Some good points. Watercraft and their environment can be ruthlessly unforgiving. Families and friends tend to load up watercraft....
Automobiles.....the statistics are downright grim. I think we tend to numb-out the fate factor as we load our families into motor vehicles and trundle off to school, shopping, holidays, whatever....
Curiously, aviation mishaps always seem to polarize the public. Proven time and again to be one of the safest forms of transportation, stringently regulated, thouroughly safety minded in procedures, specs and requirements.
The mistake however, would be for one individual pilot to take another's operational philosophy in discussion as a personal affront.
It's not. It's the freedom of personal choice within a series of highly developed safety and operational regulations.
The term,"Pilot in Command", is applicable from the heaviest jet liner right down to the smallest ultralight. While pilots of all types can benefit from the exchange of their various experiences and wide ranging skills, it's most important not to allow emotionality not to become a negative co-dependant experience. That manifestation alone can be a great encumbrance to human decision making. Don't fall for it.
If some choose to personalize, misinterpret, and express offence in order to gain a power position in a verbal or written disagreement, that's their choice. We can choose not to fall into the same trap and carry on.
Fly safe, fly prepared, fly with confidence. And revel in the freedom of choice. That's what General Aviation is supposed to be about.
