[Vision2020] [Bulk] Re: church and paintball

[pkraut at moscow.com]

I have two grandsons who like paintball and they have done it with church 
groups. The leaders checked the pressure each gun was using because they 
are adjustable so that they do not cause serious damage. The boys were 
very impressed with their marks of blue and more than willing to go again. 
Its a guy thing!
> All-
> 
> Paint ball games can result in serious injury.  I was once in the Kibbie
> Dome when a "kid" came into the bathroom in desperate condition.  He 
headed
> for the sink, and was splashing water over and over onto his face.  At 
first
> I could not understand what the problem was.  But one glance at his eyes
> explained his desperation.  One eye was a horrifying mess... I won't 
give a
> graphic poetic description, but there was more red (i.e. blood) present 
in
> his eye than the usual tints, and this was not the result of the paint
> color. He was at least temporarily blinded in that eye, according to his
> statements.  I asked how this happened, and he had been playing paint 
ball
> games without goggles, an absolute must for this sport.  I asked if he
> needed help, and he said his "friends" were already calling for help.
> 
> We appear to take the risks of serious injury in sports as a given in our
> society, risks that are assumed to be worth the benefits of the sports.  
On
> average, a high school student dies every year as a direct result of
> injuries due to playing football; and I mean a death that would not have
> occurred except for the violent nature of how the sport is played, not a
> death that was a result of a heart condition or some other physical 
malady
> that might have claimed the life anyway eventually.  Numerous other high
> school students playing football incur non-fatal injuries that result in
> life long impairments.
> 
> Given these facts, paint ball is probably less of a "warrior" sport 
involved
> in teaching the mentality of conquerors, than football is.  I have never
> heard of someone dying due to playing paint ball.
> 
> So if church groups were encouraging full tackle football games, should 
this
> inspire concern?  Given a comparison between football and paint ball in
> terms of the physical risks and mentality these sports encourage, it
> would seem so, and even more so for football;  thus every high school in 
the
> USA is also deserving of this focus.
> 
> Football is so embedded in our culture as an accepted popular sport, 
that to
> criticize football is akin to mocking mom, apple pie or the flag... Get
> ready for the backlash!
> 
> Ted Moffett
> 
> 
> On 7/1/07, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > In my opinion, as long as you have a good grasp of the line between
> > fantasy and reality it shouldn't be a problem.  In that respect, it's 
like
> > video games.
> >
> > I've played paintball, and it has more in common with the old games we
> > used to play in the woods as boy scouts than it does with actual 
military
> > training or conditioning.  You know it's not real, which completely 
changes
> > the dynamic.  Nobody is drilling you, telling you how you might just 
kill
> > somebody if you screw up, nobody is making it plain that other lives 
may one
> > day depend upon your performance.  It's just fun.
> >
> > A lot of companies use it as a team-building exercise, because (if you
> > want to win) it forces you to rely upon someone else and to be relied 
upon
> > to achieve a goal.  It also enhances your problem-solving skills.  I 
see no
> > conflict with religious groups doing the same thing, myself.
> >
> > Paul
> >
> > Ellen Roskovich wrote:
> >
> >  *Dancing and making joyous noise is a far cry from slithering around 
in
> > the bushes, taking pot shots at your buddies and keeping score on how 
many
> > kills you have.*
> >
> > *Call me a fuddy duddy if you wish.  No, I'll even do it for you. . . 
I'm
> > a fuddy duddy.  I do not like organized "games" that condition people 
to
> > kill off their fellow humans.  *
> >
> > *I would cringe at any group organizing this activity for kids and it
> > would have opened the door for "discussion" at our household.*
> >
> > *Ellen A. Roskovich*
> >
> > **
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> > From: *"g. crabtree" <jampot at adelphia.net> <jampot at adelphia.net>*
> > To: *<vision2020 at moscow.com> <vision2020 at moscow.com>, "Mark Solomon"
> > <msolomon at moscow.com> <msolomon at moscow.com>*
> > Subject: *Re: [Vision2020] church and paintball*
> > Date: *Sun, 1 Jul 2007 07:26:41 -0700*
> >
> > Absolutely! Any time the Churched strip off their sack cloth and ash 
and
> > venture forth from their cloisters I worry that they might have 
something
> > resembling a good time. Next thing you know they'll be dancing and 
making a
> > joyous noise and goodness knows we can't have any of that.
> >
> > g
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > *From:* Mark Solomon <msolomon at moscow.com>
> > *To:* vision2020 at moscow.com
> > *Sent:* Sunday, July 01, 2007 5:32 AM
> > *Subject:* [Vision2020] church and paintball
> >
> > Does anyone else find this as disturbing as I do? (I'd post a link to 
the
> > full story, the rest of which is a straight business story about 
paintball,
> > but the Tribune is a subscriber only website.)
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > *********
> >
> > *Aiming for fun, with a license to thrill*
> >
> >
> > By Elaine Williams of the Tribune
> > Sunday, July 1, 2007
> >
> >
> > Church groups are among the most frequent customers of FTW Paintball, a
> > store that recently opened in Lewiston.
> > The organizers find that playing paintball is a way to create
> > relationships among their members, said Marty Frostad, owner of the
> > business.
> >
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