One thing i am sure of is Ray would keep a wide berth from people who "worship" him. I think he is very happy with the respect he has and the good messages he puts across.
He is a man on telly with skills knowledge and a philosophy we respect. Thats it. Are you surprised he doesn't turn up at meets? I wouldn't if i was him and i read some posts on here. Ray does not want to be worshipped, he is just the messenger( a good one.). It is the message that should be adhered to not the man himself.
If you were religious would you worship the priest or god?
If you are an avid football fan would you put the commentator above the game?
Of course you wouldn't.
It seems we have a few distinct camps on this forum.
(1) One which is into bushcraft for bushcraft itself, but respects ray for carrying their view to others and can learn from him.
(2) One which is into ray and is involved in bushcraft because their hero is, but weren't before
(3) Lastly, There are people who are not into bushcraft per se, but who do other activities which involve certain elements of bushcraft and enjoy the chatter and knowledge of the forum.
So Group number 1 is the people you can learn the most from.Especially things not been on rays show
Number 2 are the people you get the most grief from, and can get advice from regarding what ray has said and done or where he has been or where he is going
Group number 3 are the people who maybe look for a little advice regarding bushcraft, and are the people to ask relating to other activities.
At the end of the day, does it even matter who thinks what of who? We are neither ray nor bear or any other bugger but ourselves.
So for any of you who put ray on a pedestal...... get a grip, he is a man like any other man and has his faults, if you want to worship something, buy a bible
For those who slag bear off, get a grip and learn something about the man. When you can genuinely say i did that too, then you can qualify a slating
And for those who give other forum members grief because their view is different, get a grip. What bloody difference does it make if someone thinks different things to you? Vartiety is the spice of life and the forum would be a boring place if everyone held the same view on everything. Things would be discussed once and never again.
Ray, Bear, Mors, Stroud are all just messengers banging on about the same kind of thing. Yet on here some are good some are bad and all can start heated debates.
WHY????????????????????????????????????????????? You argue over a voice nothing more.