The Politics of Amateur Radio in Australia - does it affect our image?

You read the headline. 

Chances are if you're already licensed, you probably know what I'm referring to. Hell, I knew about it months before I got my license. 

For what it's worth; healthy debate and differences of opinion are signs of a mature hobby. It usually means that the people are passionate enough about it to have an opinion, and many will choose a side of the fence. And you know what? That's OK.

Those who have a bee in their bonnet will more likely have jumped to the "greener" side of the fence once said bee took up residence - they're quite simply not happy about something. Much like complaining customers in retail - the happy customers are generally quiet, the unhappy ones will complain loudly and often to anyone who'll listen. This doesn't make them "wrong" - it's just a thing that happens when people are cranky about something that they perceive is "wrong", "unjust" or otherwise doesn't satisfy them. 

For those who so far have no clue what I'm talking about, I'm not going to be terribly specific. I don't actually care to buy into the whole thing. It's just a simple case of one, old, and well respected organisation in amateur radio doesn't always do what everyone wants, and a new "online" organisation has come up in opposition. Both have their merits, both occasionally make good points, and both have the capability of doing good things for the hobby. 

The problem quite simply is that a small number of those who've made it very clear which side of the fence they are on, tend to become a little too passionate in public forums - such as the various Facebook HAM radio groups about their gripes with the opposing organisation, and the discussions tend to go down hill after that. 

Again - differences of opinion are healthy and signs of maturity. Once people start making it a bit personal, and entire posts about legitimate subjects get completely derailed as the exceptionally loud minority go into battle, the behaviour being reflected is far closer to that of teenage boys arguing over which Marvel or DC character is better.  

Amateur Radio tries to present to the world an image of intelligence - a technical hobby in pursuit of understanding and experimentation. One that requires a level of effort to get in to. One that requires a level of study and understanding to progress through. One that requires licensing.  One that is well above it's drunken, foul mouthed little brother, the CB radio community, where rules are more suggestions, and the entrance level is obtaining a radio by purchase, theft or any other means.

Entering into this hobby - one that seems to present a fairly uniform image of itself and what it is in pursuit of though, one starts to see the discord, the snide remarks, then finally sees some of the schoolyard-esque behaviour coming from some highly experienced operators. That absolutely adds tarnish to the hobby. 

For someone like myself, I'm considered to be an old cranky bastard, bitter and twisted from too many years of doing things I didn't enjoy doing despite still needing to work for another 27 odd years, so I don't care that much. I'm a big boy. I swear too much, and can string together entire combinations of 4 lettered words that would make even the most obnoxious CB'er offended - and that's without having to think about it. I grew up in the bush. I shot things. I rode bikes. I took a lot of crap from the other kids because I was born in a city, and to them I was still a city kid. I learned to harden up pretty bloody quickly.   

What about the younger generations? The well behaved, academically oriented types who haven't yet been made bitter and twisted by life who don't yet know how to deal with that kind of behaviour?  This "battle" going on seems to draw people in for having an opinion, and I've heard people mention that they've been abused for suggesting one over the other.  What happens when that's done to a 15 year old who does their homework when they get home, goes to bed on time, and still goes to church on Sunday? What image does the community portray then? 

It's alright for the battle hardened; we know how to deal with, defend, attack and ignore the loudmouths. We even find it entertaining.. I do. 

The younger generations now are different than we are; in their socially oriented lives they seem to have new struggles than those we had. They certainly don't seem to have some of the coping skills that the older generations have. We don't really understand the differences between us and them. These younger generations now get to decide their own gender, their own preferences - something to the older generations was quite simply a given - what was between your legs generally relieved you of any confusion. Something that to most of us wasn't some big drawn out drama, is now not only a real possibility, but one this modern world expects us to entertain and accommodate regardless of how we feel about it.

We need to be mindful that these younger generations - something many of us now think of as the "snowflake" generation - are an unknown. We don't know what their coping mechanisms are like. We don't know how resilient they are. Things that were simple givens to us are now things they're taught are fluid and become major issues of intense concern for them. 

Why do "snowflakes" matter? It's quite simple. In case you've forgotten, they're the next generation that needs to carry on this hobby. Whilst we can certainly teach them some things that might help them become stronger, smarter and more resilient people, we need to attract them first rather than scare them off.

The difference of opinion is healthy. The behaviour of a small number of people in this hobby is not. Perhaps it's time we tone it down a bit?