That's an interesting point - I'll bite. But, what about a kid that is given such a constructive outlet, but is forcibly surrounded (i.e. public school) by others who are not? Peer pressure, at that age, is a powerful motivator. Do you think such a kid would be likely to 'revert' or to set an example, at the risk of being ostracized by his peers, sans constructive outlets?

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

What a fuckin' brain-trust this place is sometimes.

Punching someone in the stomach isn't "harrassment". Punching someone in the stomach is "assault".

Assuming you're able to decipher the difference between assault and harrassment, would you agree or disagree with that?

The only people I know who can be chased against their will are criminals fleeing capture, or maybe Ladainian Tomlinson. A kid on a playground can't be "forced" to play tag, can he? Perhaps you can explain exactly how someone can be "tagged" and then be "forced" to chase someone.

Did I read the article literally? Yeah, because it said the game was banned because kids were "chased against their will".

Hey, fuckin' stop running, and the chase is over...

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Obama's New "57 State Patriotic Pin":




Sayeth John Drake - 10/13/08: "OK, you're right, I admit to LYING"

*snap*

With seven year olds? Lot of foot-pounds behind those blows, eh? And, it's interesting that you would characterize that as "assault" - doesn't that seem a bit like "political correctness", coming from someone who's bloviating about kids being kids? As long as you're splitting hairs that finely, isn't "tagging" someone technically assault? I think you just disproved your own case, counselor It's a good thing someone ended the madness before games of "assault" continued to go on unchecked.

*snap*

What?

So a woman fleeing a rapist is a willing participant in the chase?

Perhaps the 'harrasment' came in the form of the 'it' participant chasing those not interested in playing. And, for all we know, the method of "tagging" could have been more than just a simple pat on the shoulder. Ever play a game of "touch" football that involved more tackling than touching? The kid could be arm-punching, giving "five-stars" - who knows?

Look, I'm not arguing in favor of the abolishment of "tag". I made that quite clear in my first post here. It seems like a draconian school policy - a better one would seem to be teachers monitoring the game or making sure that unwilling participants and bystanders were left alone.


When a 'game' involves one person chasing another, the 'chasee' need not be willing. And, when the 'chasee' is tagged, he may be subject to all manner of taunts should he not play the game. I don't know what happened - for all I know it could really have been a harmless game of tag, where all touching was friendly and any ribbing in good fun. The teachers could have just been drastically over-reacting.

However, I find your unwillingness to conceive of a scenario in which the game of 'tag' could be unpleasant or scary for a seven year old child to be astonishing. Do you have money tied up in tag futures or something?

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Actually, making that last post just reminded me how violent some of the school yard games we used to play were, and I'm not talking about "dodgeball", supervised by a teacher. Let's see...

"Cops and Robbers" (though, I believe we had a different name for it - one more time appropriate - like "gangstas and 50" or some such thing). This game, invented by a creative friend of mine, was sort of a cross between capture the flag and tag, but with tackling. There were "bases" spread out among the playground equipment, as well as "prisons". The goal was to steal things from the opponents' bases or free your own prisoners. It was a lot of mayhem - people frequently got knocked from playground equipment, among other things. Visits to the nurse were somewhat common.

"Smear the Queer" (we had no idea what this meant, being 7 or 8). This simple game involved a football and little else. Whoever had the football was to be tackled and pummeled until he relinquished the football, at which point, someone recovered it, and the game proceeded in the same fashion. This one was often broken up by teachers, if they saw what was going on.

"Running Bases". There was a kickball field, and one kid would stand on or near the pitcher's mound. Kids ran around the bases as many times as possible, keeping tally of how many times they made it. On base was safe, otherwise was fair game. The pitcher had an arsenal of "koosh-balls" (think the core of a baseball, but with puffy strings on the outside Koosh ball - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) that he would throw as hard as he could at players trying to run the bases. People took turns being "pitcher" and saw how quickly they could clear the bases. Scores were compared at the end. Bloody noses were common for "direct hits" (the coveted face shot).


These are just the games I remember. At the time, I didn't think anything of this, but reflecting back on it, such games seem inordinately violent. I had no complaints - I was a willing participant in all of them, but still... Does anybody else remember playing games like these as a kid? And, tying it back in to the previous post, it isn't hard to imagine why I can envision a game of 'tag' having alternate rules or practices in place that would make it a turn-off to children not interested in being pummeled. I remember occasions when less 'adventurous' kids would make the mistake of wandering into the playing area for these activities and become part of the 'set', so to speak.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Gangstas and 50?

You are just a kid, aren't you?

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

That's probably not it, either. I think that term dates me as a teenager, not a tot. But, it was something like that - whatever the parlance of the 80's was. I'm 27

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Child!!!!




I'm old enough to

well

Have been picked on by your much older brother?

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

lol... nah, no older brothers. And, I was no bully - just a kid that didn't mind full contact sports

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Yeah, you don't seem like the bully type.

I'm off to San Diego. See y'all next week...

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

Easy solution... DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!!

Is this post serious? Tag does not necessitate the harassing of children who do not want to play. This is a knee-jerk reaction, parallel to banning the eating of solid foods because someone choked to death.

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If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.

What are some of those amazing things? Do you mean school policy-wise?

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If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.

So everyone who wanted/wants to play tag was tormenting other students?

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If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.

What facts are there to learn? Theoretically, a blanket ban would be called for if everyone who wanted/wants/will want to play tag was/is/will harass other students by way of using tag. Are you going to tell me that that is the case?

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If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.

So a child was threatened...and the solution is to ban tag?

__________________
If a neocon whines about big government wealth redistribution, just ask him what he thinks about the portion of that big government that sends aid to Israel.