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Re: Kudos to NAP and Mark Sipe

To: Wally Strzelec <Wally@Tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Kudos to NAP and Mark Sipe
From: Jay Mitchell <jemitchell@compuserve.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 06:51:44 -0700
Wally Strzelec wrote:

> Say what???  I take offense in its usage because *I feel* that it is
> implying that as a SSS, I am keeping people from having fun.

Depends on the specifics of the usage. Mark wasn't implying that in his
article. There have been a couple of folks on team.net who've used the
term in a pejorative sense, but I don't think many of us pay much
attention to them. I don't.

>  The *last*
> thing that I want to do is keep people from having fun!

In my Solo II experience, I have encountered maybe five people who
honestly believed that safe course design and event operation made the
sport less "fun."

The term "Nazi" is often used to describe self-important functionaries -
e.g. "Nazi hall monitor" - who care more about their status in some
imagined pecking order than about the responsibilities they are supposed
to be carrying out. This is the sort of person who takes pleasure in
making you redo a form because you didn't do some trivial part to
his(her) satisfaction. 

I've encountered folks who fit this general description in a number of
situations - renewing my car tags, trying to get the things I ordered
for my booth at trade shows, and, occasionally, performing functions at
SCCA events. The term "Nazi" is widely used to describe this sort of
person.

 > I agree with much
> of what was written, but do not like being generalized as someone that is
> taking the fun out of the sport.

I don't believe Mark was doing that. My reading of the article is that
he was praising the people who concern themselves with event safety, and
saying that we need to pay closer attention to safety issues. I can't
see how anyone would get a different message.

Jay


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