On Monday, October 19, 2020 at 9:28:34 PM UTC-4, wrote:
In my 47 years of soaring flight, (28 years in hang gliding, 20 in sailplanes) I have received thousands of queries about the advisability/possibility/safety etc. of flying without an engine. Most of the questions were asked by men, but a significant number were asked by women. Invariably the questioner was someone who simply had no knowledge of the sport at all, and were under the assumption that an aircraft simply could not fly without propulsion.

Often, a few minutes of explanation about flight dynamics and the ability to recognize energy sources in the atmosphere would educate the interested party sufficiently. Some actually were intrigued enough to pursue the concept to the point of taking a ride, taking lessons and even getting a license. A few continued to the point of adding ratings and I am proud to say that at several dozen of the initial questions resulted in military or commercial careers.

If simply answering an innocent question about a topic about which you have knowledge is somehow insulting, due to an insecure and suspicious attitude that the person asking feels inferior, then I suggest that anybody with any technical experience with anything from particle physics to auto mechanics is going to be castigated by the allegedly offended party.

In my mind, I think that those who complained about the ad in Soaring owe an apology to the person they first asked for information about flying sailplanes. And their Instructors, mentors, tow pilots and friends who ever gave them valuable advice.
Mark, you make a great point , the apology should be from these Feminazi organizers whose mission was only to create conflict. This Femitifa approach should not be tolerated, solution, defund the WSPA as part or association with the SSA. The term Femitifa is derived from the Antifa approach to creating conflict and empowering sexist views that server their own agenda.