People have different metrics by which to judge how screwed up their own country is. I have no explicit criteria, but the following strikes me as an indicator of where things are headed: banning the game of tag on a school playground. The article in its entirety:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - An elementary school has banned tag on its playground after some children complained they were harassed or chased against their will.
"It causes a lot of conflict on the playground," said Cindy Fesgen, assistant principal of the Discovery Canyon Campus school.
Running games are still allowed as long as students don't chase each other, she said.
Fesgen said two parents complained to her about the ban but most parents and children didn't object.
In 2005, two elementary schools in the nearby Falcon School District did away with tag and similar games in favor of alternatives with less physical contact. School officials said the move encouraged more students to play games and helped reduce playground squabbles.
And this is happening in the shadow of the US Air Force Academy. Does being chased hurt your wittle feewings, munchkie-wunchkie? Christ... the things we'll do just to make sure we and our kids feel good. Maybe it's for the better, right? Perhaps tag should be consigned to the dustbin of history as yet another shameful holdover from our barbarian past. While we're at it, let's remove all notion of competition, because competition implies winners and losers, and we don't want to get into the whole hierarchy thing, do we? So, children: you may run all over the playground, run to your heart's content, but please do so with no actual purpose in mind.
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Boy are these kids going to be in for a surprise when they grow up and find out that you can't always just change the rules of life because you don't like the way you're being treated.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a young un' in school, my parents' response to me getting picked on was to enroll me in karate classes. It worked, too. Whatever happened to trying to better yourself to overcome difficulties?
And I honestly have to wonder if these school officials realize how ridiculous they sound. Does spending all day with kids like that really remove you that much from reality?
They've already done away with a competitive sport at a lot of state schools in the UK because they claimed the kids were becoming demoralised by being on a losing team...I thought defeat is supposed to make you try harded to improve yuorself.....it's no wonder the UK sucks at so many things.
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