In a blog post on April 14 I questioned the timing of a legal action taken by a jetski owner who was challenging the state’s right to prohibit jetskis on a particular lake.
At that time I said that he was kicking a sleeping dog that might just turn around and bite him. I said this because I sensed a change in people’s attitudes ever since last summer’s horrific power boat accident on Long Lake. More and more folks want to do something about wild and reckless behavior on our beautiful lakes and ponds.
Well, this week the Supreme Court for the State of Maine ruled that the state had the right to prohibit jetskis from any lake or great pond. SEE FULL STORY.
I don’t know whether the owner was working alone or whether he was egged on by special interests, but he made a bad miscalculation – a miscalculation that, in a way, affects us all. The result is less personal liberty for all of us because of the wild and reckless actions of a few.
Up here in Maine the Yankee spirit lives on. Rugged individualism, personal liberty, individual responsibility are not dead concepts from dusty history books. These ideas are still alive and well in Maine. But, less so today than yesterday.
Most folks are tolerant of jetskis. The attitude is “live and let live“. The prevailing feeling has been “there’s nothing we can do about it anyway“. UNTIL NOW.
The fact that here in Maine communities could petition the state to actually outlaw jetskis was not widely known. Now, due to the press coverage this case received, I predict that folks who have begrudgingly “put up“ with jetskis in the past might decide to work towards their prohibition on their particular lake or pond. Is this a good thing?
Mr Lakefront’s attitude is the same as Rodney King’s “Can’t we all just get along?“
Snowmobile clubs in Maine have done a great job “going mainstream,“ becoming good and solid citizens by being responsible and sensitive to others. Jetski owners should take note and follow their example. Otherwise they’ll be fewer lakes and ponds that welcome them in the future.
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May 14, 2008Maine Lakefront Real Estate – Jetski Update
In a blog post on April 14 I questioned the timing of a legal action taken by a jetski owner who was challenging the state’s right to prohibit jetskis on a particular lake.
At that time I said that he was kicking a sleeping dog that might just turn around and bite him. I said this because I sensed a change in people’s attitudes ever since last summer’s horrific power boat accident on Long Lake. More and more folks want to do something about wild and reckless behavior on our beautiful lakes and ponds.
Well, this week the Supreme Court for the State of Maine ruled that the state had the right to prohibit jetskis from any lake or great pond. SEE FULL STORY.
I don’t know whether the owner was working alone or whether he was egged on by special interests, but he made a bad miscalculation – a miscalculation that, in a way, affects us all. The result is less personal liberty for all of us because of the wild and reckless actions of a few.
Up here in Maine the Yankee spirit lives on. Rugged individualism, personal liberty, individual responsibility are not dead concepts from dusty history books. These ideas are still alive and well in Maine. But, less so today than yesterday.
Most folks are tolerant of jetskis. The attitude is “live and let live“. The prevailing feeling has been “there’s nothing we can do about it anyway“. UNTIL NOW.
The fact that here in Maine communities could petition the state to actually outlaw jetskis was not widely known. Now, due to the press coverage this case received, I predict that folks who have begrudgingly “put up“ with jetskis in the past might decide to work towards their prohibition on their particular lake or pond. Is this a good thing?
Mr Lakefront’s attitude is the same as Rodney King’s “Can’t we all just get along?“
Snowmobile clubs in Maine have done a great job “going mainstream,“ becoming good and solid citizens by being responsible and sensitive to others. Jetski owners should take note and follow their example. Otherwise they’ll be fewer lakes and ponds that welcome them in the future.
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