Dodge Ball is a tool of oppression....

I was the kid that the others always hit and had my glasses broken several times. I have an aversion to having balls thrown at me and don't catch worth a crap. Being forced to "play" that game in elementary school in gym class scared me for life.
 
Thinking back now, all our full contact games, kickball (you were out if someone hit you with the ball, and there were some spectacular crashes when someone was running full speed and got his legs blasted out from under him), dodge ball, and smear the...you know, were all self organized and self policed recess activities. Actual PE or gym was things like volleyball or basketball and generally weren't that fun because too many kids just weren't athletically coordinated and would get frustrated or yelled at by teammates.

We also had to do a lot of situps and things like that for the Presidential Fitness Awards.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Agree completely with the title of this thread. Just one more way for jocks to make themselves feel big by picking on little kids.
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I feel just the opposite. I was not a jock and loved dodge ball. Gave me a chance to get them good. I was really good at dodge ball. Loved hearing that special “ting” sound the dodge ball made when you got someone really good. Personally I think the article is screwed up. Kids can’t just be kids anymore.
 
Smear the ''fellow'' was THE game of the neighborhood. No teams, just grab the ball, usually a football, and run like the dickens because everyone would chase the ''fellow'' and smear the tar outta him. After the ball carrier is tackled, toss the ball to your best friend and take off after him...

No teams, only unspoken rule is to not hit in the face, and if someone got up and started running home while crying, then we all ran and hid until it was safe to come out again.

There was a kid at the church that was an oops, .... that is his parents were well into their 50s when he was born. So his parents were more like his grandparents and tended to over protect him a little. He was a well behaved little gentleman around the grown ups, but just didn't know how to be a kid. Once when we were about 10 or 11 we were all playing smear, I was on the sideline recuperating after a rather rousing smearing. He came up and asked me how he could join the game, so I went back in, grabbed the ball and tossed it to him and yelled, ''Run..!!!''

He ran, but everyone caught him pretty quickly and smeared him into the grass. I was a little afraid he might jump up and run inside crying, but instead he jumped up with a big smile on his face and started chasing the ball holder. This went on for about 15-20 minutes when his mom came out and saw what was going on.

She ran into the crowd and clothes lined the ball carrier, I mean one of the best clotheslines I have ever seen.!! She grabbed her son and drug him inside. By this time he had grass in his hair, his glasses and grass stains all over his good clothes.

A few minutes later mom came back outside and lectured us pretty good on how her son is a frail child and should not be involved in any of our silly games. She went back inside and the game continued.

I consider my childhood as a great time to grow up. Without any adult supervision, we rode horses, raced our bicycles down hills, camped out by the river, played in the river, threw dirt clods at each other, played with bottle rockets and fire crackers, shot our rifles and shotguns, climbed trees, swam in stock ponds, roller skated on the streets and when it was time to go somewhere we rode in the back of our dads pickup trucks. But we waited 30 minutes after eating before going swimming, we did have our safety rules....
 
The lottery is also a tool for oppression. And taxes. And tests. And drugs. And guns. And tanks. And missiles. And atomic bombs.

Believe it or not I have a point.

If dodgeball is a tool of oppression used against you that is anywhere close enough to the top of the list to complain about it, well then, you’re actually in pretty darn good shape and should shut the heck up before someone notices you and oppresses you for real.

 
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midlifeflyer said:
That's nonsense. My comment is based on experience. More than 50 years later I still remember the glee of the biggest kids on one team taking all their shots at the three smallest, most nonathletic kids on the other.
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But they were civil in all other activities?
 
Timbeck2 said:
Me too, first word was "smear" and it was the '70s. I loved dodgeball and I was good at it. I was a pitcher in little league and high school and could put some zip on the ball. I can't think of one person in my class that it scarred them for life.
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My tight thumb knuckle is noticeably larger than my right because of dodge ball...dislocated much more than what the gym teacher wanted to mess with. ;)
 
midlifeflyer said:
I might have you beat. I was picked after the guy who was picked after the girl.
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Same here, but it was the girl who played French horn and glasses for me. I thought trumpet was badass. It wasn't dodge ball badass. Neither were my glasses. Broke my nose twice, and the frames got broken at least twice a year getting hit in the face. I sucked at being aggressive. I was good at being chubby and slow, a great target for red balls and comments from the jocks. At least I didn't eat my books.

I liked being a catcher with a high RBI and zero HRs. No broken noses playing baseball.
 
Zeldman said:
Smear the ''fellow'' was THE game of the neighborhood. No teams, just grab the ball, usually a football, and run like the dickens because everyone would chase the ''fellow'' and smear the tar outta him. After the ball carrier is tackled, toss the ball to your best friend and take off after him...

No teams, only unspoken rule is to not hit in the face, and if someone got up and started running home while crying, then we all ran and hid until it was safe to come out again.

There was a kid at the church that was an oops, .... that is his parents were well into their 50s when he was born. So his parents were more like his grandparents and tended to over protect him a little. He was a well behaved little gentleman around the grown ups, but just didn't know how to be a kid. Once when we were about 10 or 11 we were all playing smear, I was on the sideline recuperating after a rather rousing smearing. He came up and asked me how he could join the game, so I went back in, grabbed the ball and tossed it to him and yelled, ''Run..!!!''

He ran, but everyone caught him pretty quickly and smeared him into the grass. I was a little afraid he might jump up and run inside crying, but instead he jumped up with a big smile on his face and started chasing the ball holder. This went on for about 15-20 minutes when his mom came out and saw what was going on.

She ran into the crowd and clothes lined the ball carrier, I mean one of the best clotheslines I have ever seen.!! She grabbed her son and drug him inside. By this time he had grass in his hair, his glasses and grass stains all over his good clothes.

A few minutes later mom came back outside and lectured us pretty good on how her son is a frail child and should not be involved in any of our silly games. She went back inside and the game continued.

I consider my childhood as a great time to grow up. Without any adult supervision, we rode horses, raced our bicycles down hills, camped out by the river, played in the river, threw dirt clods at each other, played with bottle rockets and fire crackers, shot our rifles and shotguns, climbed trees, swam in stock ponds, roller skated on the streets and when it was time to go somewhere we rode in the back of our dads pickup trucks. But we waited 30 minutes after eating before going swimming, we did have our safety rules....
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So you grew up in late 80’s/early 90’s as a Millennial, too?!
 
Dodgeball was the best thing ever in junior high and high school. Sure, there were A-holes who would use their size and strength to gang up on smaller kids, but that in itself was a great life lesson. You learned what a bully is and how to avoid one later in life.

A kid could easily figure out the game, since the rules were simple. That made mastery of the game easy. The fast pace wouldn't allow you to wallow in your misery, since you had to get back in and take another beating.

The best results and game wins were due to teamwork. No other "sport" taught that in such a condensed way. If a kid was weak on playing, we covered for him. Nobody wants to lose!

We also played full contact volleyball and I knocked a guy's front teeth in playing rugby. It was the best of times!

I remember it like it was yesterday, and that's amazing, since I can't remember yesterday!
 
midlifeflyer said:
That's nonsense. My comment is based on experience. More than 50 years later I still remember the glee of the biggest kids on one team taking all their shots at the three smallest, most nonathletic kids on the other.
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You must have had a unique experience. I was actually a major "jock", although being one of the best athletes at my school had nothing to do with how I treated anyone less talented, but that's another story.

I thought dodgeball was a great equalizer. It was the one of the few things that we played that it didn't matter if you were athletic or good at any other sport to have fun and/or be good at it. Sometimes the people who didn't have a cannon for an arm were the best at dodging or catching. I, usually being the biggest guy in the game was a huge target, and the little guys were harder to hit. Although it didn't matter much to me, because it was just so much fun, I remember some of the jerks you were referring to getting mad because they would get ganged up on and get put out of the game quickly. All of a sudden, the little dudes the jerks picked on were simultaneously throwing all the balls at them and there is no escape. Sweet justice for them, an opportunity to participate equally in a "sport", and an opportunity for the jerks to learn a little humility. Though I was always one of the good players in all the traditional sports I played, I was really no better at dodgeball than anybody else. Oppression, my arse! Perhaps we played it differently or something, but I remember it being a good time for all, ESPECIALLY for the guys who didn't get to play in other sports. That's the perspective of a "jock", but I recall thinking even as a youngster that even though I didn't enjoy not being one of the best at something and I hated losing, I was still a little glad some of the non-athletic types got to beat the big boys at something. Perhaps my experience was the unique one. I don't know.


Remember the 5 Ds of dodgeball. Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and...…..Dodge.
 
What a joke. Dodgeball was awesome, I don't care what anyone says. I wasn't even very good at it and had a blast

SoonerAviator said:
We never really played dodgeball outside of school. If we weren’t playing an actual sport (street hockey, baseball, soccer, football, basketball), we played a game which went by various names, but was essentially “tackle the man with the football”. It was a blast because keeping score was pointless, everyone had a chance to pick up the ball and run the gauntlet...
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"Tackle the man with the football" I laughed so hard when I read that. Political correctness on point right there
Timbeck2 said:
Me too, first word was "smear" and it was the '70s. I loved dodgeball and I was good at it. I was a pitcher in little league and high school and could put some zip on the ball. I can't think of one person in my class that it scarred them for life.
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Yes, the first word of the game we played was "smear" as well, however it was the 90s
 
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Seems like a lot of us found ways of burning off a heck of a lot of physical energy during recess, as well as finding ways to fit into a kid regulated social structure. Now we rely on Ritalin and Adderall.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
I feel just the opposite. I was not a jock and loved dodge ball. Gave me a chance to get them good. I was really good at dodge ball. Loved hearing that special “ting” sound the dodge ball made when you got someone really good. Personally I think the article is screwed up. Kids can’t just be kids anymore.
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I was a skinny kid with thick glasses and no athletic ability. Dodge ball was one of the few things I could do reasonably well. I even won a game for my team, by being the last one out on the floor and catching the throws of the last two on the other side.

Salty said:
The lottery is also a tool for oppression. And taxes. And tests. And drugs. And guns. And tanks. And missiles. And atomic bombs.

Believe it or not I have a point.

If dodgeball is a tool of oppression used against you that is anywhere close enough to the top of the list to complain about it, well then, you’re actually in pretty darn good shape and should shut the heck up before someone notices you and oppresses you for real.

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Dennis the Constitutional Peasant is one of the funniest few minutes ever recorded on cinema.
 
flhrci said:
Pretty mean to accuse someone of being a Millennial that isn't one. I will have to remember that. :D
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I coach high schoolers and they got on a rant about me being a millennial and told the kids that I identified as something else, not a millennial. One of the kids spoke up “I don’t know coach, that sounds pretty millennial to me”.
 
I understand we probably dont want to set up a petri dish for bullying.

But we will not get adults with grit if we prohibit any and all adversity in childhood.
 
I wonder if those same Canadian researchers ever watched a game of pond hockey?
 
Old97 said:
I understand we probably dont want to set up a petri dish for bullying.

But we will not get adults with grit if we prohibit any and all adversity in childhood.
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In high school I got cut from the high school football team. I was really stubborn about it and ended up practicing with the team during the season and being the water boy during the games. I got made fun, in fact, I still do. But boy did I get in shape and develop a really strange but useful work ethic and self motivation.
I never actually played on a football field but played varsity soccer and golf and went on to college playing golf.
That freshman football coach acts funny around me to this day. I haven’t told him I appreciated what he did. Had he put pads on me and let me play, I would have been a fat, really crappy football player and sucked my whole life and never would have discovered golf, soccer, or maybe even flying.
I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, I’m not going to hop on the bubble boy band wagon.
It doesn’t need to be aggravated, but I think it’s good to have kids participating in something they suck at every once in a while. We all are bad and good at different things
 
IK04 said:
I knocked a guy's front teeth in playing rugby
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<---- fly half for the Air Force Rugby team 1985-87.

I never knocked anyone's teeth out but I did blow out my right knee ending my rugby "career."
 
Timbeck2 said:
<---- fly half for the Air Force Rugby team 1985-87.

I never knocked anyone's teeth out but I did blow out my right knee ending my rugby "career."
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Yeah, I was a lethal weapon: 125 pound sprinter who played offside break. I would pick the ball out of the scrum and run right down the edge of the playing field for a try. I made three in ten minutes and the other team claimed we were cheating...
 
flhrci said:
Pretty mean to accuse someone of being a Millennial that isn't one. I will have to remember that. :D
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Lol, it’s my new “tool of oppression”. It’s also a bit tongue-in-cheek as I had a childhood exactly as you described, but am technically a Millennial by the strict definition (born in ‘83). However, I believe that my childhood experiences are why those born in that early-80s time frame don’t really fit that Millennial stereotype in the least.
 
When you said you "picked the ball out of the scrum" what do you mean by that? In other words, if the hooker brought the ball back to the scrum half and he gave it to you, then that would be legal but if you weren't the scrum half and grabbed the ball, you'd be "reaching in" and that is illegal.
 
Timbeck2 said:
When you said you "picked the ball out of the scrum" what do you mean by that? In other words, if the hooker brought the ball back to the scrum half and he gave it to you, then that would be legal but if you weren't the scrum half and grabbed the ball, you'd be "reaching in" and that is illegal.
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Yep. That's how it went. All the bravery was done by the half and his job was to put the ball in my hands. Nobody ever expected the skinny guy to push his way up the field, so I ran straight to the sideline and sprinted all the way to the try.

I did get "smeared" a few times, but we always won!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I am not athletic. I was picked last for any team sport. I played soccer for 4 years and never scored a goal. I suck at everything.

And I FREAKING LOVED dodge ball.
I'd start an adult league now and play if that was a thing.

From a total wimp, I never felt picked on or oppressed. I went to gym every day hoping for dodge-ball or that deal with the parachute (hmmmmm natural born Cirrus pilot I think)
This world is getting lame. I thought I was a total p***y growing up. Apparently there is a whole new level of P***y now.
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Ditto... I sucked at sports and was close to bottom of picks for teams but have the biggest smile thinking about the dodgeball days at school. As others said, it leveled the playing field and I zeroed in right on all the bullies even though I was never really picked on.

There are indeed Adult leagues around...we were hired a while back for a few years to produce an adult league tournament event down in San Diego. It was a freakin blast (may have been the alcohol involved). Almost as fun as taking out the schoolyard bullies of yesterday is taking out the hipster delta bravo millennials of today!
 
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SoonerAviator said:
Lol, it’s my new “tool of oppression”. It’s also a bit tongue-in-cheek as I had a childhood exactly as you described, but am technically a Millennial by the strict definition (born in ‘83). However, I believe that my childhood experiences are why those born in that early-80s time frame don’t really fit that Millennial stereotype in the least.
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Same here. I'm an '83 model too, but born to Baby Boomer parents. Many of my friends of the same age were born to Generation X parents. The differences are often times very obvious.


And I don't know about what you other folks were playing but we played Smear the Queer. It was what it was. Nobody get your panties in a wad.





In before the lock.
 
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dmspilot said:
A lot of things have unintended consequences. The adoption of seatbelts in cars increased deaths to pedestrians, for example. Maybe dodgeball does, or maybe it doesn't, have the asserted effect, but I wouldn't write off their research immediately just because it sounds silly on the surface.
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Oh, it sounds silly way, way deeper than just on the surface - and we get to hear from researcher(s) educated beyond their intelligence. One. More. Time.

We are not equal. We should not have equal outcomes. If you are slow, cautious, and not so athletically gifted, migrate to the back row, take one on the foot, and sit down. And think about the arenas where you do excel, like math, lit, chess, swimming, or set design. We need you, too.

But we all discovered and faced our limitations in some way - Guess what? As a big, fast, smart, athletic kid, I also had areas where I did not excel - lousy dancer, worse singer, and from the poor side of the tracks. Gosh, still got educated, still had a family, career. . .
 
Sundancer said:
Oh, it sounds silly way, way deeper than just on the surface - and we get to hear from researcher(s) educated beyond their intelligence. One. More. Time.

We are not equal. We should not have equal outcomes. If you are slow, cautious, and not so athletically gifted, migrate to the back row, take one on the foot, and sit down. And think about the arenas where you do excel, like math, lit, chess, swimming, or set design. We need you, too.

But we all discovered and faced our limitations in some way - Guess what? As a big, fast, smart, athletic kid, I also had areas where I did not excel - lousy dancer, worse singer, and from the poor side of the tracks. Gosh, still got educated, still had a family, career. . .
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It really comes down to whether or not you believe in the farce of equal outcome.
 
Sundancer said:
Oh, it sounds silly way, way deeper than just on the surface - and we get to hear from researcher(s) educated beyond their intelligence.
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Your assessment of the research "on a way deeper level" is peculiar considering the paper hasn't been published yet.
 
midlifeflyer said:
No. They were the "stars"

When some world class athlete does something pretty bad and gets into the news, my wife will say "how awful!" She knows my response. "What do you expect? They're jocks."
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So it sounds like school in general is the tool of oppression, not dodge ball.
 
My recollection is that, being a kid-organized activity (vs gym class when the teachers organized it), any bullying during dodge-ball or similar was handled by not allowing those kids to play. Yet another advantage of letting kids sort it out, if you wanted to participate you had to play by the rules.

--

And speaking of gym class - that may have also been the last vestige of corporal punishment. Back in jr high in the mid-70s we had separate boys and girls gym. Boys gym was run by the wresting and basketball coaches. If you acted up you had your choice of punishment - one whack with the "board of education" or one (?) minute on the wresting mat with the coach.

At the beginning of each school year someone was always first to have to make that choice. The year I remember, the first kid took the paddle. It was one of those pizza-peel shaped things with holes drilled in it. The kid had to bend over with hands on knees and the coach wound up and let him have it. And it wasn't a love tap, that thing whistled through the air and made a hellacious "slap" when it hit. That kid screamed and ran around the gym a few times with his hands on his ass while the rest of us laughed...and pondered.

The next time a kid was given the choice he took the option of going to the mat with the wresting coach. That kid ended up looking like Beetle Baily after Sarge finished with him, or Loki after Hulk slammed him around like a rag doll. The rest of us didn't laugh any more, but we did ponder.

I think the only other time a kid got in trouble after that was when one kid got into an argument of some sorts with a coach. Our gym was across an alley from the school building and we were lined up ready to head to lunch. The kid got into it with a coach, and the coach moved toward the kid. The kid started backing up, then saw a Coke bottle in the alley and picked it up. He tried one of those movie moves where you break the bottle against a brick wall and use it like a shiv. Turns out that only works in the movies with a stunt bottle. The coach kept moving towards that kid and had one of those crazy looks in his eyes. The kid ran, the coach ran after him until they disappeard around the corner. Then the lunch bell rang and the rest of us didn't care about that kid anymore.

Good times.
 
Matthew said:
The kid ran, the coach ran after him until they disappeard around the corner. Then the lunch bell rang and the rest of us didn't care about that kid anymore.

Good times.
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That kid was you wasn't it?
 
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