To loathe lifeguards?

[slugsarepeopletoo]

With their bombing around the beach on quad bikes scattering everyone before them, tearing up the sea in motorised dingys nearly running all the swimmers over, disturbing the peace with klaxons and loudhailers, ordering everyone into a space between the flags about 10 feet wide. Not to mention the preening, poncing, male-dominated atmosphere around them. I daresay they're very handy on occasion but they get right up my nose.

Oh I so agree! Yes I know they do trivial things like save lives but really! They insist on herding everyone into a teeny weeny 6 ft length of the beach until it's like human stew! And I'm sure that's dangerous too.

DD has quite phobic about them after a week in Crantock last year. They seemed to focus on anyone having fun and zoom in to stop them!

YABU - Do you know how many lives they save?

Oh! i have a god idea, lets get rid of them and let people be in danger and drown!!
Dont tar an entire profession with the same brush. You may have witnessed a few acting badly, but they truly are heroes.

I don't think that you would be saying that if your life was in danger!

Hayle beach in Cornwall is a particular hotspot. It's advertised as 'miles of golden sands' but they don't tell you that you're only allowed in a tiny fraction of the water.

And I bet you would be the one complaining if an accident had happened and there had been no one there to help.

Get a bloody grip.

You forgot the worst of all. The preventing people from drowning. How dare they!

YABU - There are very few lifeguards and a lot of people who do not realise how dangerous the water around the coast of the UK can be. The sea can look completely normal, but have dangerous rip tides that can sweep adults (lets not even discuss unsupervised kids) right out to sea.

Need to start a thread about stupid questions people on holiday ask lifeguards. Two of my favourite are "What time do the waves come on?" & Why was the water closer to the beach yesterday"

But how are you supposed to swim in such a tiny space? I mean really? Or would it just be better if we all stayed out of the water?

I think that Lucypeanut has said it all. It can look perfectly normal but I have known people pulled under on a lovely summer's day when they just went for a paddle. The areas are there because the lifeguard can patrol them, it isn't on a whim to spoil fun. It would be very silly to 'know best' and swim outside it-especially as you would expect them to then risk their lives rescuing you as soon as you got into difficulties. There is a limit to how much money a resort has to pay lifeguards.
If you look it up you will see that although Hayle Beach has miles of golden sands, it also has very strong currents and sifting sandbanks. Lifeguards are there for apurpose and they do know what they are talking about!

I think the OP is a joke. Like saying AIBU to hate builders for the way they think vehicles are their mates.

jesus chillax everyone. it was a joke. we don't have them in scotland on the presumption that if you are dumb enough to swim up here it is natural selection. (that is a joke too btw!)