Bottom-line: Wearing a parachute is a personal choice (in the USA); so
if others choose not to wear one, that's their perogative. You should
feel free to do what you feel is best and safest - not what will make
you popular or fashionable around others. If your club members
ridicule you for trying to be safe, then it's the wrong club to be
associated with!

Take care,

--Noel