Well, I never said that my answer -- to go despite the danger -- was the One Correct Answer. Only that it's my answer.
"It's too dangerous for me" is a perfectly reasonable answer. And there are plenty of much safer things that I would not do. My answer of, "I'd go," is not because I don't think it's dangerous, or because I laugh at danger ... it's because I want to go to space that badly. Because for me, that desire, the painful stab of envy I felt when I saw photos of the first untethered spacewalk, the longing when I hear astronauts talk about being up there, is that strong.
I'd still be scared. For me, it'd be worth it anyhow. Though dying on the way up, like Challenger, would suck a whole lot worse than dying on the way home, like Columbia. If it's going to kill me, please let me at least experience being Up There before it does. (Not that one gets one's choice.)
You can want it pretty badly and still fall short of the "go for fun or for science despite the danger" threshold. I'll surely not call anyone a coward for that.
Refuse to go out of fear when your going is the only thing that'll stop the alien menace from destroying Earth or when you're the only one who can save the lives of everyone on the L5 colony habitat, and it might occur to me to consider calling you a coward then. But I don't see either of those scenarios as being at all likely to come up. For the record, I won't call you a coward for not skydiving or not free-climbing, either. Nor for refusing to walk through certain neighbourhoods.
Personally, I can't do roller coasters. Ironic, isn't it? Roller coasters have a decent safety record (there've been spectacular failures, but what's the death-per-million-rides rate?) but I'm terrified on the wimpiest kiddie coaster. Phobic. (Though I can ride Space Mountain -- being in the dark, it doesn't "look like a roller coaster" to my phobia.) So who am I to disparage anyone else for deciding they'd rather not fly up to where there's no air by sitting on a barrel of fire?
That I'd jump at the chance to go to space says what it says about me, not what I think of anyone else.
That I'd jump at the chance to go to space says what it says about me, not what I think of anyone else.
I didn't think you were calling me a coward - I was saying that I felt like one! You aren't mean enough to ever say that about a person. I have to say, however, that having children really does change every single aspect of your life. I noticed this when I first got pregnant, and actually *stopped* myself from trying to push the Hubby (tm) out of the way of a moving truck. Instead, I stood on the sidewalk & screamed. Turned out the truck was moving more slowly than I thought, but the entire mental process & instincts were forever changed.
And I'm w/you on rollercoasters, but they *make* them so that they feel scary but aren't. Supposedly, people like to be scared when they're really safe. Yeah, sure, whatever. & Space Mountain is now rather tame by rollercoaster standards. Sigh.
Re: This is going to get me killed, but..
Re: This is going to get me killed, but..
"It's too dangerous for me" is a perfectly reasonable answer. And there are plenty of much safer things that I would not do. My answer of, "I'd go," is not because I don't think it's dangerous, or because I laugh at danger ... it's because I want to go to space that badly. Because for me, that desire, the painful stab of envy I felt when I saw photos of the first untethered spacewalk, the longing when I hear astronauts talk about being up there, is that strong.
I'd still be scared. For me, it'd be worth it anyhow. Though dying on the way up, like Challenger, would suck a whole lot worse than dying on the way home, like Columbia. If it's going to kill me, please let me at least experience being Up There before it does. (Not that one gets one's choice.)
You can want it pretty badly and still fall short of the "go for fun or for science despite the danger" threshold. I'll surely not call anyone a coward for that.
Refuse to go out of fear when your going is the only thing that'll stop the alien menace from destroying Earth or when you're the only one who can save the lives of everyone on the L5 colony habitat, and it might occur to me to consider calling you a coward then. But I don't see either of those scenarios as being at all likely to come up. For the record, I won't call you a coward for not skydiving or not free-climbing, either. Nor for refusing to walk through certain neighbourhoods.
Personally, I can't do roller coasters. Ironic, isn't it? Roller coasters have a decent safety record (there've been spectacular failures, but what's the death-per-million-rides rate?) but I'm terrified on the wimpiest kiddie coaster. Phobic. (Though I can ride Space Mountain -- being in the dark, it doesn't "look like a roller coaster" to my phobia.) So who am I to disparage anyone else for deciding they'd rather not fly up to where there's no air by sitting on a barrel of fire?
That I'd jump at the chance to go to space says what it says about me, not what I think of anyone else.
Re: This is going to get me killed, but..
I didn't think you were calling me a coward - I was saying that I felt like one! You aren't mean enough to ever say that about a person. I have to say, however, that having children really does change every single aspect of your life. I noticed this when I first got pregnant, and actually *stopped* myself from trying to push the Hubby (tm) out of the way of a moving truck. Instead, I stood on the sidewalk & screamed. Turned out the truck was moving more slowly than I thought, but the entire mental process & instincts were forever changed.
And I'm w/you on rollercoasters, but they *make* them so that they feel scary but aren't. Supposedly, people like to be scared when they're really safe. Yeah, sure, whatever. & Space Mountain is now rather tame by rollercoaster standards. Sigh.