Lake Michigan surfer dude Rex Flodstrom gets community service, stays defiant

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10683245-418/lake-michigan-surfer-dude-gets-community-service-stays-defiant.html

BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter [e-mail] February 16, 2012 10:58AM

A surfer arrested for catching waves in the frigid Lake Michigan waters at Oak Street beach last month will have charges against him dropped if he does community service, prosecutors said in court Thursday.

Rex Flodstrom, 40, was slapped with a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge and accused of violating three park district ordinances after Chicago Police pulled him from the lake Jan. 17.

But with the support of an international brotherhood of surfers — including 11-time surfing champ Kelly Slater — Flodstrom vowed to fight for the right to surf Lake Michigan.

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Kilgore: You can either surf, or you can fight!

[saras]

1. Obviously stupid to make it illegal everywhere BUT certain zones.

It would make sense to ban it in those specific places where it endangers others, or shipping, or some other overriding public interest. But it otherwise isn't the police's business.

[TheMadMonk]

2. Gotta disagree. "Extreme" sportsmen are a major pain in the arse...

...to rescue services everywhere.

Even ordinary people attempting to do ordinary things outside designated zones (such a not swimming between flags on patrolled beaches) can cause a huge headache.

[DCKit]

3. Then charge them for the services.

Nobody likes a nanny state, except the nannies.

[TheMadMonk]

8. Should we also invoice the genuinely distressed?

How the fuck do you tell the difference?

If the difference IS CLEAR at the time of need, then in my personal opinion, let the stupid prick take his chances with Darwin.

And I beg to differ. Nobody wants a nanny state until "shit happens" at which point the average 'Merkin SCREAMS for a lawyer and tasks him with making their (usually) deliberate stupidity someone else's fault.

Strangely enough those of us who do have a "nanny state" (Europeans and Aussies) are far, far less likely to reach for their lawyer when their own stupidity catches up with them.

[taterguy]

4. Since when is surfing on a lake "extreme?"

It's not like he was one of those dumbasses that catch waves during hurricanes.

He was doing something a bit outside of the norm and law enforcement overreacted.

The problem is that humans have such a wide range of capabilities that it's impossible to come up with a standard of what constitutes reasonable risk.

Of course I am biased since I like to test my limits, and I can't imagine only swimming in designated zones since my favorite beaches are the ones with no other people around.

[TheMadMonk]

5. When it's done in the middle of winter. On a lake notoriously cold...

...in the middle of fucking summer.

And yes I am aware that today, winter surfing is at the tamer end of the extreme sports spectrum.

Cops reacted, because he was doing something unusual, which could all to easily become a mis-per phone call later, if in fact he turned out to be a drunken idiot acting on a dare. And probably overreacted when he gave them a mouthful.

UNreasonable risk = anything which requires significant training and/or standby rescue/emergency personel to avoid probable injury. Yes this includes swiming in water more than neck deep.

Me too. But if i'm ON A PATROLED BEACH, I FOLLOW THE RULES, because I know, those poor bastards up in the highchair have no choice (legally) but to chase me down, drag me to the shore and read me the riot act. AND I KNOW that while they are "resucing" me who does not need it, someone else who desperately does, might well die, just because I selfishly wanted to wet my toesies away from common folk.

[NNN0LHI]

6. It was only in the low 20s the night he was arrested in January

[TheMadMonk]

9. Ex-fucking-actly. Couldn't give a shit for adrenaline junkies...

...out to JUST not quite kill themselves. DO give a shit for the poor bastards who's job it it is to preserve the common weal.

[NNN0LHI]

10. Made the 5:00 o'clock news after nearly dying on Lake Michigan once so I know a little

Out in a big fishing boat that got a hole in it and the Coast Guard had to come out and save our lives before we sunk.

And that was beautiful sunny summertime day over 90 degrees. The lake looked like glass when we started out, but then there was a huge storm on the other side of the lake and all of a sudden we were bouncing around in 8-10 foot waves and taking on water. I was bailing my ass off. Prettiest thing I ever seen in my life was that big steel Coast Guard cutter come pulling up to pump the water out and tow us in.

I respect that lake a lot. I have heard of some ship captains who swear they feel much safer sailing the ocean than the Great Lakes. Not sure why?

Don

[TheMadMonk]

11. I reitterate. Ex-fucking-actly.

The captains who don't, have never met a captain who does.

[taterguy]

12. Experienced surfer in a wetsuit: not that dangerous

I bike to work on cold days.

Should cops 'rescue' me?

It requires training to bike 50 miles in a day. If I do that am I being UNreasonable?

Do I need to adjust my lifestyle?

Lots of things like rock climbing and whitewater rafting require training, but if you take the time to do that you can enjoy them without undue risk.

What am I missing?

[TheMadMonk]

13. Probably not. On the other hand, cops have no choice but to investigate...

...idiots out on the water in below freezing conditions. At the very least it's a major waste of their time.

'twould depend. Does that cold day include a howling blizard, zero visibility and possibly a Mack truck up the jacksey?

No. It requires training to RIDE a bike. And more training to ride it safely in traffic. Riding it 50 miles just takes stamina. Your CHOICE of where you ride (eg. Death Valley) it is what's going to bring the cops and/or rescue services down on your head, even when YOU think YOU have everything under control.

And responsible climbers, rafters, whateverers will call you an irresponsible dickhead if you attempt anything that approaches/potentially excedes the limits of your capabilities without proper supervison.


What are you missing?

The very simple fact that cops and rescue service personel HAVE NO FUCKING CHOICE, but to put their OWN lives on the line, when circumstances suggest that YOUR life might potentially be in danger.

And that my fine feathered friend is the single biggest reason why idiots addicted to their own hormonal secretions need to be pulled up short, and prosecuted as heavily as possible EVEN WHEN they have the situation 100% under control.

You want to surf Lake Michigan (or the Atlantic coast of Ireland) in mid-Winter? At least do the coppers the courtesy of letting them know what you're up to.

The Spiderman halfway up the side of the Chrysler Building is not some limit challenging hero. He IS NOT A SINGLE WHIT DIFFERENT to the jittering junkie waving a Saturday night special in the face of a 7-11 clerk.

[taterguy]

14. Thank God George Washington didn't have that attitude

It's not safe to cross the Delaware in the winter!

It might be beyond our capabilities!

Someone might get hurt!!

[Rex]

7. Go Rex!

Stay frosty!

[saras]

15. The real problem is that we have no legal category between "forbidden" and "safe for idiots"

A clear, overt, legally enforceable boundary between "we will rescue you, and figure out later who pays" and "no one will rescue you, you're on your own" would be sufficient.

But if mountain climbers around here do something stupid or illegal and have to be rescued, they get billed for it. Or they die. But no one forbids them from going up there with insufficient gear and preparation.