If he was pulling drowning people out of the water I withdraw all my objections.
He still deserves the pitting for bailing with a beer cup. 
Actually, it IS apparent that Sean Penn is helping the professionals. He took a number of people out of the flood waters. I hardly think he threw professional rescue people out of the way to get a photo op. The citizens wouldn’t have been there doing rescues if the professionals were doing a good job. They were (and are) overwhelmed and NEED ALL THE HELP THEY CAN GET. The Red Cross is still asking for help. All kinds of help. He got up off his ass and did what the professionals DIDN’T do. He rescued a handful of people who wanted to be rescued.
As far as grandstanding goes, plenty of people have been handing out money and anything else that will help. He’s not alone in his efforts.
There is a proper way to do it. You have to actually DO it.
Psst. Kalhoun. Look up.
If you’re implying I need to follow my own advice, I have. With money and actions.
No, I’m implying you need to quit fighting after you’ve won. See my post above yours. To see it you would look up. Not literally, of course. Just higher on the page.
I’m thinking it might be that arrogance problem again. Aways right, always gotta have the last word … it’s yours!
Thanks! Always a pleasure. :rolleyes:
Question about the beer cup–did he have anything else on hand to bail with? Got any links to photos?
Presumably not.
You betcha. Scroll down to #10.
Thanks for the link.
In which case I’m wondering why people think it’s so ridiculous that he used the only tool he had aboard to do what needed to be done. Of course, one could make the case that if he were a competent boater he would have had something better to begin with. But the fact that he had to bail at all–being an amateur boater myself, I can attest that sometimes water gets into the boat. You bail. That’s SOP.
Let’s see if I can dance around this without stirring up Hurricane Kalhoun. (This is from the linked article, by the way.)
He had to bail seconds after launching, because he forgot, or did not know, that the drain plug (the one that drains the boat while it is on the trailer) had not been replaced. This was not "sometimes water gets in the boat. " This was like opening a fire pressure hose into the boat. That’s two big mistakes (drain plug, no bailing equipment) before a minute has passed in his mission. Then, the engine failed. (Mistake three. Forgot to make sure engine is serviceable).
THe general assumption is that this was no place for an amateur boater.
The red beer cup was just the cherry on top. Of course, he was better off bailing with it than not, it goes without saying. It was still funny looking.
I meant pressure hose, not fire pressure hose. He was taking on water real fast.
Yeah, I got that bit. Even so, I’m willing to cut him some slack on that. It may be that he wasn’t familiar with that particular model of boat (I’m not sure where he got it, or if he brought it in himself). It may be that with the media circus, he couldn’t concentrate on doing things by the book. It could be any one of a million things.
Not that it’s any excuse, but I (as a VERY amateur boater) have made more than my share of colossally stupid and embarassing mistakes. And never when no one was watching. In fact, when all eyes are off me, I’m a regular Jack Aubry, I am.
So what this thrad has devolved to is a pitting of Sean Penn for not knowing to check a drain plug in his boat before he went to rescue people, bring them to the hospital and give them money.
That’s right. Even though the professional rescue people managed to fuck up the operation for five days, let’s rip him a new one for getting in the way as he successfully rescued people.
Fuck. This place makes me sick.
Well, and the plastic cup. Don’t forget that.
Plus, he was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Let it be marked. Let it be membered.
Bingo
AFAIK that was the reason for the pitting. Leaving the dock with a boat already full of people doesn’t bode well for the ability to rescue anyone.
The forgotten drain plug was just pure humor 
He didn’t set out with a goal of rescuing people, you fucking numbskulls. He was out to write a story for Rolling Stone (and not as an objective journalist, it was to be a subjective opinion piece). Once he got out there he tried to help some people. There is nothing to pit here. How about giving some credit for a guy who did a nice thing and actually saved some people?
I’m not sure what post to use as a springboard for this, so I’ll just start without a quote.
I can name two celebrities who made contributions after 9/11, who didn’t get any publicity from it, and were by no means a hindrance. Steve Buscemi, who was FDNY before he was an actor, borrowed someone’s gear and joined in the efforts to shovel out the wreckage of the WTC, looking for survivors and bodies. I believe he was there for several days, until union regulations kicked in again, and since he was no longer a union member, he quietly left when they asked him to. Kathleen Turner went to a clinic to donate blood, saw how overwhelmed the staff was, and offered her services in taking down names, affixing wristbands, and doing data entry. And presumably she also quietly left when they told her they’d gotten caught up.
Neither of them got any publicity from this; I heard about it through word of mouth. Buscemi even made an appearance on a 9/11 special without adding “And I was there” to his comments. And, not to be catty, but it’s possible that the clinic staff didn’t recognize Turner as a celebrity; not right away, anyway. At any rate, Buscemi knew what he was doing, and Turner was only doing generic tasks that don’t require qualification, thus freeing up the professionals to do what they had to do more efficiently. So they were genuinely helpful, and didn’t get in anyone’s way.
And Penn handing out cash to victims reminds me of the anecdote about Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon, who survived the Titanic. They were in the same lifeboat with some of the ship’s firemen, who were grumbling about their unemployment status. Duff-Gordon gave them most of the cash he had on hand, but it nearly backfired on him when observers took this to mean that he’d bought his and his wife’s places in the boat.
And this:
reminds me of Sampiro’s anecdote about his aunt or whatever she is, whose imaginary friends are celebrities, and was heard to say, “Guess who was in my bathroom last night! Sandy Duncan from the teevee!” Honestly, if a 73 y/o man told me what that guy said, I would smile, nod, and then get him tested for Alzheimer’s. 
I’m sure he’s just lucky he happened to have cash to hand out in front of the cameras. Unless the MO for opinion columnists nowadays is to stuff their pockets with dollar bills before heading out into the field or something. Or maybe he was just giving out whatever he had on him, “Hey guys, here’s a crisp fiver and a couple bright shiny quarters. Now don’t spend it all in one place and keep looking tired and dirty while we take your photo here.” :dubious:
Either way…
Hmm…
In case you forgot what you were agreeing with:
From this shitfest.
What is your point? Did Sean Penn go on a message board and brag about saving people?