https://www.businessinsider.com/royal-navy-candidates-can-apply-without-know-how-swim-2024

    • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 months ago

      I was going to say wasn't this common in the age of sail? I remember reading something about sailors drowning often because they couldn't swim, and that was just expected

      • FlakesBongler [they/them]
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        9 months ago

        It was considered bad luck to know how to swim because the water already had a taste of you and wouldn't give you up

        Which to me just sounds like they didn't care if you lived or died

        • FALGSConaut [comrade/them]
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          9 months ago

          That sounds like something an officer makes up to convince dudes that can't swim not to worry about it

          • FlakesBongler [they/them]
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            9 months ago

            "Fire isn't hot, it only burns you if you stand still in it"

            "Electricity is just air moving really fast, as long you cover yourself with something you'll be fine"

            "Bee's can't sting you if you wear red"

          • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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            9 months ago

            I mean, if you're a sailor and you end up overboard, you're probably gonna die. Idk if you have ever been in the North Sea, but it is cold and choppy and even a modern life vest wont keep you alive for long. Even a strong swimmer stands little chamce of survival if they go overboard on a ship.

            • FALGSConaut [comrade/them]
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              9 months ago

              oh yea I'm aware of how deadly cold water can be. I agree all those dudes were probably going to die anyway if their ship sunk, it just sounded like something you'd say if you just don't want someone dwelling on that fact

        • Dolores [love/loves]
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          9 months ago

          i've never gone into the sea for precisely this reason, i am delicious and will only trust waters that cannot eat me

      • jack [he/him, comrade/them]
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        9 months ago

        It was really because it didn't make a difference - if you went overboard, you died, no matter how good at swimming you were.

      • D61 [any]
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        9 months ago

        If they can't swim away... they can't get away. owl-wink

  • Feinsteins_Ghost [he/him]
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    9 months ago

    Tbf if you throw enough bodies at the problem eventually youll just be able to walk across the dead bodies no need for swimming tyvm

    • Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them]
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      edit-2
      9 months ago

      NONONO only evil Soviet Union uses sheer numbers

      We civilized ubermensch only need a few genetically pure supermen (and a few brown meat shields) to put the rabble in their place

  • Angel [any]
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    9 months ago

    The race's finish line be like: bottom-speak

  • D61 [any]
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    9 months ago

    While its fun to dunk on, all it means is that British Navy basic training is just going to have their sailor boys learning to swim instead of just expecting them to already know how.

    Its gonna be a net negative for the anti war crowd because this just opens up recruiting to poorer people who don't have time/access to swimming pools and swimming lessons.

  • Rojo27 [he/him]
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    9 months ago

    Yelling out how expendable you are as I cry and ask for more of you to join my declining navy.

  • Egon
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    5 months ago

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    • laziestflagellant [they/them]
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      9 months ago

      It's a bit of a class thing since you need to either have physical access to a swimmable body of water or have economic access to a pool and then have the free time to either teach your kids yourself or the money and free time to drop them off at swim lessons.

      In the US, black Americans are the most likely to not know how to swim and poor Americans in general are more likely to not know how.

      • Egon
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        5 months ago

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        • Dolores [love/loves]
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          9 months ago

          i live in a dry place, there ain't swimming depth bodies of water that aren't artificial, and you've got to pay to swim at most of them. our rivers are pathetic and an adult would be hard pressed to drown in one so it's also mostly useless to learn unless it's for recreation

          • Egon
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            5 months ago

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          • Egon
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    • TrudeauCastroson [he/him]
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      9 months ago

      I never got a grasp of how to breathe for front crawl, because it is tiring and I always needed more air than I could get in between arm strokes. Maybe if I had better technique so I was less out of breath, then I wouldn't need as much air and I'd figure it out, but whatever.

      Swimming is pretty hard and tiring if you aren't using proper form and trying to streamline yourself. If you can only swim 10m until you get tired then that's basically the same as not knowing how to swim.

      If I lived near a community pool maybe I'd try and learn/practice during lane swim times, but I don't and gyms with pools are too expensive monthly.

      • Egon
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        • TrudeauCastroson [he/him]
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          9 months ago

          If I can only swim a few metres before stopping, then I drown when I stop, then I can't swim.

          If I'm terrible at running, I can just stop and not have my lungs fill up with water.

          That's a pretty big difference. If you get chucked into the middle of an Olympic pool and aren't 100% sure you could get out, then I'd say you can't swim.

          Usually when you talk about being able to swim it's about safety in aquatic activities. My grandpa almost died swimming in a small river without much current because he wasn't that good at swimming. He didn't die, but because it was that close I'd say he didn't know how to swim.

          You wouldn't say you can ride a bike if you fall after a few metres.

          • Egon
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            5 months ago

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            • TrudeauCastroson [he/him]
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              edit-2
              9 months ago

              Different activities have different contexts for what "being able to do it" means.

              If I said I can't drive, that means I have no license and probably think there's too high of a chance of something going wrong if I drove. That doesn't mean that idk how to steer, hit the gas, or brake.

              If I said I can't walk that means I'm paralyzed.

              Swimming is somewhere in between those two on the spectrum of "what does it mean when I say I can't".

              I'd say that I am currently a bad/weak swimmer because I had some independent practice recently, but there was definitely a time where I'd say I didn't know how to swim even though I had taken lessons at that point.

              • Egon
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    • psivchaz@reddthat.com
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      9 months ago

      If you lack exposure to the water. It doesn't come perfectly naturally, especially if you are a bit older and have developed a fear. It's definitely easier to learn if you're younger.

      • Egon
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        5 months ago

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        • 420stalin69
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          9 months ago

          I learned to swim before I have memory but imagine it’s due to panicking or not knowing how to float efficiently meaning you tire out fast and take big gulps of water.

          • Abracadaniel [he/him]
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            9 months ago

            Probably not dressed for swimming either. Shoes and draggy clothing definitely don't help!

          • Egon
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    • Water Bowl Slime@lemmygrad.ml
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      9 months ago

      Why would anyone drown if swimming was that easy? It's like riding a bike: trivial and instinctive for those who know, but dangerous and complicated for those who don't.

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        • Water Bowl Slime@lemmygrad.ml
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          9 months ago

          That's like saying "whistling is easy, just put your lips together and blow." Though it is easy, that's only if you already know how to move your body in the right ways. Some people can intuit the motions without guidance but I'm telling you that it's far from everyone.

          Also unlike whistling or biking, if you mess up swimming you die. Even in a shallow pool.

          • Egon
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            • Water Bowl Slime@lemmygrad.ml
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              9 months ago

              I don't know why you keep insisting that children know how to swim instinctively. No they don't. In the US, drowning is the leading cause of death for kids age 1-4 and the #2 leading cause for kids age 5-14 (#1 is car crashes). I don't know what else to say so I'll just leave it at that.

              • Egon
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                5 months ago

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                • Water Bowl Slime@lemmygrad.ml
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                  9 months ago

                  Oh fair, that is the first time you mentioned kids specifically. You've said/implied that it was simple and natural in every comment though so it was that attitude that I wanted to address.

                  If you want anecdotal evidence then here's this: I cannot swim and neither can anyone in my family. I don't mean we can't swim long distances or that we can't swim skillfully, I mean that we cannot swim or float whatsoever. I nearly died one time when we visited the community pools because I didn't expect the slide to plunge me downwards into the water. I got out by aimlessly flailing forward and getting lucky. And no that wasn't really swimming, it was more like walking on the floor while holding my breath as best I could. Also the lifeguard didn't notice.

                  At the pools, we always stay in the shallow areas that's waist deep. And the few times we've gone to the beach, we don't go further into the water than to get our feet wet. There are no other opportunities for us to swim here and even those 2 cost money. I hope you understand why it's unlikely for people in our situation to learn how to swim. Like, why take time out of my schedule to pay for something that I can't do, that my friends and family can't do, and that can potentially kill me?

                  For the record I brought up whistling because it's a skill that many people don't have. I've been able to whistle since I could speak and so could my parents, but it would be stupid for me to conclude that whistling is an innate human skill that all people know how to do. Likewise, some people just can't figure out swimming by themselves. The proper movement of their bodies does not come naturally and that's that.

    • SpiderFarmer [he/him]
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      9 months ago

      I didn't really get a proper grasp on anything but the backstroke until I took adult swimming classes in my 20s.

      It doesn't help that not knowing how to swim doesn't stop gym class from forcing you to participate. I drank a lot of chlorine during 2 weeks each year.

      And it's wild, I was an avid distance runner, biker, and tree/rock climber. Swimming just didn't click for me for some reason.

      • Egon
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        5 months ago

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    • Wertheimer [any]
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      9 months ago

      Thank you for this thread - I have had the same bafflement and the exchanges below were enlightening.

      • Egon
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        5 months ago

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  • GunslingerSky [she/her]
    ·
    9 months ago

    Breaking News: UK Royal Air Force no longer requires knowing how to fly a plane to join (Source: Me)

  • PigPoopBallsDotJPG [none/use name]
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    9 months ago

    Being able to swim when stationed on a ship sounds way more useful than it actually is. In a 'man overboard' situation, it doesn't help you much, you get fucked by the inertia of a massive ship that can't just turn around and pick you up. By the time they manage to turn around the ship, the real problem is actually finding you. Even if you're an excellent swimmer, your chances of survival are very low.