.

I haven't yet met a fanatical nut from the culture in my lifetime and travels, so I don't have that comparison yet on a personal basis. And I hope not to. The news examples are serious enough for us ALL to worry about.



For that matter -I'm more inclined to that view of any large groupings - i think general human behavior is more consistent than the minor variations of locality and simple belief systems (founded on similar ideals). But the duty of a culture getting a bad rap is still to go find those fringe elements and try to minimize their horrible messages. That's what we need to see more of.

It's lazy to try and stereotype/characterize any large group by pointing at their fringe nut elements and say "see, look they are all the same - those (Muslims, poor, rich, republitards, dummocrats, etc..."). But then, Speaker's Corner would be a wasteland.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Driver1 0]

Suslique

******Good post, and thanks for the first hand perspective.

Seconded. Sometimes its a perspective we need to read about. He makes good points. Every time something bad happens in the middle east, the news jump all over it.

Anyway, Suslique, from your perspective... How should ISIS be handled? Who should do it?

she, please :) I'm an "opressed muslim woman" :)



My apologies. I cannot fathom how oppressed women are in the muslim culture. I think it's ridiculous they are generally treated like they are.

There will be no addressing the customers as "Bitches", "Morons" or "Retards"!

[winsor 191]

rehmwa

So we have a huge contrast between Suslique and Winsor's portrayals of Islamic culture. I know you two will correct me, but this is what I'm seeing.

Winsor - the culture itself is poisoned from the beginning and a generic expectation of people from that culture should be weighted by this image

Suslique - the culture is what it is, people are similar all over the world, but the fanatical fringes of any culture has poisoned the overall image of people associated with it. Muslim culture has this problem strongly and people need to see what those inside are doing to try and fix that.


I'm more inclined to agree with Suslique's view.

But what do I know? - all the Muslim's I know are personal friends and co-workers that are as good and decent (or naughty) as all my other friends. And they all seem to despise what religious nuts have done to the representation of what they hold dear.

I suspect most muslim individuals are about as linked, associated and aware of fanatics cutting off heads, as your everyday christians is of individuals blowing up abortion clinics, or an everyday liberal is to people going out and boobytrapping trees to kill lumberjacks - in otherwords, NOT at all, and also outraged by the perversion of a belief.

I haven't yet met a fanatical nut from the culture in my lifetime and travels, so I don't have that comparison yet on a personal basis. And I hope not to. The news examples are serious enough for us ALL to worry about.



For that matter -I'm more inclined to that view of any large groupings - i think general human behavior is more consistent than the minor variations of locality and simple belief systems (founded on similar ideals). But the duty of a culture getting a bad rap is still to go find those fringe elements and try to minimize their horrible messages. That's what we need to see more of.

It's lazy to try and stereotype/characterize any large group by pointing at their fringe nut elements and say "see, look they are all the same - those (Muslims, poor, rich, republitards, dummocrats, etc..."). But then, Speaker's Corner would be a wasteland.

I should temper my perspective with the knowledge that the bulk of adherents to any particular ism have never investigated the origins or fundamental tenets of, and thus have a very poor understanding of the global significance of, their faith.

I knew someone who espoused Socialism/Communism/Marxism, but had never actually read Marx, Lenin, et al. I, unfortunately, have. I got far enough into "The Book of Mormon" to reach a lifetime's limit, and I barely got into "Dianetics" before my bullshit meter broke. The Koran I force myself through.

The bulk of practicing Christians have never read the Christian Scriptures or the Hebrew Scriptures, and many that have, have done so in the sense that a scanner handles a document - to imbed the image, rather than to process information.

Thus, when I refer to Islam, I refer to the basic underpinnings of the ism (note: I most certainly do not give Christianity or the religious aspects of Judaism a pass).

I am not being cute when I state that at its core National Socialism has much more to recommend it than does Islam (though both are unspeakably evil).

Though there are very nice people who adhere to one form of Islam or another, it is anything but a "religion of peace."


BSBD,

Winsor

[turtlespeed 212]

winsor

***So we have a huge contrast between Suslique and Winsor's portrayals of Islamic culture. I know you two will correct me, but this is what I'm seeing.

Winsor - the culture itself is poisoned from the beginning and a generic expectation of people from that culture should be weighted by this image

Suslique - the culture is what it is, people are similar all over the world, but the fanatical fringes of any culture has poisoned the overall image of people associated with it. Muslim culture has this problem strongly and people need to see what those inside are doing to try and fix that.


I'm more inclined to agree with Suslique's view.

But what do I know? - all the Muslim's I know are personal friends and co-workers that are as good and decent (or naughty) as all my other friends. And they all seem to despise what religious nuts have done to the representation of what they hold dear.

I suspect most muslim individuals are about as linked, associated and aware of fanatics cutting off heads, as your everyday christians is of individuals blowing up abortion clinics, or an everyday liberal is to people going out and boobytrapping trees to kill lumberjacks - in otherwords, NOT at all, and also outraged by the perversion of a belief.

I haven't yet met a fanatical nut from the culture in my lifetime and travels, so I don't have that comparison yet on a personal basis. And I hope not to. The news examples are serious enough for us ALL to worry about.



For that matter -I'm more inclined to that view of any large groupings - i think general human behavior is more consistent than the minor variations of locality and simple belief systems (founded on similar ideals). But the duty of a culture getting a bad rap is still to go find those fringe elements and try to minimize their horrible messages. That's what we need to see more of.

It's lazy to try and stereotype/characterize any large group by pointing at their fringe nut elements and say "see, look they are all the same - those (Muslims, poor, rich, republitards, dummocrats, etc..."). But then, Speaker's Corner would be a wasteland.

I should temper my perspective with the knowledge that the bulk of adherents to any particular ism have never investigated the origins or fundamental tenets of, and thus have a very poor understanding of the global significance of, their faith.

I knew someone who espoused Socialism/Communism/Marxism, but had never actually read Marx, Lenin, et al. I, unfortunately, have. I got far enough into "The Book of Mormon" to reach a lifetime's limit, and I barely got into "Dianetics" before my bullshit meter broke. The Koran I force myself through.

The bulk of practicing Christians have never read the Christian Scriptures or the Hebrew Scriptures, and many that have, have done so in the sense that a scanner handles a document - to imbed the image, rather than to process information.

Thus, when I refer to Islam, I refer to the basic underpinnings of the ism (note: I most certainly do not give Christianity or the religious aspects of Judaism a pass).

I am not being cute when I state that at its core National Socialism has much more to recommend it than does Islam (though both are unspeakably evil).

Though there are very nice people who adhere to one form of Islam or another, it is anything but a "religion of peace."


BSBD,

Winsor

Wow.

I would like to suggest that the most basic premise of the Islamic religion is not evil, in and of its self. Rather, we see a base cultural difference in that when the religion was founded, cultural norms were vastly different. Even back then, Muslims were considered less evolved and animalistic for their ways of life.

That said, both Christianity and Judaism are just as guilty.

I'm not so sure Buddhism is guilty of atrocities, other than strangeness.

What I'm trying to say here, is that no matter what your spiritual or religious belief you have, religion when organized is a means of control and of separating the believers of their monetary means.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[rehmwa 2]

If you guys are going to honestly and kindly just exchanged thoughts and clarifications here, I'm going to go find a more volatile forum to lurk on.

I'm disgusted.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[turtlespeed 212]

rehmwa

If you guys are going to honestly and kindly just exchanged thoughts and clarifications here, I'm going to go find a more volatile forum to lurk on.

I'm disgusted.

AL SHARPTON MUST DIE!
That fucker is racist against the white man, and he hates Muslims too.

Better?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Suslique 0]

Driver1

*********Good post, and thanks for the first hand perspective.

Seconded. Sometimes its a perspective we need to read about. He makes good points. Every time something bad happens in the middle east, the news jump all over it.

Anyway, Suslique, from your perspective... How should ISIS be handled? Who should do it?

she, please :) I'm an "opressed muslim woman" :)



My apologies. I cannot fathom how oppressed women are in the muslim culture. I think it's ridiculous they are generally treated like they are.

i've put quotes because it is a typical stereotype of muslim women that westerners have :)

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[Suslique 0]

winsor

Going all Godwin here, since my copy of the Koran sits beside my copy of Mein Kampf I do not greatly distinguish between the two (six of one, half a dozen of the other).

People have harsh view of National Socialism, but they overlook the bulk of the good things that NSDAP brought about. Germany was impoverished to the point of starvation and people's lives were destroyed by the economic devastation of the '20s.

The NSDAP brought about a break with the Imperial past, and these egalitarian changes are still with us. The economic powerhouse that is today's Germany is largely the result of the paradigm shift brought about by the National Socialists.

Sure, there were excesses and the odd setback, but the end result was a country that is the envy of its rivals.

Etc, etc.

Islam is, like Scientology or the Mormon church, an ism made up of whole cloth by a charlatan as a tool to wield power.

Islam is a virulent mental illness. The level of its pathology varies, but it is fundamentally evil. Followers of a psychopathic pervert are necessarily suspect, as well they should be.

Btw, I have spent a large amount of time in the company of Nazis (real SS types, not wannabes) and Muslims (Sunni, Shia and lesser offshoots), and spent a fair amount of time in lands that made up the Third Reich and those that made up the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire.

While I am hardly a fan of things Nazi (for a variety of reasons), Islam has earned a level of loathing and contempt by which National Socialism pales in comparison.

BSBD,

Winsor

Could you please elaborate, which parts of Islam are evil to you? genuine curiosity here.

turtlespeed

buddhists have their own skeletons in the wardrobe: ethnic cleansing of muslim minority in Rohingya for example.

its not about religion, its human nature, just like i pinpointed in my first post

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[turtlespeed 212]

Suslique

***Going all Godwin here, since my copy of the Koran sits beside my copy of Mein Kampf I do not greatly distinguish between the two (six of one, half a dozen of the other).

People have harsh view of National Socialism, but they overlook the bulk of the good things that NSDAP brought about. Germany was impoverished to the point of starvation and people's lives were destroyed by the economic devastation of the '20s.

The NSDAP brought about a break with the Imperial past, and these egalitarian changes are still with us. The economic powerhouse that is today's Germany is largely the result of the paradigm shift brought about by the National Socialists.

Sure, there were excesses and the odd setback, but the end result was a country that is the envy of its rivals.

Etc, etc.

Islam is, like Scientology or the Mormon church, an ism made up of whole cloth by a charlatan as a tool to wield power.

Islam is a virulent mental illness. The level of its pathology varies, but it is fundamentally evil. Followers of a psychopathic pervert are necessarily suspect, as well they should be.

Btw, I have spent a large amount of time in the company of Nazis (real SS types, not wannabes) and Muslims (Sunni, Shia and lesser offshoots), and spent a fair amount of time in lands that made up the Third Reich and those that made up the Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire.

While I am hardly a fan of things Nazi (for a variety of reasons), Islam has earned a level of loathing and contempt by which National Socialism pales in comparison.

BSBD,

Winsor

Could you please elaborate, which parts of Islam are evil to you? genuine curiosity here.

turtlespeed

buddhists have their own skeletons in the wardrobe: ethnic cleansing of muslim minority in Rohingya for example.

its not about religion, its human nature, just like i pinpointed in my first post

Yeah, I had heard something about that. It's all the same to me. Invisible scrolls in a box, invisible people becoming zombies, invisible people that thou shalt not make a cartoon of . . . It is all the same, and people should just stop freaking killing people in the name of what ever invisibility they are affiliated with.

I am much happier not having to worry about an invented invisibility,
Signed,
Happily Unaffiliated

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Suslique 0]

its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[wmw999 2,175]

I'm sorry -- you can't really be a muslim. You sound entirely too much like a rational, thoughtful, intelligent person

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Suslique 0]

wmw999

I'm sorry -- you can't really be a muslim. You sound entirely too much like a rational, thoughtful, intelligent person

Wendy P.

i should treat myself with a chocolate for ruining this nasty stereotype for at least someone :)

p.s. beware! vast majority of us are actually normal people (i can't believe I'm writing this lol)

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[turtlespeed 212]

Suslique

its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

True, but giving them an outlet, or an identifiable excuse, and the ease in which one makes the leap from fanatic to nutcase a lot smaller.

I have viewed this with my own eyes.

I was involved in the church.

I was directly involved with the inner workings of a church.

I have seen these things first hand.

Every, EVERY, mid to large sized church is corrupt in some way or fashion.
They are like governments.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[SkyDekker 1,155]

Suslique

its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

How did you end up in Speakers Corner on Dropzone.com? Nothing filled out in your profile, no posts regarding jumping. You certainly wouldn't be the only non-jumper here, just wondering how you found the place?

[wmw999 2,175]

I'd say that's a human thing, too. Pretty much every organization has its pocket of corruption, or just differing opinions on where the resources should go. I've been involved with the inner workings of a church, too, and while no one accused us of being corrupt, some did say the church was too selfish. Note that our stated goal was to pass on over 50% of our gross income to humanitarian charities (ie not the minister, Cadillacs, building, etc), so this was a pretty generous group. With a membership of about 40, we could do about thirty percent.

But one member thought that we were too selfish when we bought a copier to replace the one giving us constant trouble, and another objected to our selling our building (and donating all the proceeds) when we closed, rather than ceding it back to the church organization.

I think one of the defining characteristics of an organization's likelihood for corruption is the degree to which it looks outward rather than inward, and the degree to which it tries and/or needs to protect itself and its members. And those are all human things, too.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Suslique 0]

turtlespeed

***its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

True, but giving them an outlet, or an identifiable excuse, and the ease in which one makes the leap from fanatic to nutcase a lot smaller.

I have viewed this with my own eyes.

I was involved in the church.

I was directly involved with the inner workings of a church.

I have seen these things first hand.

Every, EVERY, mid to large sized church is corrupt in some way or fashion.
They are like governments.

maybe I'm just lucky of never meeting anyone like that in real life. i know people who went too deep into religion and they are just that, introverts living in their own little reality, disapproving everything around, being complete opposite what their religion is asking from them. well its their life so who cares?

i just believe that there should be something inherently evil in a person to push them into real violence. ego probably. i think its the ego. humble person will never harm anybody else neither physically nor with words. and now that I'm thinking of it yes, some people humble down others act "holier than tho" just because of the ego, you can call religion an outlet in this case. but so can be money, and power, and even talent or hobby.

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[Suslique 0]

SkyDekker

***its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

How did you end up in Speakers Corner on Dropzone.com? Nothing filled out in your profile, no posts regarding jumping. You certainly wouldn't be the only non-jumper here, just wondering how you found the place?

i'm only working towards getting a license, i can't jump right now due to personal reasons and won't be able to do that till the end of the year, but I'm hopelessly hooked. i think i watched every video o vimeo about skydiving. anyways, i got here because of the incidents forum, i needed to weight out all the risks involved in the sport for myself since i was overanalysing this moment constantly. i saw "women" section and to read that i had to register then i wandered around and stumbled upon speakers sub-forum. got terrified reading all the stuff written about muslims. searched for more and decided never to visit US ever :D contemplated whether to write something or not and decided to give it a shot (no puns intended :) ) and this is how i got here. there are plenty of newbie topics about skydiving i just use search button and read them, don't feel the need to irritate pros with my silly questions (although i have one regarding insects in the canopy after landing lol). so yeah. any other questions?:)

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[Amazon 7]

Suslique

******its not about beliefs or ideologies. there are plenty of psychopaths who find reasons to cause pain and misery to other humans not based on religion or philosophy or whatever. let it not be a cartoon or an abortion clinic or the idea of supreme race it's going to be a freaking parking dispute. some people are just evil.

How did you end up in Speakers Corner on Dropzone.com? Nothing filled out in your profile, no posts regarding jumping. You certainly wouldn't be the only non-jumper here, just wondering how you found the place?

i'm only working towards getting a license, i can't jump right now due to personal reasons and won't be able to do that till the end of the year, but I'm hopelessly hooked. i think i watched every video o vimeo about skydiving. anyways, i got here because of the incidents forum, i needed to weight out all the risks involved in the sport for myself since i was overanalysing this moment constantly. i saw "women" section and to read that i had to register then i wandered around and stumbled upon speakers sub-forum. got terrified reading all the stuff written about muslims. searched for more and decided never to visit US ever :D contemplated whether to write something or not and decided to give it a shot (no puns intended :) ) and this is how i got here. there are plenty of newbie topics about skydiving i just use search button and read them, don't feel the need to irritate pros with my silly questions (although i have one regarding insects in the canopy after landing lol). so yeah. any other questions?:)

Do not fly thru a swarm of locusts or grasshoppers.... and it's all good... they leave green goo all over the canopy when you squish em while packing for the next load.

[Suslique 0]

Amazon

Do not fly thru a swarm of locusts or grasshoppers.... and it's all good... they leave green goo all over the canopy when you squish em while packing for the next load.

THAT! yes, thank you! what about ticks? people from UK got me all paranoid about tick season from may till november and that i might grab lots of them inside and got bitten and all that scary stuff. i know its silly but i even googled "skydiving canopy ticks lyme disease" the other day :D

'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave.'
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[rehmwa 2]

Suslique

you can call religion an outlet in this case. but so can be money, and power, and even talent or hobby.

I state this a lot, but it falls on deaf ears quite a bit. It doesn't matter the reason, this flavor of person would find another excuse if they didn't have religion (social agenda, some wrong to right, etc) to rationalize their craplitude.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Amazon 7]

Suslique

***

Do not fly thru a swarm of locusts or grasshoppers.... and it's all good... they leave green goo all over the canopy when you squish em while packing for the next load.

THAT! yes, thank you! what about ticks? people from UK got me all paranoid about tick season from may till november and that i might grab lots of them inside and got bitten and all that scary stuff. i know its silly but i even googled "skydiving canopy ticks lyme disease" the other day :D

Just google where the most likely places are to even find ticks....
Stick to large well manicured landing areas that have low populations and you should be just fine... if you are worried.. get tick repellant with DEET.. and dress accordingly... making sure they can't get under your clothing... and have a friend tick check you if you land out or are in an area prone to the nasty little things.