Ok MiniD, I see your point.
What irks me a bit is that for the press and, hence, for the public, BASE jumpers are just irresponsible daredevils with a death wish.
Yes, BASE is really dangerous. However, most BASE jumpers
1) know the risk they are taking and evaluate them before jumping.
2) don't endanger anybody else than themselves.
In our western society where risks are reduced to the point that everybody forget about them (although they aren't nil and probably never will be), some dangerous behaviours are much more tolerated than BASE jumping. When some posters on this board claim that they have reached very high speed with their GTO or Impreza on
the open road, very few of us are bashing them for the risks they have taken for themselves
and the other road users. (That being said, I've done it myself in the past but I've learned better since.)
Besides, the article contains some important errors:
-BASE is not illegal everywhere in the States. AFAIK, the Perris Bridge in Idaho is permanently open to BASE jumpers, while some national parks are open on certain days for BASE events.
-The death of Jan Davis has some roots in the fact that the jump was illegal...check this link to find out why:
BASE international fatalities list (Edit: I just saw that the problem is described but not well explained in the article)
But before you click on the link, ask yourself how many people over the world do you think have died in that sport since its beginning in the 80s... you'll probably come with a much higher figure. You'll also see that a non negligible percentage of the victims were people who tried to jump without any former skydiving experience and counseling...
Don't forget neither that at the first days of aviation, flying a fragile construction of wood, wires and fabric tragically underpowered was even more dangerous than BASE jumping nowadays. Without those pioneers, where would we be today?
At the end, let the BASE jumpers do their stuff. Most are aware of the risk they are taking and accept the possibility or death or serious injury. Their tolerance of risk is probably higher than the lambda citizen, but that makes them not criminals.
