San Diego: Let’s Ban Skateboarding
Photo: Photos.com
When I was growing up, bike riding was the thing to do, not skateboarding. Over the years, skateboarding has quickly taken center stage much to many adults’ horror.
A recent accident reported in Carlsbad last Friday night is one of the many reasons that I think we should ban skateboarding in ALL public places.
Apparently, a 16-year-old skateboarder was run over by his friend’s pick-up while he was indeed skateboarding. After he grabbed ahold of the pick up he was “towed,” which resulted in injuries.
How stupid can you be is what I want to know? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen kids skateboarding in places they shouldn’t be like down a major street, outside restaurants, in parking lots, and the list goes on and on ….
Did you know that there are quite a few interesting skateboarding stats in terms of injuries according to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons?
For example, the Web site states: “Each year in the United States, skateboarding injuries cause about 50,000 visits to emergency departments and 1500 children and adolescents to be hospitalized. (Source: AAP, March 2002. )
I say let’s ban skateboarding in ALL public places and if kids want to skate, let them do it at their own home ….Â
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M said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 15:24
What are you like 60?
How about you check your own source you senile melon head: “Bicycle Riding
The greatest number of recreational injuries to children occur while the child is riding a bicycle. Most of these 415,000 injures are bruises (contusions). ” http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00042
3 million people are injured in car accidents let’s ban people from doing that too!
Or maybe just ban anyone under 30 from going outdoors, period? Then the roads will be safe for you to drive to your early bird dinners and what not.
garth said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 15:26
I won’t call you square, but I will call you uninformed. What else should you ban? Football? care to look up the injury statistics on that? what about ALL youth sports? what about walking? have you checked injury stats on that revolutionary activity? I’m willing to bet there’s more injuries across the board to people walking then their are to people skateboarding. This article is a dumb kneejerk reaction. There’s about a million more dangerous things people do with their time (including DRIVING, which causes upwards of 40000 DEATHS a year, and I don’t hear you calling for a ban on that).
I mean, do you sit outside hoping that some kids will come along so you can wave your cane at them or what? this whole piece comes off as pure, old-fashioned fogeyism. why don’t you tell about how young people curse these days and just don’t know how good they got it, by plum! that’ll teach the whippersnappers while they buy their hulahoops and go to their box socials.
Charles said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 15:30
Get off my lawn.
Bill said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 15:41
You are a fascist tool.
gob bluth said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 15:55
why is this blog still on my bloglines? half of the entries cover the same stories i can read about on better written and more insightful sites, and then the other half feature crap like this. if you can’t assemble a coherent argument, maybe you should think twice about posting. “a kid got hurt skateboarding. DERRRRRRP. i never skateboarded! let’s ban it!”
i’m off to remove the rss feed from my aggregator. good riddence.
Michael Scott said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 16:02
Why are you the way that you are?
Adam Park said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 20:35
Hmmmm, so I’m guessing that theres no accidents on bikes, right? I mean, it’s not like people ride bikes “in places they shouldn’t be like down a major street, outside restaurants, in parking lots, and the list goes on and on ….”
“Each year, more than 500,000 people in the US are treated in emergency departments, and more than 700 people die as a result of bicycle-related injuries.”
And I get this information from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike/
I mean honestly, wake up. Do you think the people weren’t saying the same thing about bicycling when you were growing up?
Saturday Skate Camp said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 21:14
Ohhhh, I so had to post a comment due in part that my neighbor recently blasted me with “you know everyone is annoyed” by the fact that me and my two boys skate up and down the street every frick’n day. I’m of the mind set that this is California and skat’n is a California born sport, which by the way is in the X games, which by the way is very American. So I believe that it is un-American to even request that there be a ban on Skate’n. Let alone a ban in the very State that made Skate’n what it is. By the way there are Americans skate’n in the Middle East side by side with Middle Easterners so…in essance it is a contributer to the peace movement and an aid in good realations between the Middle East and the USA. I say in response to my freaked out neighbor and to the writer of the Ban on Skate’n you are by the very nature of your frustration un-American and impead’n our efforts to make the world a better place. Skaters for Soldiers is working to support the men and women who risk there lives for our safety every second of every day in Iraq, in the USA and all over the world. I believe you need to get to a skate shop and buy a board and practice in a parking lot…with a helmet…and get with the program, or at the very least buy one for a soldier. Ask yourself “what have I done today to make this a truely better world?” And as a final word Dude this is California!
Chase said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 21:38
Did you know that more people are skateboarding than playing baseball in USA? Does that mean thats your new national sport? I live in Canada and find many people way more tolerant than in the states. As people have said you are completely uninformed. Unless you skate, you cant relate.
Carrie Lopez said on Monday, October 13, 2008, 22:54
I assume the responses here are from kids. Am I correct.? I am a 59 year old grandmother, and I totally agree with the skateboarders who feel discriminated against. When I was a kid, my father built my first skateboard. He took the wheels off a pair of old skates and attached them to a piece of board. My friends dad’s were doing the same for them. We had a blast skating through the shopping malls, parks, school yards; anywhere there was concrete. My friends and I would ride every opportunity we had. Skateboards weren’t being made commercially yet, but it wouldn’t be long. Of course, it wasn’t too long after that that the malls, parks, school yards etc. started banning skateboarding. We were kids; we’d push to envelope and ride to our hearts content until we were chased away, but we always came back. I know that some kids will foolishly risk life and limb; we did it too and helmets weren’t required back then, and nobody wore knee and elbow pads, So you see, things weren’t so different then from now. I’m thrilled to see that Park and Recreation Departments and some private organizations are finally seeing that this sport is not going anywhere soon so they’re building skate parks. It’s been a long time coming; better late than never. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. I enjoy nothing more than taking my grandchildren to our local skatepark . I bring a lawn chair, an ice chest, a picnic and just hang out for the whole afternoon enthralled watching the kids strut their stuff. The kids are so talented and they’re spending their time in a positive way. They’re not hanging out on street corners, loitering in malls and wreaking havoc wherever they go out of boredom. My 5-year old granddaughter can’t wait until she’s old enough (6 years old) to join them. While I kick back reading a magazine, watching the skateboarders, my granddaughter is flying through the park on her Razor scooter. Yep, next year she’ll be ready to join in with the older boys and girls. You know something else that’s a breath of fresh air, these kids watch out for each other; the bigger kids watch out for the littler ones; they help teach them; give them pointers. Love it! I would ask all of the older adults out there to reflect back on your childhoods; as I said, we weren’t so different, we had our bikes, surfboards and homemade skateboards that we cherished. Reflect back when you were kids; the great times we had. Think about those times and smile. We only live once, don’t go down being know as the crotchety old lady or man down the street. At least these kids aren’t sitting in their houses spending hours upon hours watching television, playing video games, eating everything they can get their hands on and getting fat. Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an overweight skateboarder, have you? Let’s get with it folks and be more tolerant of our kids for they are our future. God love ‘em all!
Matt said on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 9:42
Kids get hurt, Adults blame others. Thats just the way it is. I think we should just ban all sports and that way kids have nothing better to do than drugs and commit robbery. I have been listening to idiots like you my whole life. “those young whippersnappers, who do they think they are?” Get over yourself. If you don’t want your kids to skate than tuff for them but who are you to tell others how they should act? Skating and bike riding are only 2 ways to give kids a sense of worth without turning to the normal pitfalls. If their not skating they will be doing something else to use their time. What do you think that will be? Math? Science? Wake up, If anything we need clubs like football or baseball to help them achieve their goals, not hinder them. A top professional skater makes a real good living these days, and most kid aspire to the X games like you probabily looked at baseball or some other has been sport in your day. Once again, get over yourself!
Zfun said on Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 10:50
I am 46 years old and still skateboard and I’m gonna keep skating until I physically can’t do it any more, I enjoy cruising the board walk with my Ipod on, flying around La Jolla shores, looking for any bank, pool, ramp like structure I can skate, What they should ban is bitter old people who are either too fat, lazy or watch way too much T.V. please go back to your boob tube and cheer on your tired old candidate to the bitter end, and keep yelling at Those punk kids to get off your lawn, as the rest of are going out to live life…..
sdguy said on Thursday, October 16, 2008, 15:33
Square.
yougayniggah said on Friday, October 17, 2008, 6:56
you are such a prick you think that just because we get hurt we have to ban it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everyday hear wee have to learn from our mstakes so if we f*** up on a trick and break a bone i know what i did wrong!!!!!!! it also help with our coordination skills..it tests your reaction time and you feet movement determine whether you land it or not
oldpplsuckexceptthatoldladywhoagreedwithskateboarding!! said on Friday, October 17, 2008, 7:03
i hate when ppl complain about skating!!!! ?I love ashley?
tiger!! said on Friday, October 17, 2008, 7:06
i love ashley!!!!!!!!!
stoney said on Saturday, October 18, 2008, 9:02
you are an idiot!
SD skater said on Thursday, November 13, 2008, 10:01
I put up with people like you every time I go skate. overall, I find most people tolerant with skating, the problem is twats like you. piss off, you cunt.