Wednesday 7 March 2012

The rules

Like many boaters, I have been taking a keen interest in the election of candidates for the newly formed CRT elections.  Arbitrarily, lets take one person as an example. Dave Mayell sounds like a reasonable person. I couldn't disagree with anything he says on his statement. It is as bland and uninspiring as the rest of them.

Unfortunately (for Dave), Dave is a member of the Canal World Forum and his real views and agenda are there for all that wish to read his writings. Dave is a stickler, some would say to a fundamentalist level, for rules and regulations. He loves them. The problem with Dave and his adherence to rules and regulations, is that if Tony Hales, the old Number 2 at BW now the new number 1 at CRT, make a new rule, no matter what that rule is and how absurd it may be, Dave will be the first to back him up and impose this new rule on the rest of us due to his disposition and unthinking adherence to 'the rules'.

There is absolutely no mention that Dave loves rules and regulations in his statement. Dave is, to all intents and purposes a regular boater lovin' guy. He's not a nutter.

If Dave's statement can be so bland as to be pointless, where do I stand with the rest of them. They all sound reasonable. They all sound fine and worth voting for.

Unfortunately, I shan't be voting for any of them and yes, it is my fault if the elected persons will end up being corrupt, self serving, greedy scumbags (which they inevitably will be) and it is my fault when they decide that there needs to be three square wooden bollards at every lock for no apparent reason (or am I too late on this one).

The very fact that someone wants to be voted into a position of power should prevent any of us from voting for them and should prevent society from allowing any of them to stand for candidacy.

But who would ever listen to me. I'm only another corrupt, self serving, greedy scumbag. Or am I.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well written. How about Alan Fincher? Over 17,000 posts on Canal World Forum in seven years (roughly 6 a day. Obviously he hasnt got a life and woe betide you if you have a Steve Hudson "Washer Josher" or a new boat. He is anti anything that is not an old boat.

Pete said...

I would agree from what Alan has written on the forums that he would be a decent choice. I am sure that there are others who just don't stand out.

Thank gawd I've only got a Liverpool boat.

Sarah said...

I've frequently disagreed with Dave Mayall on CWF but I'm not sure you're right about his love of rules. Yes, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the rules, and knows where tpo look to find out about them, which is very, very useful; but I never got the impression that he agreed with all of them or that he feels they should be enforced just because they are there. Rather, it seems to me, he is simply pointing out what BW have the power to do and how people shouldn't be surprised when they do it. As for your comments about Alan Fincher, they are very unfair. He himself owns a modern boat as well as a recently acquired old one, and I have never met anyone who is so at pains to 'live and let live' with people who don't share his tastes.