I'm surprised people have used this to jump on Bear that much and put him down...
It's an aspect of the prevalent 'knocking culture', John. It's a brutal process to watch, but I think it's just a way for some to find a 'harmless' why of expressing their frustrations at things in general. What's often missed by those who have released their pent-up tension is that they have victimised someone who they don't know, which is probably a whole lot safer than victimising someone they do know...Dr Freud leaves the room
...i...hold him in good regard as a human being.
We need a little more of this I feel
Hope you make a speedy recovery, by the way, John.
This must be a new definition of successful I've never heard before......Wait a bit.....Is this a Bear Grylls definition of successful?........It must be true......
I think if John substituted 'celebrity' for 'successful' he'd be pretty much 'on the money'.
I don't think anybody is being personal about him, he possibly (probably) is a nice guy. Comments I, and others, have made about him are about his TV persona and the (public) image he is trying to portray. I read his book "Facing up" and he came across as a genuinely nice guy, an adventurous, spiritual family man. This, I would guess, is probably more "him" than the pillock he portrays on his TV show.
I think the reason he has caused so much fuss, on this forum and "real" conversations, is that he sends a dangerous, silly message that extreme is good in the wilderness. A lot of people on the forum have experience or at least knowledge of various extreme sports and of being (well) outside a twenty minute ambulance response time, and can see the stupidity of his alleged actions, remember before the press "revelations" most people on here saw through the facade, what about people who don't and look up to him and try to copy his actions, which he was basically lieing about anyway!
Very balanced post. I like!
...And at the start of each episode Bear says "I will teach you how to survive in the wild".
Now tell me again how its not presented as a "How To" guide.
I stand corrected
All this seems to fit well in the general attitude in TV circles of misleading and misinforming the public ,...
I can smell the coming epidemic of 'ethics' in the air…or perhaps that's the optimist in me speaking
...Even with the news, I sometimes wonder if what I hear is "real" unbiased...
Reality is almost totally subjective, and because of this an 'unbiased' viewpoint is virtually impossible to achieve (because of the complexities of any given situation). Acknowledging the fact that reality largely doesn’t exist and is constructed by the individual is the first step to finding some sense of peace...Wow! I knew watching all those episodes of Kung Fu, in my youth, would come in useful one day!...Grasshopper leaves the room
...I'd much rather be spending my time oiling an axe handle than trying to get the external world to conform to my internal model of reality. It's so much more satisfying, and healthier.
I think it's a case of 'bums on seats' in the pursuit of a quick buck in the case of the TV producers or whoever put's these programmes together... Formulated as a fast and furious MTV stylee to attract some members of the younger generation who may have a limited attention span...
Bingo, Jed! It's all about marketing of product, both to a particular section of the domestic viewing public, and making product that will appeal to, and can be sold to overseas and global satellite broadcasters.
...But of course then you would read the small print and the insurance and the risk assessment and find your a part of an obvious hoax riding the bushcraft bandwagon...
Well, the BBC’s upcoming Ultimate Outdoor Season (WAGONS ROLL!?
) should provide ample opportunities for more ‘barbed’ comment. Personally, I’m looking forward to the occasional gem, rather than trashing individuals who I've never met, and who are probably very nice people, if one were to share a campfire with them
Paul.