My brother is in his mid 50's and destroys every powered machine he touches. The entire family, including his own kids, refuse to loan him vehicles. He says he's cursed with bad luck. I think it's a result of a lack of respect and proper care of the equipment. He treats his dogs and wives (he's on #4) the same way and wonders why things so often turn out badly.

As for fighter pilots, I've known a lot of them. Most of them love their aircraft in the same way we love our bikes, only more so. Pushing the limits of performance is something they do WITH their machines, not TO them.

We all like to think of ourselves as rugged individualists. But when push comes to shove most of us are sheep who do what we are told. Worst of all, a lot of us become unpaid agents of whoever is controlling the agenda by enforcing the current dogma on the few rugged individualists who actually exist.