[ExI] green berette, was: RE: Russians bots at work again?

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of
Keith Henson via extropy-chat


>...The very first female Green Beret, 11 days ago.  Not strange that I
didn't know about it.  But the article does not say anything about her being
a sniper or a sharpshooter.  Though to have gotten this far, I am sure she
is a reasonable marksman (markswoman?)...

Ja, the green berets are elite troops.  There is no getting into that unless
one is an expert marks-human and a super-athlete, an expert at all military
tactics.  I applaud this young lady: she must be one hell of an athlete,
smart as a whip, good at everything they make these fellers do.

>...It's still an unlikely career path, perhaps 1/100th the chances of a
high school football player getting into the NFL... Keith


Certainly that.  I often think of that when I see the local high school
football teams bashing their brains to inert jelly, many with dreams of
scholarships or the big leagues, when only a very few can get that far.
Another one is women's gymnastics.  Look at how dangerous are those sports,
and imagine the trail of broken bodies leading to the Olympics, where you
see the elite of the elite, many of whom already have permanent damage to
their bodies by the time they are too old (which is about 20 for women's
gymnastics.)

Consider pole vaulting, sheesh, the best guys are going way up there higher
than the length of the pole.  That is the coolest sport to watch, if one can
overcome the guilt, knowing that for every Olympian, there is likely half a
dozen proles who injured themselves in trying to get there.  I was watching
when some guy took one to the southern boys a few years back, owwwwww.  By
watching those dangerous sports, we sell ads and make money for the agencies
which cover the sports, which encourages young people to take up
recreational danger.  If they get injured, we spectators are indirectly
responsible.  I repent in advance, then watch them anyway.

Conclusion: unlikely career paths do little to deter young people.  It might
deter their parents, but young people dream big.  They get injured, it's
partially our fault, damn.

spike