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Researchers have called dodgeball, a common sport played in US schools, a tool of “oppression.”
The game, in which two teams compete by throwing a rubber ball at each other in an attempt to “out” the others’ teammates, teaches students to dehumanize and harm their peers, according to professors from three Canadian universities in a presentation at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Vancouver last week.
In high school we often played a similar game called, "prisonball". I almost always was the last on our team to be hit and put out and one guy on the other team was the same. We went head-to-head and our team won most often. Somehow, I've never achieved that level of success in later endeavors. Now, I'm being told I was oppressing people!? Social scientists with too much time on their hands!
Yes- Isn't it great! Dodgeball was an outstanding exercise in life played out in microcosm. Heck, my kids had boxing matches in our backyard too in which they and the neighbor kids would beat the hell out of each other.
Back when kids were kids and not the wusses of today.
Losing in sports can be more instructive as winning. It forces one to identify one's own weaknesses and formulate plans to correct them. That is a very important life lesson and can be very apt in real life.
Without conflict or loss, there is little opportunity to grow as a person. That is why many rich kids are worthless- they have never struggled or routinely experienced defeat or deprivation, which are very motivating experiences.
Gym is oppressive. The non athletes are picked last and generally out of the game first in dodgeball.
Then magic happens.
Some of the non athletes are nerds who do very well in school. And you have to pay them lots to keep your network going.
Life is crappy. You WILL be oppressed by someone at sometime.
Agreed- childhood years can sometimes be painful, but always instructive. I "straddled the line" between jocks and nerds, as I was a straight "A" student, but excelled in two sports. I am proud to say that I had a pocket protector for my pens while in school! Only nerds can make such a boast.
All in all, I preferred the social company of the nerds and stoners- far more interesting people.
The only jock-nerd exception I know of is with the Gruden family. The oldest brother, Jim, was one of my friends and was a total nerd. His two younger brothers were jocks and are now NFL coaches; Jim is "just" a radiologist. The guy who played the DEA agent on "Breaking Bad" was two years behind me in my sister's class and was a nerd.
Loved it back when I was in grade school. Never won but we sure had fun. Ah to have grown up in the '70's before this generation became a buncha soft whiners
Location: Close to Pittsburgh, but NOT Pittsburgh ('cause I don't pay CoP taxes)
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Dodgeball is awesome. As long as you want to play it.
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