Skateboarding Saves Contributor: Skater Claus
Skateboarding Tradition and Adversity
I don’t know why, however there’s all the time going to be folks that hate skateboarding and the skateboarding tradition that comes together with it. Similar with different issues I like like graffiti, punk rock, hip hop, city exploration, and many others. There’s this bizarre factor that occurs once you grow to be a part of a group of individuals which might be socially stigmatized… it creates shut bonds between these throughout the group, however then there’s additionally a bent in direction of “gatekeeping”.
Inevitably these fringe cultures will make an influence on mainstream tradition. Individuals lengthy for authenticity. They get co-opted by firms after which grow to be a part of mainstream tradition (in a restricted consumer-friendly manner). Skateboarding tradition is beginning to look extra like this daily.
Skateboarding Tradition isn’t what it was once
Once you began skating in ’90, had a mohawk, listened to punk, and received beat up for all these issues… I believe it’s pure to get upset when it turns into the fashionable factor to do. The entire sudden the children that beat you up are copying your model. It’s irritating.
The pure response to that is to wish to be a gatekeeper. You wish to say, “Hey, I used to be doing this earlier than it was on TV, and also you used to bully me due to it! How dare you attempt to subvert my tradition – skateboarding tradition”
Factor is, the fakesters will finally transfer onto the brand new pattern, and people dedicated to the tradition will stay. We have to mentor the subsequent technology of skate expertise, and never be gatekeepers, however be bridge builders to the subsequent technology.
I misplaced a friendship with somebody due to a silly argument over road skating vs vert. I’ve misplaced friendships with individuals as a result of I generally prefer to longboard (OMG). I’ve been made enjoyable of for sporting a helmet. These things wants to alter.
There are a ton of haters on the market. Most of them are individuals outdoors of the skateboarding group, and simply have some bizarre irrational concern of skateboard tradition.
We’re all the time going to should take care of that, and it sucks, however one factor we may do to make it slightly higher is to not have that very same kind of irrational judgment inside our personal group. If you happen to received a board below your toes you’re my brother/sister.
Skateboarding Tradition can Overcome Something
There are sufficient individuals on the market that hate us for being who we’re, let’s purpose to construct up the group and never tear it down. I received into skating as a result of as a misfit the tradition was accepting.
Above anything, what I wish to see is acceptance of misfits of every type. Let’s construct one another up. Until they’re really simply an asshole, or Nazis, or folks that snake you on the park, or folks that kick puppies within the face. If that’s the case then fuck ’em.
