Drop it.

Again, I intended to post this back in the middle of June....didn't get around to it till now. It may seem scattered...but hey, I aint a real journalist. Just a very opinionated asshole.

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Now what boiled me to write this blog was the negative criticism that her rescue has drawn from parents and rather conservative people (not in the political sense). I've read things like "parents should have thought more responsibly instead of being blinded by celebrity.....since when do 16 year old children make the most prudent decisions in their lives?" and "these young adventurers and their families are truly among the most thoughtless and selfish people on planet earth."

Lets get this straight.

16 year old kids every day are making prudent decisions every day in their lives. If these people haven't forgotten, a 16 year old is generally either a sophomore or junior in high school in the midst of getting jobs, figuring out colleges, and finally fitting into school cliques. Now Abby definitely is one smart lass whom even while out on her voyage was throwing around small schoolwork and reading. I'm sure a good percentage of these parent’s children are in their rooms right now playing videogames or smoking dope in the back alley or worst: being led by a bone by their parents. She is simply trying to make a name for herself.

That brings me to the next comment, selfishness. Sure it is a little selfish to have the balls to go out by yourself into the big ole blue, but it’s also quite selfish to go rock climb, surf, ride bicycles, drive, fly, I hope you see where I’m going here. The only fact I can agree with is she wanted to break a world record for being the youngest person to ever solo the globe. Even so, she is already more capable than more than 60% people of the world to solo sail the globe, so you tell me if you had a chance would you? And when she had to pull into Cape Town she wasn’t majorly flustered that she could not complete the trip nonstop, she went and mentioned on how proud she was of Emma Watson, the bar Abby was trying to beat. She wasn’t driven by ego, only common sense. When her mast was ripped from her ship, she did the most selfless thing and accepted rescue.

Now back to the parents. I’m not sure what to think about the reality show. If what the father says is true, and the reality people came to them, I would be fine with that. This isn’t the balloon boy, where the parents were pitching reality shows left and right then decided to fake their kid sailing across the cornfields to get attention. This was “hey, this family’s son just sailed the globe. Their daughter is going to do it. Let’s get some film!” And if the family did indeed drop the show because the producers believed “that Abby would go out and die,” then they did everything right as that would be, in my eyes, too much weight to carry for a teenage girl.

A final note I want to make is the fact that she did need rescue; in turn she risked lives of rescue crews and fishing vessels for her own mistakes. I believe mistakes deserve consequences, after all what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But I’m reading what people are exclaiming, stating that the Sunderland family should repay the Australian government a full sum for risking the lives of search and rescue crews. I partially agree, perhaps some payment (not necessarily money) should be given to that crew. But….and I hate saying it like this….that’s what they’re there for. I respect every man and woman who is out there saving people in risk of their own lives, believe me when I say that. But they are out there knowing they won’t be getting any pay raises for foolish sailors. Hell, that’s not their priority. I don’t see police officers asking for tips after domestic call, I don’t see paramedics asking for a card swipe before they give you oxygen, or soldiers demanding raises before shipping to Iraq. If it was like that then I’m sure, and hate me for saying this I don’t care, there wouldn’t have been hundreds of fire fighters down near Wall Street on September 11^th. These are noble service men and women who do it for their own payment method, believing that someone else may live another day. So what do I believe these Rescue Crews deserve? A personal thank you, and perhaps a steak dinner on the house.

Of course I’m sure they get that already….

The point I’m trying to lay out here is just give the Sunderlands a break. They never did anything wrong, wrong did them.

Thats enough for now, your free to climb under your rock again.