Two things truly amaze me:
- ... that anyone (such as Jack Axaopoulos or Davis Straub) would have the audacity to tell full grown men what names they can't use ("Bob" or "Scott") and what web sites they can't reference ("ushawks.org" or "ushgrs.org").
- ... that full grown men would actually obey them and patronize their web sites under those conditions.
Of the two, the second is more amazing ... and it enables the first.
It's also important to remember that
all censorship arises from fear. Jack, Davis, and USHPA fear the power of the truth, and that's why they go to such extremes in creating their own little "iron curtains" to keep "their people" in the dark.
They fear phrases like "recreational use statutes", "FAR Part 103", "PDMC", "due process", "transparency in accident reporting", "fair review of bans", and "open voting records". It's their fear that causes such irrational behavior (such as expelling people for testifying in court, and banning people for mentioning other pilots).
Fear is a powerful force and it often leads to panic. That's what we're witnessing as USHPA implodes and as participation continues to drop on the other "major" forums.