The Continued Pussification of American Youth

Well, such behavior isn't limited to journalists.

 

Here's the thing, jackass, I never called it frivolous. I was just putting basic information down that I remembered from what happened. All I said was that's, to me, when I remember people beginning to sue left and right. I never once said it was frivolous, though.

 

At Ozzie Guillen High School we played Smear the Queer all day, instead of English class we played dodge ball with rocks.

 

This is quite true for adults like me playing RATR with 3-year-old nephews in the middle of a shoe store. They winded me and amused the other customers. Sportschick, did you see us?

Way back in my school days, we had some competion between each grade. One involved a tire on the 50 of the football field. You started at the goal line and ran to the 50, each grade trying to drag the tire back to the 50.

Even then, I had a lot of foresight. I figured if the other kid didn't make it to the tire, they couldn't drag it to their side. I leaped the tire and made the tackle. I don't remember if my grade won, though.

 

In at least one school district, the "official explanation" for the decision to ban the game of tag during school recess was that the game violated the school district's "no touching" rule.

I wonder how this school district does things like hold a senior prom or field a football team...

 

I've seen some districts enforce it in their footbsall team -- or so it would seem by the way it played

 

Piling on...

The problem is they do keep score later in life as an adult. Unless we're going to a completely socialistic society, these youngsters are in for an awakening somewhere down the road when they learn a) life isn't always fair and b) you better take care of yo'self.

These games taught life lessons. In dodgeball, invariably, the weaker kids got ganged up and picked off first and quickly. Kind of learned early, the strong survive and the weak and timid get squashed, and one better stand up for one's self or get splattered

Two great game memories. A grade school summer camp playing Capture the Flag where I got absolutely waylaid by two guys tackling me from either side literally a foot from the line, busted my glasses, which were then parceled back together with electrician's tape so I could pitch a ball game that night.

High school gym class we would play a game called army basketball, which was essentially tackle basketball or football on a basetball court in shorts and sneakers. And no 5 on 5, it was 10 on 10 or 11 on 11 or how ever many were in the class. Looking back, the gym teacher must have been a real masochist. Many a times, folks retired to the locker room to clean off the blood before their next class. On the plus side, you did learn the value of passing the ball.

 

We played that game. We called it British Smear. A variation where you just had to two-hand-touch a kid rather than tackle him was called British Bulldog.

 

Along those lines, it always gets to me how high school and college students always complain about something "not being fair," like someone else got more time on a test, or her paper was graded more harshly because the T.A. graded it instead of the professor, or he never had to go to class because they didn't grade attendence. God damn, in college, I remember you could walk through the cafeteria and it was a whinefest.

Damn it, honey. Life isn't fair. Learn to deal with it now. Because in the real world, the consequence is a lot worse than a B on a paper!

The pussification doesn't just apply to sports. We're pussifying our youth in academics and many other things as well

 

Aside from the entertainment value, I never saw the point of throwing for the head. There are larger, meatier parts of the body to aim at that don't move as quickly.

 

Agreed. Nailing someone square in the back was always fun. Or you could go for the knee. One time, I simply tried to throw as hard as I could at someone's nutsack. It turned into more of a rising fastball than I intended. He caught it but lived to regret it.

 

Every generation thinks the next generation has it easier and isn't as grateful. But it's always been a goal to make it so our kids don't have it as rough as we did. Darn, pick one and stick with it. I mean, if you're counting on "smear the queer" to build character, I daresay you're abdicating your character-building role.