Been a pipe smoking freestyle skateboarder since I was a teenager.
Weird Double Standard
- Thread starter georged
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I would rather my kids skateboard. Skateboarding has given me so much. Confidence, A lasting friendship circle, my taste in music, I was able to travel due to skateboarding, I made some money off of skateboarding (not much) probably wouldn’t be married to the woman I’m married to if it wasn’t for it. It gave me an identity when I was lost and needed one. I know it’s just a dumb wooden toy but the repetitive nature of skateboarding was and is something I need at times to help me get away from my problems. It’s meditative and therapeutic. It’s not the wisest thing for a 45 year old man to do but it’s too much a part of me to give up.
It might just one day serve my kids well but I’ll never push them to do it even though they are both really interested in it.
It might just one day serve my kids well but I’ll never push them to do it even though they are both really interested in it.
Buncha Skateboarders!!!
I'll call the cops...
I'm not sure what to think. I don't really see kids skateboarding as much as I used to 20 or so years ago. Now, I guess they all became pipesmokers and cops. I do see large groups of kids on those slow boring Segway things... and their damned parents driving freakin' golf carts down my road. I'm not sure which is better. I definitely hate people driving golf carts, mainly because they've taken over our rails to trails, which we all used to jog or ride our bikes... now it's like a jammed California interstate with bumper to bumper golf carts.
I understand that sometimes non-smokers can be sanctimonious. People in general can be, really. And smokers sometimes get some unfair treatment by strangers when all they want to do is enjoy their cigarette or whatever in peace.
That being said, this is a really weird question.
It implies that of the two hobbies, skateboarding is somehow not as susceptible to public shaming as pipe smoking is, despite it being allegedly more dangerous. I mean, it would be something hard to quantify, but skateboarding has always gotten a very bum rap from the general public. It's more mainstream now, but skateboarders have been the common enemy of boomer Karens and Kens for years, and the animus between skateboarders and the police is something baked into the culture itself.
Most people are polite to me if I smoke my pipe in public, because I'm polite to them (i.e. I don't litter butts, spit everywhere, and blow smoke around them). Some can be snide, but somehow, I manage to get on with my life just fine. Rude people suck, but dealing with them is part of life. That being said, I have yet to have any call the cops on me. I do know of skateboarders who have had the cops called on them, regardless if their behavior was legal and/or harmless. I swear, to hear some of you all tell it, people are literally smacking the pipes out of your mouths and spitting on your face. Extreme boomer victimhood energy shit.
Anyway, if I had to answer, I'd choose skateboarding. Not because I view it as being safer; it probably isn't in the short term, I guess. But because anyone smoking that is under 21 is doing so illegally. And when kids do illegal shit, the parents get the blame and the flak. My kid can put on helmet and go to the park and skate without crossing the law. Now, if my kid is 21 or older, they can pick up whatever they want, because they're adults and it won't be any of my damn business. I'd prefer they pick up pipe smoking, largely so we'd have something in common and could relax together as equals, but if they wanted to take up skateboarding, bully for them.
That being said, this is a really weird question.
It implies that of the two hobbies, skateboarding is somehow not as susceptible to public shaming as pipe smoking is, despite it being allegedly more dangerous. I mean, it would be something hard to quantify, but skateboarding has always gotten a very bum rap from the general public. It's more mainstream now, but skateboarders have been the common enemy of boomer Karens and Kens for years, and the animus between skateboarders and the police is something baked into the culture itself.
Most people are polite to me if I smoke my pipe in public, because I'm polite to them (i.e. I don't litter butts, spit everywhere, and blow smoke around them). Some can be snide, but somehow, I manage to get on with my life just fine. Rude people suck, but dealing with them is part of life. That being said, I have yet to have any call the cops on me. I do know of skateboarders who have had the cops called on them, regardless if their behavior was legal and/or harmless. I swear, to hear some of you all tell it, people are literally smacking the pipes out of your mouths and spitting on your face. Extreme boomer victimhood energy shit.
Anyway, if I had to answer, I'd choose skateboarding. Not because I view it as being safer; it probably isn't in the short term, I guess. But because anyone smoking that is under 21 is doing so illegally. And when kids do illegal shit, the parents get the blame and the flak. My kid can put on helmet and go to the park and skate without crossing the law. Now, if my kid is 21 or older, they can pick up whatever they want, because they're adults and it won't be any of my damn business. I'd prefer they pick up pipe smoking, largely so we'd have something in common and could relax together as equals, but if they wanted to take up skateboarding, bully for them.
Just my interpretation, but I think Georged is just having a bit of fun. I probably wouldn't try to read too deeply into it. Plus, yelling at skateboarders and spraying Segway riders with a hose is just fun. We old folks have to get our kicks somehow.
I figured as much, but it's still kinda weird. It's like when your girlfriend asks you shit like, "If I lost my legs, would you still love me?" I mean, you know you probably shouldn't even answer, but what are you going to do?Just my interpretation, but I think Georged is just having a bit of fun. I probably wouldn't try to read too deeply into it. Plus, yelling at skateboarders and spraying Segway riders with a hose is just fun. We old folks have to get our kicks somehow.
My wife has actually not been able to walk since before Thanksgiving because of a surgery... and after months of me having to bathe her, feed her, and dress her, the other night she was all weepy like... "Do you still love me?" I just stopped as my jaw hit the floor, and responded, "If I didn't love you, I would have already pushed your damned wheelchair out into the road." Ha ha.
See some stuff seems to be funnier to me than her.
Somehow, the point of the original situational choice/question got lost in the digression and presumptions.
Though it no longer matters, for the record, it was this:
Society in general and the government in particular is inconsistent as hell regarding "protecting" people, and tobacco smokers are at the top of their "Kill the witch!" list, while other, far more dangerous activities---skateboarding was only used as an example---are neither regulated nor viewed as anything more than life choices.
I certainly have nothing "against" skateboarding. Hell, I used to race open-class motocross (45 foot tabletops, anyone?), and cross-country desert events where speeds over unknown terrain reached 90mph.
Though it no longer matters, for the record, it was this:
Society in general and the government in particular is inconsistent as hell regarding "protecting" people, and tobacco smokers are at the top of their "Kill the witch!" list, while other, far more dangerous activities---skateboarding was only used as an example---are neither regulated nor viewed as anything more than life choices.
I certainly have nothing "against" skateboarding. Hell, I used to race open-class motocross (45 foot tabletops, anyone?), and cross-country desert events where speeds over unknown terrain reached 90mph.
The interesting thing to me about skateboarding as a cultural movement is that it literally forced the hand of local and larger world governments to bend to its will. As a former skate shop owner I got to watch the evolution from nowhere to skate without being hassled by the police to a skatepark in every po dunk town in the USA. It's crazy when you think about it. The youth said we will destroy every ledge, curb, bench, concrete embankment, whatever we will destroy your downtown. So the state had to cough up the dough (skateparks are very expensive) and build parks everywhere. At this point, if it gets a kid outside and off the screen and doing something that builds confidence and comradery I'm all for it. When I think about it and Pipesmoking it still has a bit of the old in it like young men taking chances performing stunts pushing themselves beyond their limitations. I think of it like modern-day cliff jumping a way for young men of today to prove themselves to themselves and each other. I still love landing big airs and rolling away there is a sense of weightlessness a feeling of floating for a few seconds and it's amazing. I can't believe my boy just turned 14 and has never been in a fistfight so I think slamming into the concrete and getting back on the board might actually be good for him. Sorry for the rant. I say do both just not simultaneously.
I tried both at the same time haha. I was young and a girl I had a crush on gave me one of her dads pipes and some tobacco so I thought it would be cool to do both like Jason Lee style. I got ash in my eye and quickly gave up that dumb idea. Ah youth!
yeah be like the Gonz and stick to cigars
I still have scars from epic skateboarding crashes 40 years ago and now I smoke a pipe. Live your own life and learn from it.
Not really an answer to OP’s original question.
Not really an answer to OP’s original question.
Wait, does this mean that we aren't supposed to smoke a pipe while skateboarding? Dang it! Well, I'd say skateboard up to the age of smoking and then smoke and skate. 
I had a skateboard in 1965 when they came out. Called a Sidewalk Surfer, it was about 25 inches long and had steel wheels. Used to ride it down a steep long driveway. Its a miracle I survived. My brother still has it