ORIGINAL: Bob Mitchell
ORIGINAL: Stickbuilder
You mentioned several different disciplines that are operational within the ranks of Open Membership. You also mentioned the Parkies. Of all that you mentioned, an Open Member can participate in any or all of them, without discrimination. If, today, I want to fly my Ramrod 600, I can do so. If I want to fly my Shark 45, I can do so. If I want to fly an electric foamy, I can do so. If I want to fly one of my R/C Scale Waco's, I can do so. The PPP member can only do one of these. Guess which one.
Bill, you are the one that brought up the whole context of "your" hobby and "my" hobby. It's not a matter of what you CAN do it's a matter of what you DO do. Certainly you can choose to participate in every area of the hobby that AMA supports. However, if you DON'T, and I suspect that you don't, then there is little doubt that some fraction of your dues subsidizes/fronts some of those activities in which you choose not participate. And who knows......it might even be more than the buck fifty of your dues that went to offset PPP start-up costs this year. It's not a matter of how much an individual pays in dues, it's a matter of how those dues are apportioned when they are spent.
Now if you really think this through instead of doing your usual -this has to be wrong because Bob said it- thing, you'll realize that it's logically sound and real.
Your argument is flawed, simply because you are trying to divide the choices within the Open Membership. There is no division there. You can do what you wish. The other tier of membership cannot. It's that simple. No part of my money goes to an activity in which I cannot participate, other than within the PPP. It really is that simple. If you are an open member, you can fly indoor or giant, rubber to Turbine within the same membership envelope. Where you choose to light is your choice within the membership. You are not subsidizing anything within the Open Membership. You are free to participate as you see fit. It is all the same membership. There is no membership called R/C Open, or Control Line Open. There is just the Open member title. It's your choice. I'm sorry that you are not equipped to grasp the material that you read.
Bill, AMA 4720