Is S.F. REALLY proposing to ban Blue Angels ??? WTF????.nt

[clarice]

[Shrike47]

1. No. One supervisor proposed a ban on flying over the city, requiring them to stay over the bay.

[clarice]

2. Thank you !!!!!! whew (wipes forehead)nt

[Ptah]

3. Looks like one member of the board of supervisors is:

A San Francisco lawmaker has had enough of the Blue Angels ‘strafing’ his city

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/06/06/a-san-francisco-lawmaker-has-had-enough-of-the-blue-angels-strafing-his-city/

A San Francisco lawmaker has revived a proposal following the crash of a Blue Angels jet last week: It’s time, he said, to ban the renowned Navy squadron from flying over his city.

John Avalos, a member of the board of supervisors, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the jets are a threat to safety and should not be allowed to fly over occupied areas. Rather, he said, they should be kept over San Francisco Bay, where sea vessels typically congregate for Blue Angels performances.

[clarice]

5. I can't help but wonder if that is the REAL reason? Or could it be politically motivated?

[Gormy Cuss]

16. It's the real reason. He proposed it after the crash.

The Blue Angels show here is already mostly over the bay with a few passes over the city in order to fly over the crowds. The show would still be spectacular without the city flyovers.

[Xithras]

18. Of course there's some politics in it.

Remember, 10 years ago San Francisco passed up on the opportunity to become the permanent home of the U.S.S. Iowa, the last available American battleship. The Navy was ready to hand the ship over without any debate, when the city rejected it. The reason the city leaders gave wasn't budget, or traffic, or any other mundane rationalization. They were quite blunt about rejecting the abject militarism that the ship represented.

There's a large, vocal subset of the San Francisco population that rejects all things military...and they VOTE. When issues like this come up, it's a given that they're involved, or that their opinions have been given heavy consideration.

It's likely that the new proposal is actually a compromise. Most of the anti-military crowd in SF wants Fleet Week to be completely banned. Restricting the airshow to the bay offers a concession to those who want it gone completely, while keeping it available for the even larger percentage of the population that supports it.

[clarice]

26. VERY informative... Thanks so much.nt

[Glassunion]

24. Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full...

[still_one]

4. The arguments that are used is that it poses unecessary risk in large populated areas if something

goes wrong.

The arguments for it are that it provides a showcase for the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy, and that by San Francisco being the host, it helps attract business

[clarice]

6. I would think that it would be an honor for ANY city.nt

[jberryhill]

7. I doubt Pyongyang would agree

[clarice]

10. Who cares?nt

[still_one]

8. Of course it is, and San Francisco has always had a good relationship with the Navy

I was just speculating on possible reasons why they would not want it, and the first thing that came to my mind was potential safety issues

[packman]

9. I'll catch hell for it - but, I agree

It serves no purpose, is expensive, dangerous to the pilots and those on the ground. I say this as a Florida resident who has had them fly many times overhead training for their - let's face it - recruitment drives.

There have been several collusions and deaths over the years all due to satisfy some need for the public to see highly trained pilots perform high-speed stunts like trained monkeys in expensive powerful machines.

Following the logic if it inspires a national pride, let's have the Marine Special Sniping Corp perform shooting cigarettes out of each other's mouths at 100 paces .

[Mika]

14. Glorify the death machines that steal budgets from schools & infrastructure...

Rah rah USA USA USA. Death and misery to all who oppose.

[gratuitous]

19. Of course you'll catch hell for it

You're bad-mouthing our national religion.

[smirkymonkey]

20. I, for one, agree with you.

They used to terrify me when I lived in SF. Also, I can't stand the noise. I really don't understand the attraction, but then again I can't stand airplanes or loud machines.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. If the Blue Angels are strafing S.F., then they should stop that.

Strafing is not nice.

I enjoyed watching the Air Force practice for flyovers at Comerica Park (Tiger baseball stadium). The planes flew way south, over Ontario, then turned north, flying low over Windsor, across the river, and over downtown Detroit. The building I worked in would shake from the exhaust noise.

I don't know how the good people of Windsor felt about the noise.

[TipTok]

12. If it's not an A-10... They should be fine.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. I don't know if there's a carrier-capable version of the A-10.

The Navy has a sort of fetish about tail-hooks.

[TipTok]

23. Suppose so...

Doesn't apply to most Navy types but as an Army guy I will always love the A 10.

The happiest sound you'll ever hear in a fucked up fire fight is BRRRRRRRTTTT.

[lame54]

15. They had to hock the planes to afford the rent

[FLPanhandle]

17. I guess they also consider airliners flying into/out of SFO as too dangerous too.

Since airliners have many times crashed into cities. Air performance teams...zero.

It's more stupid human behavior.

[L. Coyote]

21. Great idea. Get rid of them entirely, save the earth one polluting jet at a time,

or as many as possible at a time, all the better.

There is no greater threat to humanity than the amount of fossil fuel used by the US military. End it already. Park the jets, dock the carriers, turn of the Hummers.

Make the world safe for people, end pollution.

[clarice]

27. Tell that to the politicians/celebrities with private jets. nt

[Kingofalldems]

22. Good try.

No outrage at DU today though.

[Pastiche423]

25. Good!

I hated fleet week when they began to practice days before the event. At home it would rattle my windows and my nerves. At work I could see the faces on the pilots from my office in a high rise - totally distracting from work.

I never got why they were liked. They wasted fuel, fucked up the environment and scared dogs and small children from the peninsula to Marin County.