Are the Blue Angels a Waste of Money?

They're not big fans of the Blue Angels over on SLOG. Anthony Hecht writes:

Aptly described by a friend as “sky NASCAR”, these giant wastes of taxpayers (sic) dollars whiz around the city at like 300 feet all weekend, scaring the bejeeezus out of everybody.

Are the Blue Angels "wastes of taxpayers (sic) dollars"? Depends on how you define "waste."

For many people, watching the Blue Angels "whiz around the city" is an exhilarating experience. When was the last time you got exhilarated by, say, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which will spend $700 million next year?

Is providing exhilaration like this a practical way to spend "taxpayers (sic) dollars"?

Of course not. It's not practical at all. But then neither is $2.9 million to fund "Shakespeare in American Communities," $4.1 million to protect quick deteriorating Lava Beds National Monument, or $16.5 million to preserve New York City's Federal Hall.

The Blue Angels (website apparently DJed by C89 here) scare far more cats than Shakespeare does, but does that make them a waste?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Seth in News on August 3, 2006 1:39 PM

Comments [rss]

Koolio

Blue Angels Rock! Now I know where all the whinners

hang out. Geez oh man.

Rod

In that case, we don't need the 4th of July fireworks displays to remind us of our independence. Let's cancel them. Duh.

Get that stick out of your @ss for once. Many people (especially kids and older adults, not exactly a target for recruitment) love and enjoy plane acrobatics and seeing some of the fastest coolest jets Boeing makes in person. Next thing you know you're going to want to ban technology museums because they display this same kind of thing, or concerts, because they're loud and create traffic jams, or sporting event. Stop being such whiners, buy some ear plugs if you're so delicate, and stay home for a couple of hours that weekend.

BTW, nobody is getting strafed:

strafe. (verb) To rake with fire at close range.

Seth

"Nobody's hurting anyone else by being gay and proud."

That's an opinion, Gem. I happen to agree with it, but there are plenty of people who don't. People who are opposed to gay rights, for example.

You are opposed to war. Not everyone else is. Some people think a strong military is important, and they want to celebrate that military's achievements.

Can you find room in your airspace to let those people celebrate, or are you so closed-minded that you want to reserve the entire city only for things you support?

Dean

"The Blue Angels are more like a KKK rally"??? Please. You've got to be kidding. Get over it.

Gem

"If you choose to see the Blue Angels as a display of military might gone amok, that's fine, but please remember that some people see Pride Weekend as sodomy gone amok."

No WAY. The Blue Angels are a military recruiting tool. The show flaunts big, spendy toys that glorify war. Toys that help KILL PEOPLE. Residents who are opposed to war have every right to object to the Blue Angels taking over their airspace. If you want to compare it to a cultural event, Seth, it can't be compared to Pride. Nobody's hurting anyone else by being gay and proud.

The Blue Angels are more like a KKK Rally. They may not be hurting anyone during this little show (except for the traffic problems), but what they stand for DOES hurt someone. It is the duty of those opposed to voice objection.

Shelly Rae

Comparing the "waste" of the Blue Angels to other government waste is just faulty logic. One doesn't really have anything to do with the other. Yes, the money spent on the Blue Angels could be much better spent elsewhere--that's the big truth. Besides the traffic problems, noise, and ubiquitous lost pets, the Blue Angels have the potential to cause mayhem by simply making a mistake. The pilots have crashed before. Nor are air show acrobatics without risk to the audience (go google it yourself). So, if a plane or several were to crash somewhere over Seattle would the Blue Angels still be worth it? Me? I'd rather see the pirates land on the beaches--especially if one of them could be Johnny Depp.

Argh!

Anon

Bill

I don't care who paid for them, I could do without

the all-day traffic nightmares caused by the bridge

closures

Jack

Such poo-pooing! Blue Angels fucking rock. Saying their show is a waste of money is like saying anything cool and fun is a waste of money.

They're fast, they're loud, they're beautiful. (I know that sounds like a NASCAR argument, but NASCAR is stupid - they just go round 'n round.)

James Callan

I suspect there are an awful lot of people under actual bombardment in the Middle East who would trade just about anything to live in a park with the Blue Angels flying over for a few hours a week.

Actually_A_Local

The Blue Angels are the best part of SeaFair. Hey, my tax dollars pay for the hardware; I wan't to see em do some snap-rolls!

So they close down the bridges for an accumulated 8 hours a year; so what? It give me 8 hours to actually live my fantasy; getting rid of the bridges altogether. I mean c'mon; who ever goes to the Eastside? Now if we could just get Boeing to start doing

barrel-rolls of their newest jet again, SeaFair would be great again.

Nate

Kids freaking love the blue angels. Crotchety ole Ronald need to get that stick out of his hiney.

Seth

Oh come ON...Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but one of the inconvenience of living in a cultural center is that you must occasionally endure the effects of what other people think is cool.

In New York City, you have the utter insanity of St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve, when everyone piles into the city and makes getting a cab impossible.

If you choose to see the Blue Angels as a display of military might gone amok, that's fine, but please remember that some people see Pride Weekend as sodomy gone amok.

Can't we just learn to accept that people like different stuff?

Ronald

There's a big diff between a quaint civic festival like Seafair, no matter how lame its clowns, how obnoxious its pirates and annoying its hydros, and the downright perverted Blue Angels. There's no excuse short of war for sending these military aircraft screaming across the rooftops, strafing civilian neighborhoods and wreaking havoc on our roads, all in a profligate waste of manpower, hardware and fuel. You want to know what it feels like to live in the Middle East, go hide in the bushes at Genesee Park for a few days, and imagine that the "Angels of Death" are dropping cluster bombs and firing live ammo. How anyone can defend this charade is beyond me.

James Callan

I like the Blue Angels when they're actually performing. I hate all the freeway-closing and sonic-rumbling that accompanies their too, too frequent practice sessions.

Yeah, it's a waste of money, but what about Seafair isn't a waste of money?

BC

I am so much happier when my government is not exhilarating me.

MvB

Seth, I don't think we can afford to get into a (sic) rumble with the Sloggers. Well, with anyone, really.

Paul

Hey, the National Institute of Standards and Technology gets to decide what freakin' time it is. That's more than the Blue Angels ever did.

I think it's less an issue of the money involved and more about the fact that we routinely close down one of our three major freeways for several hours a day, several days in a row, to accommodate an ostentatious display of military hardware of a sort that is otherwise seldom seen outside of North Korea, and far too few of us seem to have taken the time to stop and consider how truly fucked-up that is. For freeway-closing mayhem, give me topless fire-breathing transsexuals any day. Donald Rumsfeld can keep his wet dreams to himself.