Comments on Blue Angels: Bring 'Em On!

Couldn't agree more. Woo hoo Blue Angels!

I beat Mr. Poe to the first comment spot.

Did he die or something?

Finally a voice of reason. All of this kvetching over the Blue Angels in Seattle is really quite pathetic. Some people like it, so why not just let it be? Leave town if you want peace and quiet.

I still hate them for reason #1. They aren't just loud, they're like a bomb going off. And that doesn't make me happy at all. It truly makes me feel like we're in air raid mode. I've never been through war, but now I get to hear what it might be like every summer!

I don't hate them enough to write to my legislator or anything (there are more important things to worry about), but I still don't have to like them. It's not the least bit 'exciting' and fills me with dread every time I hear them. I'm not organized enough to go out of town every time they come by so I'll just be annoyed. How nice.

Urgent to ECB: someone hijacked your name and is using it to post on SLOG!

I bet they are anti-bike too!

Goodness gracious, Erica, I never would have guessed this was written by you! Well done.

You know, Erica, I agree.

But it would be nice if we could replace their outmoded engines with the new ones that use half the fuel to do the same thing.

Especially (wink) since I own 600 shares of GE and would love to get more dividends.

Just sayin'.

You're from Texas, huh? Figures. I guess we can thank people like you for five days of traffic snarls and ungodly racket for the benefit of a bunch of drunken yahoos on boats.

If you love the sound of airplanes so much, drive to fucking SeaTac and park in the landing path. (All the other noises you complain about, oddly enough, are performing useful services for someone.)

I'm sorry, but screw all ya'll. How the hell can you be anti-war or pro-environment and support the Angels? It makes no sense. The very hypocrisy of the sentiment makes me puke.

Your numbers are a little out of perspective.

The Blue Angels use 3 million gallons of fuel per year, while the commercial airline industry uses 20 billion gallons of fuel per year. What you don't mention is that there are about 30,000 commercial airline flights per day in the United States.

This averages out to about 1826 gallons of fuel per commercial flight. I'm not sure about the average number of people on any given flight, but let's say it's 150. That's just over 12 gallons of fuel per person per flight.

Meanwhile, the Blue Angels consume 8219 gallons of fuel per day. There are six of them, which is over 1300 gallons per pilot per day.

ECB,

Sometimes I take exception to your posts, but on this issue you nailed it. On any given day, there are a thousand things going on that are more annoying, war-mongering, dangerous, and money-wasting than the Blue Angels.

When you get something right, you really get it right.

this post is complete and utter bullshit.

talk about a tool of the patriarchy.

All true, ECB. But, the Blue Angels are still douche-tastic, and I loathe them.

Fuck Texas.

ECB, I used to feel the way you do until I went to watch the Angels in '03, after the war started. I couldn't help but think how many people that sound has sent into mortal terror - reasonably, that is, I don't mean folks in their apartments in Seattle - and that pretty much quashed the fun for me. But hey, Seattle's really just a regular American town in progressive drag, so grab the pork skins and go for it.

I TOTALLY AGREE!!!! I LOVE THE BLUE ANGELS!!!

Your responses to Criticisms 1, 4, and 5 are false analogies. Arguing that there are worse examples of --whatever--, therefore this particular example isn't a big deal is just stupid.

The major point is that the Blue Angels are UNNECESSARY. Recycling trucks? Necessary (or at least a good idea that benefits many). Commercial air travel? Necessary as well, unless you want to complete rework our society and economy.

As for numbers 2 and 3.. Well, it does strike me as a bit unsettling how people get all gooey over these killing machines--and that's what they are. They're NOT just planes, they're fighters. It's right along the lines of those big parades in Red Square, and that shit makes me queasy.

I have no particular problem with the recruitment aspect, really. It's false advertising to be sure (military service isn't that much fun), but everything is false advertising. If you join the military, that's your choice.

And really, judging from the tone of many of your posts against issues that are personal to you, this whole thing is just weird coming from you. It's a lame, cop-out justification for something that goes against many (if not nearly all) of your very public principles, just because you think it's "awesome."

Pretty shitty.

meow meow meow meow meow meow!

xoxoxo ECB!!!

I hate the Blue Angels because of the noise (which is way worse than regular planes - worse than fireworks IMO because it goes on for days when you include the practices) but accept them as part of a tradition here than lots of people enjoys. But this post just one big rationalization for liking something that contradicts your usual politics. I'd respect it more if ECB stopped after the first sentence.

Brilliantly argued. I'll just shut the hell up about all the recycling trucks and ferry horns that set off car alarms all over the goddamn city.

ECB, well said!

Yup @4, I don't think you have a clue what it sounds or feels like to be where bombs are going off.

(And no, I'm not claiming to know myself.  I've just had enough of a hint to know that an F-18 flying by doesn't nearly capture it.)

I don't live anywhere near Seattle but have been enjoying bits and pieces of this blog anyway. I had no idea about the Blue Angles business until I checked in briefly today. I have to say, if the attitude of the commenters is representative of the city (although I'm sure it's not) then I'm glad I don't live anywhere near Seattle! What a bunch of pansies you are! The planes will not cause hearing damage, do not appreciably increase your risk of dying, and cost a miniscule amount of money and environmental damage in the grand scheme of things. You can enjoy shows which represent bad things like war, or do you never go to any movie that's not rated G? Get a grip!

agree with #20.. if you like them, ECB, fine.. but have the guts to admit that you like them despite yourself instead of lamely trying to rationalize your hypocrisy away.

ECB calling people who want them gone "whiners" is just priceless.

23--Great, let us know where you live and maybe we can petition to have 'em buzz 50 feet over your house all day for a week so you can enjoy the fun too! REDNEXXXX 4EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DON'T FORGET:

The I-90 bridge is closed for hours for a few days in a row while they practice.

I'd be pissed if I drove that.

@25

I live just across the river from Washington, DC. Due to my location near the airport and military bases, I get quite a lot of overhead air traffic, whether it's commercial airliners, helicopters both military and civilian, or fighter jets. I have lived in cities where the Blue Angels flew and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

For the record, I'm a city-dwelling professional programmer who owns a fuel-efficient car, has a fuel-efficient aviation hobby (gliders) and is generally left-leaning on issues where left-leaning doesn't translate to "total pansy", nothing like a redneck. And also for the record, they're not buzzing your house at 50 feet.

It's ok to like them but don't debase yourself with these stupid rationalizations.

I loathe them, and don't I need any fancy reasons to feel that way.

All I need to do is look at the traffic map right now to be reminded why I want the blue angels would go away. The money spent on these would be better spent on monorails and failing bridges.

those who complain, we live on duwamish land. i was watching the blue angels from the municipal tower and looking at the radically altered landscape brought on by American settlement. you say you hate the system but yet you live so comfortably in it.

however, i do love the blue angels. its a good show. my dad was in the army, it paid for him to go to college. i don't agree with this war or alot of the militaristc industry but service is the ticket up for a lot of families of color and low income.

Oh Erica. We were made for each other. Let us run away together and celebrate our forbidden love while mocking people who slow down our bus rides through using the damn lifts.

@27: Ah, so you live in a non-"pansy" city a few thousand miles from here, thus have no clue what effect these bozos have on the already-horrific traffic in this town. Way to shoot off your mouth on a subject you know jack about! I'll be sure to take your comments more seriously from now on.

We could have all saved valuable time by just reposting all of last years posts/comments on this subject since nothing new is being said on either side of the argument.

Don't like the Blue Angels? You still have time to get to Italy...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6928384.stm

I say board your own plane and head over there. ;)

I don't dislike them, but jets have never really done anything for me. When it comes to airplane noise, I'd rather hear a big Wright Cyclone radial or Merlin V-12 than a GE-400 turbojet.

I used to live near an airport that had an active aviation museum, and hearing a B-17G thunder overhead and being buzzed by a P-51 are not experiences I'm likely to forget.

Amen, sister. A-men!

I am a die-hard lib, and I love me some Blue Angels. Yah, yah, yah, I get all the arguments, criticisms, etc. Whatever. They are a blast to see, and I will admit it: they make me pretty proud to be an American. Hokey as hell, I know.

Typical ECB Bullshit. Nothing to see here folks, move along...The Blue Angels are a pain in the ass on so many fronts...anybody know what the annual budget is for them and the T-Birds? Is it really true that we are unable to conjur up a better use for that cash (bridge repairs, perhaps???)?

@32

Yeah, I live in a non-pansy city, and I specifically said in my original post that I don't think Seattle is one either, only that the demographics of the commenters of this blog are extremely skewed towards the "pansy" end of the scale.

As for traffic, well, around DC traffic sucks and then you die, and I'm sure the same is true of Seattle. I'm also sure the Blue Angles aren't the only, or even the most significant event to happen each year which causes traffic problems. And most of the complaints on this blog have not been about traffic, but totally idiotic things. If you want to complain about them because of the traffic then be my guest, but it's hardly something deserving of hate.

The Blue Angels annual display represents, to me, what it might be like to spend a few hours in hell.

NASCAR is big and loud. Guess it's awesome, too.

I'm with ECB on this one. These are master pilots flying as one with their planes. It's a pinnacle of the marriage of man and machine, and makes me swell with wonder when I see them.

AND they're loud, annoying, fuck up traffic, pollute, encourage a militaristic mindset for our country, and make me feel like I'm under attack. And I have to work on the Eastside and don't get to see them practice.

Seattle, your predictible complaining is hurting my ears. Be quiet, I'm trying to enjoy the Blue Angels.

While folks here get all trembly over a squad of Navy assholes dragging their dicks across the sky, perhaps they should also consider how their enthusiasm helps to promote the mindless "might makes right" militarism that makes the USA so widely hated around the world.

I understand the points against, wouldn't whine if they were stopped, but am going to appreciate them while I can.

I was feeling a little guilty about enjoying them. Thanks for pushing me out of the closet ECB!

1. All of the things you mention in retort have actual benefits to either society or the earth, as opposed to simply being a way to show everyone how easily our military might can basically PWN you.
2. No, but it sure does cause the pro-war nutjobs to feel emboldened.
3. It's called, you know, promotional advertising. Like, say, an insurance company buying the naming rights to a street festival.
4. Yeah, except the Blue Angels do much more dangerous shit than Horizon Air.
5. If they quit maintaining the planes, training the cherry-picked airmen, and burning gas, maybe they could do something useful with the money. Even if it were diverted to buying the troops decent body armor or bomb-resistant vehicles, it'd be a better use of money.

And they're not just loud, they're louder than *anything else* around, esp. when they buzz the ID. "WTF was that!? A flight going down right on top of us?"

Slowly, Erica, very slowly, you're turning to the dark side...

It begins slowly, with redneck delights like Frito-Pie and The Blue Angels... But all too soon, you'll be complaining about taxes, the lack of religion in schools, and those damn Democrats, ALL WHILE WATCHING NASCAR!!

MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Really bullshit rationalizations. I can imagine the scorn you'd heap on the mayor if he had said that.

What a hypocrite.

Wonder how many ads got served up by everyone getting riled up on this post? The $tranger--you guys are a bunch of geniuses!

If you don't like the Blue Angels, you can complain to a number of places. The standard line they usually give is that nobody seems not to like the Blue Angels. Change that. Here are some of the things you can do (from Capitol Hill Seattle):

HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF HEARD

* Contact the mayor's office and city council so they can record your opinion.
* Call the Seafair board at (206) 728-0123
* Call the FAA regarding low flying aircraft at 425-227-1389

i fucking agreed with erica's post. the whole thing. i don't know what to do with myself.

After having read through these posts, I now understand why Seattle's transportation infrastructure planning remains mired in 1940's thinking. I presume the same type of elevated "progressive" thinking (e.g. equating enjoying the Blue Angels - or NASCAR, for that matter -- with being a redneck; blind rejection of anything associated with the military and or the "military complex"; categorical rejection of the original post for being part of the "patriarchy") seen in this comment thread is also the same "elevated" thinking applied to our transportation conundrum.

In any event - well whined, Seattle. I for one will marvel at the aviation triumph that is the Blue Angels while enjoying beers with my friends on a very large boat come Saturday. And if you think I'm being deliberately ironic, I'm not and it feels great.

Erica, we actually agree on something!

You forgot they fuck up my commuteby shutting down roads.

I already have to deal with my bus being an hour late everytime there is a damn Mariners game.

Bah fucking humbug!

Hope you'll drive there in your Hummer! I mean, if you're going to revel in being ignorant, go all out. P.S. Bet the traffic moves great out in your suburb--if not, I'd advise a move so you don't get liberal cooties.

Good one TSBTBA! I hope the Blue Angels don't bomb you, and crash into the Monorail.

55-->Addressed to @52

I would draw a big line between general whining about the Blue Angels (which is like arguing whether or not a movie sucks), and actual calls to discourage or prevent them from ever returning.

It's not that you have to like the Blue Angels, it's a matter of taste; it's just snobbish and elitist to try to ban other people's activities simply because you don't like them.

(1) Why do I have to put up with the disruption of this unnecessary exercise?

Because our city occasionally shuts down part of it infrastructure for things that bring enjoyment to a lot of people. Bumbershoot, Mariners games, and the gay pride parades all fuck up the traffic too, and aren't "necessary", but the same principle applies.

(2) Why are my tax dollars spent on a fancy airshows?

Because the Navy has a recruiting budget. If not spent on this, it would be spent on some TV commercial during the Super Bowl, and it's entirely proper that it should be.

If you don't think the Navy should actually recruit people, you're pretty far into dreamland.

(3) But think of the wasted fuel!

Are we going to ban all entertainment activities that waste energy? Really?

"I couldn't help but think how many people that sound has sent into mortal terror - reasonably, that is, I don't mean folks in their apartments in Seattle - and that pretty much quashed the fun for me."

Grant Cogswell @ 15,

I couldn't agree more. Those screeching jet engines have been a prelude to the deaths of thousands of innocent people that our military has terrorized all over the world. Sick, sick, sick.

Hey ECB,

Since you're from Texas, the F*^k You State, can we see a loving post about your gun?

Are you ah-scared of the Super Devil?

THis is my favorite anual debate!

ECB, after this post i have only one thing to say to you... Marry me?

@58

Ummm, yah... last time I checked, the Gay Pride parade doesn't shut down traffic on the freeway for a fucking week, and if a float crashes, the extent of the damage is a queen running down the street with a broken heel.

Amen to this post. Also, MHD even managed to come up with better arguments than ECB. Sometimes we liberals abuse our use of logic to rationalize things we subjectively find distasteful, rather than the other way around. Hence the hilarity of the "Ask an Uptight Seattleite"

@58 and @61--I think @58 makes some useful points, and @61 gets the biggest of my objections. You want to run this racket all Seafair weekend, be my guest. Just don't hold all the folks who are trying to get home from (or to) work for your entertainment. Seems fairer all around.

MDM13 - I hear ya, but there aren't really a ton of people going to or from work when the BA's fly. And Seafair happens every year. It's not a surprise. There's time to modify the schedule.

My company chartered a big Argosy boat today and took several hundred of us employees out onto Lake Washington just to watch the Blue Angels today. It was AWESOME! (A bit hot, but AWESOME!)

Not one person complained.

You Angels haters are likely just jealous.

ECB = STUDLY BROAD

To get a sense of the true spirit of the Angels and Seafair, read this simple request. Sure, Texaco was told no, no, no so they had to change the paperwork. But you get the idea.

Forget Clinton/Obama- I'm now officially for a Clinton/ECB ticket! Probably not old enough to be Veep, alas.

Those screeching jet engines have been a prelude to the deaths of thousands of innocent people...

Two problems here. First, drunken revelry has been prelude to the deaths of thousands of innocent people hit by drunk drivers, every inch as morally reprehensible as the Iraq war but with even more direct moral agency.  Anyone here in a hurry to ban beer or bars from Seattle?

Second, the sound of the jets generally arrives after the bombs.

Have I mentioned how tiresome it is to see people whine about Seattle sounding like a war zone who obviously have no clue what a war zone sounds like?

Disclaimer: I don't claim that I do know what a war zone sounds like. Just that I've had enough of a hint to know that an F-18 flying by isn't close.

I don't like the Blue Angels because it's stupid entertainment for most dumb people who get their hard ons through loud obnoxious technology designed to kill. It's like a really expensive gun show basically. Military technology is fine and well, but it's not entertaining to me. It's basically fireworks for crackers as far as I'm concerned.

Most should read mostly.

ECB, I fucking love you. While driving from Issaquah to Seattle via 405 and Rainier Ave today, I had my windows down, listened to Sir Mix-A-Lot, and gawked at the Blue Angels like everyone else on the road. It was rad and finally felt like summer.

I know that the Blue Angels are a recruiting tool of "the man", etc etc etc, but I've watched them my whole life and have yet to go sign up for the military. However, I will continue to use public transit most of the time, recycle, and vote lefty. But goddammit, sometimes I just want to see some big-ass, loud-ass planes go really fast.

The #1 FAQ on the BA site: enhanced recruiting tools.

I just want to add to the instrument of death thread, but not so much as to ban the bomb, but to point out that those sounds are actually good sounds. When they are followed by a series of rapid explosions? a person really needs to take a serious interest. But, as Americans and the BA being USNAVY and all, even with explosions and you’re fairly sure you aren’t exploding, then I guess those will be friendly explosions, just like on the Fourth of July. Rockets red glare. Your Friends. The elite of the elite. The Blue Angels.

Ambassadors of good will.

Watching them over Elliot Bay, waiting for the hard bank screech and the inevitable office windows to rattle, and have you seen the papers these days, I started to contemplate on patriotism in aught eight.

Really made me appreciate the din of ambulances and sirens when the the windows stopped rattling.

"I'm glad we got invited to their boat party today. Don't you think it’s a good thing to see our military doing something other than bombing the shit out of Middle Eastern countries?"

"Totally! Hurry up with the fritos Erica, the commercial's almost over. You really should see the 20 second news blurb of the Iraq shit bombing."

"No worries, there's going to be a full hour special report later on 60 minutes."

"Oh I can't stay alert for that long. Doing Jim Beam shots every time the Angels did a cool trick wore me out. Wasn't that totally rad?"

"It was ME who told YOU, DUMBSHIT!"

Post-Party, you have a future as a humorist. Seriously. You do.

My apologies #76, The New Yorker I got today must have been the influence.

ROTFLMAO!!

"Two problems here. First, drunken revelry has been prelude to the deaths of thousands of innocent people hit by drunk drivers, every inch as morally reprehensible as the Iraq war but with even more direct moral agency. Anyone here in a hurry to ban beer or bars from Seattle?"

lostboy @ 69

A) An analogy comparing recreational inebriation and the brutal, mechanized deaths of innocent men, women and children is so cold and specious that there's no point in rebuttal

and

B) Ever heard of these things called "designated drivers" or "taking a cab?"

I've lived here for over twenty years and have yet to watch the blue angels. This is not necessarily because they suck but because I stopped pointing up to the sky and yelling "airplane" when I was five years old.
I bet you like shiny things also, don't you.

[C]omparing recreational inebriation and the brutal, mechanized deaths of innocent men, women and children is so cold and specious that there's no point in rebuttal

Actually, I was comparing the sound of "recreational inebriation" to the sound of jet engines and making the point that both are relatively innocuous.

"[T]he brutal, mechanized deaths of innocent men, women and children," on the other hand, is a description that might apply as well to a drunk driving hit-and-run as to an air strike with civilian victims, except that a drunk driver's victims are pretty much always innocent.

I'd invite your rebuttal now that that's clarified, but we're getting a bit off the topic of the Blue Angels over Seattle.  Leave a pointer to the forums if you're really still interested.

Lostboy - "Second, the sound of the jets generally arrives after the bombs."

So the sound of a jet screaming over your head is good news cause it means the bombs didn't kill you. Gee I like the BAs even more. Now I know that it is actually a soothing sound to orphans around the world.

Oh yeah I forgot. Lostboy - "Disclaimer: I don't claim that I do know what a war zone sounds like. Just that I've had enough of a hint to know that an F-18 flying by isn't close."

What an idiot.

I just hope on of the fuckers crashes into some homes again so I can laugh at it all like last time. Remember when that happened? Man, I had a smile on my face and a tent in my pants for like two weeks.

"It happens rarely enough that haven’t banned commercial planes from flying, and most of them even make it to their destinations."

So...yeah. 83 comments so far with no mention. You going to fix this?

Jets loud...huh, huh, huh...cool....loud jets...huh, huh, huh...they're like, huh, huh, huh...so...cool....huh, huh, huh. (Fart)

well i'm not too fond of these guys, myself, i mean look at the company they keep/the organization they are part of... if one were to look at their awards and commendations you would likely see southwest asia service stars with clusters, for sevice in "combat" in support of "operation iraqi freedom", same goes for their ground support, and hell even their upper chain of command...all because you know, ya gotta get your notches in...thats how it works with these guys, forget the fact you are dropping live ammo on live "targets" ; for a successful career those ribbons mean everything. 'cause you never know when another war may "happen"; so it's get it while you can boys....

so for us they are the elite, the cream of the rotten crop, but all that other stuff, forget that, look at how precise and powerful and "KICK ASS AWESOME" they are.

so if ya'all like 'em fine, whateves..do so, but remember they not only represent misery and oppression and slaughter of civilians, they probably had a part in it to further their own careers....

baby jesus out.

I kind of like the loud noise and I like shutting down the freeway, but the Blue Angels are dumb as fuck. Get that shit out of Seattle. Go fly over Marysville.

The only way you guys are going to get the Blue Angels shut down is if you get enough new condo owners to write to the city to complain about the noise.

I think there should be a council meeting to require the jet planes to apply for special Jet Maneuvering Licenses, so we can be sure they are compliant to the new condo communities. This is how you'll get the city of Seattle to listen.

Why don't they just fly over Elliot Bay like they did in 96? You don't have to shut down I-90 then.

And you guys are letting ECB off lightly. "All of you commuters have to change your entire lives because global warming is important, but how DARE you complain about me enjoying watching airplanes fly around for a day?"

Amen, Erica!! I live downtown and I am a Lib, yet, for one weekend a year, I pull out the Miss O Boy Oberto tank, drink my Ranier beer and hoot and hollar for those Angels!! God bless America!!!

yet another reason to dislike erika...

sign me....

h birch steen's gay nephew and log cabin republican,

gaylord q steen

I don't enjoy them, but I don't care if they stay. They shouldn't fly so damn low though. If they went up a thousand feet, the noise would be more tolerable and the people who miss it could listen in on headphones, like a drive-in movie.

Okay, here's why I don't like the Blue Angels. They make this incredibly loud noise, but then I can't actually SEE them. (Occasionally, I just scream lamely up at the sky, "SHOW YOURSELF!") There's just a bunch of noise and no pay off. I'm too lazy to go to some viewing place; I just want to see the thing that's making the big noise near my head.

Erica, please feel free to move BACK to Texas. And by all means, take the Blue Angels with you.

Well there you have it folks, ECB's true colours. Tool of the patriarchy indeed.

ECB just shredded all of her cred.

Das Angels Bleu discriminates against woymen of color AND of size.

I call for a general strike and a day of solidarity. Meet at the Federal Building at 9am!

I am from Vancouver BC and I drive to Seattle to watch the Blue Angels each and every year--woohoo what a rush it is. I want my son to be a pilot one day too. And yes I waste about 20 gallons going and coming --add that to the environment. Somethings are meant to be enjoyed just like Beer aint healthy but it's darn good :) and Thank heavens for Blue Angels and thanks for coming to the Northwest.

to whoever posted comment #83, i really hope you die a fiery, horribly painful death. you are an evil fucker who deserves to die for sayin something like that. i hope you rot in hell, really, I do.

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