I understand what you're saying, 'Chaser, but in any endeavor, be it a hobby or something more serious, such as an occupation, there are certain standards of integrity and behavior that separate the genuine professional from the dabbling charlatan. Most of us strive for the former and reject the latter. Simply saying that we should all be smart enough to see through the BS does not relieve us of the subjective-yet-very-real responsibility to work towards higher standards in all that we try to accomplish.
If these standards are acknowledged and practiced by the majority of those who choose to engage in a given hobby, profession or belief, it improves and enhances the experience of that hobby, profession or belief. And, for better or worse, it also requires us to identify and reject those elements that detract from and even bring harm to the activity(s) or belief(s) we engage in.
Is
Avi a part of the 'bad element' associated with watch collecting? From my standpoint the answer is yes. No, she's not 'evil', but I find her 'professional mendacity' to be every bit as embarrassing to the hobby as Shawn Wilsie, Michael Davis, Tim Temple and even Jim 'Jaws' Skelton because, like them, she's little more than a 'sales rep' who cares nothing for the genuine integrity most of us choose to embrace. Hey, it
is her right to earn a living, but that doesn't mean she's exempt from the criticism or ire of those who believe she is not meeting the very high standards that we as collectors (or WIS's) almost always set for ourselves.
I suppose I could be accused of being naive, at best, or, at worst, a snob, but the ground truth is that there are always better behaviors and standards that should be strived for. They are the natural outcroppings of the passion we feel for our rather strange, compelling 'little hobby.'
'Chaser, I have thoroughly enjoyed your insightful posts and discussions on this forum, and I firmly believe that you're no more a troll than I am. Which makes this particular statement strike me as being genuinely and depressingly cynical:
stormchaser wrote:"If the geeks fall for any bullshit spewed, I don't care. If a pair of boobs and a script sell watches, that's the American way. The company does well and people stay employed."
Really?
Really?
I would submit that, yes, it'll work that way for a
while, but in the final analysis, it bites
everyone in the ass and ultimately blemishes (and even
destroys, in some cases) the very passion that fuels this marvelous passtime of ours.
There. I'm finally
off that bloodydamned soapbox...many thanks for reading this overlong and somewhat rambling post. No insult or accusation was intended, but I figure you already know that.
'Mortuus is winchester, angels two-six, R-T-B,
OUT'
), all, but I didn't want anyone to think that my previously posted opinions about Avi were frivolous or not well-thought-out. The eyes and mind are wide open, as they've always been.
