In reply to Tyler:
> I think you have forgotten the name Franco Cookson really wants you to list, a poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who despite the naysayers and the those trying to put him down fought through to become one of the greats.
Currently it's looking like that's more or less true - except for I didn't "fight through to become one of the greats", I "fought and lost because apparently I wasn't related or introduced to the right people". The more this thread goes on, the more my point is proved. The unwillingness for the UK climbing community to accept anything detached from the norm is startling.
> It happens in everything, it was being discussed with regard to F1 on the radio last night. I guess the reasons are many fold but in some things it'll be connections (not so much in climbing which, these days, is more accessible than ever) but more importantly in attitude. If you are the off spring of someone who has reached a level in something you see that as normal and set sights higher, it applies to social mobility equally.
So you agree?
My whole argument is that people should stop making this so personal. I couldn't have been more low key when I was slandered. Ellis is slightly less low key, but people seem pretty eager to stick the knife in.
If we can keep it impersonal for a moment, it's a real issue in British climbing that people growing up without climbing connections find it so hard to be accepted in our community. Whether it's having the right advice or actually being introduced to people I don't know, but I feel we should all be a little bit kinder to one another - especially with those who are fairly new to it.