Dodge Ball is a tool of oppression....

Yep everytime I played that, "Cultural Imperialism" was running through my mind, lol.
 
You know what I leaned from playing dodgeball? ...how to duck...and I mean that metaphorically in life.
 
I've never thrown a dodgeball in anger! It was a game, with some sociopolitical influence, sure. Depending on the player, they went after the largest threats or the easy out. They went after their friends for fun or the outcast because, well, they're the outcast. They went after the girl they liked to show masculinity or they went after the more athletic guys to show masculinity in front of the girls.

The picking of the teams was where it probably did the most damage to these students. Waiting to be picked, watching other kids be preferred over yourself, but that happens in any School yard pick. That last kid, had to feel pretty crappy about being picked last.

I was the type of player that went after the biggest threats first. Purely strategy.
 
I always loved when teams had to be picked. Nobody wants to lose so they pick who they think is best. Didn't matter if its their worst enemy. "I was really hoping you wouldn't pick me cause I was going to knock your head off" "I had to pick the best of what losers were left"
No racism, sexism, or political BS. Kids were picked solely based on their skill at the sport at hand.
 
Agree completely with the title of this thread. Just one more way for jocks to make themselves feel big by picking on little kids.
 
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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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'll disagree. Dodgeball, as far as team sports are concerned, is about the most level playing field. Throw, dodge and possibly catch, those are the skills you use in a dodgeball game, and you don't have to be the best at them to impact the game. You don't need knowledge of the game and a memorized playbook. They aren't trying to hit 85+ mph fastballs, or shoot a ball into a hoop 10' in the air. They aren't putting on pads playing tailback against an experienced defense.

Throw ball, don't be hit by the ball, thems the rules. What other team sports exist where everyone even has a shot at standing as equals with all their classmates.
 
Fiveslide said:
I'll disagree. Dodgeball, as far as team sports are concerned, is about the most level playing field. Throw, dodge and possibly catch, those are the skills you use in a dodgeball game, and you don't have to be the best at them to impact the game. You don't need knowledge of the game and a memorized playbook. They aren't trying to hit 85+ mph fastballs, or shoot a ball into a hoop 10' in the air. They aren't putting on pads playing tailback against an experienced defense.

Throw ball, don't be hit by the ball, thems the rules. What other team sports exist where everyone even has a shot at standing as equals with all their classmates.
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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.
 
This is true, so I'll put on my nomex suit for the flames to come.

I was terrible at Baseball because I was terrified about getting hit by the ball. At the plate, in the outfield if I missed the catch, etc. Catch didn't bother me as much, since the common goal was for the ball to be in my glove. You don't get beaned in the noggin playing catch. I will say that the high point of my Little League career was the game I hit TWO homers. That poor pitcher, I hope nobody told him the WORST batter in the league got two HR's off him.

Anyway, Basketball and Water Polo, much better experiences. Those balls don't hurt as much. They're softer and have less velocity.

But back to Dodgeball. Wasn't my favorite game. You can probably guess where I usually was in the team picking exercise.

All that said... I think the PC crowd is wrong. Dodgeball wasn't my favorite game... so what? Can we ban baseball because of it's elitism? I didn't care too much for Art class either. It made me feel bad that I wasn't creative enough.... let's get rid of THAT!
 
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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Well, that kid was obviously an *******, and I hope karma got him. I never played like that, and I don't remember anyone else with that strategy in my classes. Our's was always get the players most likely to get you first. Our games were often decided by the non athletic types as the more dominant players got taken out early.

And yet, what team sports do we teach in PE that require the least amount of skills? Because that is what you're saying, don't play dodgeball because the students that are no good don't have a chance.
 
I had bullies like that too, but it made it all the sweeter when you domed one of them because they weren't expecting it.
 
Dodge ball was what we played when the adults were around.

Dirt clods was what we did when the adults were not around.

Bruises were the participation trophy back when I was a kid.
 
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.

Also a big part of life is taking a beating. Dodge-ball is a really easy beating too.
 
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.

Also a big part of life is taking a beating. Dodge-ball is a really easy beating too.
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I know in my area there are adult kickball leagues. If I only had the time.
 
Fiveslide said:
I know in my area there are adult kickball leagues. If I only had the time.
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I liked kickball too.

part of the thing I don't like about this dodgeball being oppressive is even when it was Saturday and we had nothing to do with me and my friends would play this game called butts up which was a modified version of wall-ball we're after a few penalties you bent over and your friends got the beam you in the ass with a racquetball. And we loved it.

It's just like going to play paintball. The fear of pain makes a game a lot more fun and it makes you really work hard because you don't want to get hurt
 
There are few things like a red rubber ball to the face to learn situational awareness, rapid reaction and aggressive response to a threat. Dodgeball carries over to so many other fields of endeavor.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I liked kickball too.

part of the thing I don't like about this dodgeball being oppressive is even when it was Saturday and we had nothing to do with me and my friends would play this game called butts up which was a modified version of wall-ball we're after a few penalties you bent over and your friends got the beam you in the ass with a racquetball. And we loved it.

It's just like going to play paintball. The fear of pain makes a game a lot more fun and it makes you really work hard because you don't want to get hurt
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My friend used to own a paintball field when we were in our early 20's. You know who whooped our butts? A church youth group aged about 10-12. They may as well have worn their Sunday best cause I don't think we hit them. I got shot in the back of the head, the forehead and my thumb, I screamed like a baby.
 
They made us stop playing in middle school because kids kept getting hit in the face... Maybe that’s why so many people are so soft now?
 
Must be a regional thing. I moved a lot in grade school. Kickball was big during recess in one of my schools, dodgeball at another. My recollection was there was never any rule saying you HAD to play, but we usually hit recess hard.

We always played a team version of dodgeball (one ball). If you got hit, you went to the end line on the other side of the opposing team. If you were able to get the ball and hit an opponent from the back line you were “out of prison” and back in the regular side. The first team that got the whole other team in prison won. I think we rarely had time to finish a game. This way, nobody was ever really “out”. Even if you were the first one in prison, you always had a really good opportunity to grab a ball that someone just dodged and smack him with it from behind before he had a chance to recover. For some reason we called it “Nations”. It got crazy when one team had an equal number in their box and in prison and the other team only had one kid left and he had to avoid being hit from one side, then the other.
 
Matthew said:
For some reason we called it “Nations”. It got crazy when one team had an equal number in their box and in prison and the other team only had one kid left and he had to avoid being hit from one side, then the other.
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We played a similar variant called Socco. It was always a good time and as others have noted, was a game that could be played well even by someone without a lot of athletic ability. Lots of different kids played it, and was cool because you'd have people playing together that wouldn't ordinarily hang out otherwise. You were never allowed to throw at someone's head, although with that big red ball it was pretty much impossible to seriously hurt someone anyway. Good memories!
 
ktup-flyer said:
They made us stop playing in middle school because kids kept getting hit in the face... Maybe that’s why so many people are so soft now?
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We had a rule that if you hit the player in the head, you were out. The smallest kid in class was actually a good pick because he crouched the whole time and could actually catch a ball if it wasn't thrown hard enough. he sat in the back and the only way to get him out was towards the end of the game when he was the last one and HAD to thow a ball.
midlifeflyer said:
I might have you beat. I was picked after the guy who was picked after the girl.
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Some girls can flat throw a dodgeball. I specifically remember one gal being the meanest person on the court. Might be totally unrelated but she identifies as a man now...
 
I remember playing dodgeball in PE in grade school and there were no teams. Just a wild madhouse, which leveled the playing field quite a bit as you can't watch in all directions at once.

No head shots. You were out if you did and in trouble it the PE instructor thought it was intentional. That was back in the days when school could actually punish students, so "in trouble" was serious business.



Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
Dodgeball was fun, kickball was fun. Granted I’ve always been athletic, but I don’t recall having it out for anyone in particular. The teams were made by the P.E. teacher (usually by just counting off every other person) and you rarely had all the athletic kids on one team. It was more exhilarating to try and get the guys you knew were also athletic because it was a challenge. It’s tough to gang up on “weaker” kids because once the get hit, they’re out, so it’s not like you can get a lot of shots in. I particularly loved having no ball in-hand and having someone send a screamer my way. Lots of baseball made me pretty adept at catching that ball, sending the thrower to the sidelines (freeing a teammate from prison), and returning fire on their teammate.
 
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.

We also liked to play “ghosts and goblins” which was like freeze tag, but with some slight rule changes and was played at night usually on a neighborhood street about 5-6 properties long with 8-10 kids.
 
TheGolfPilot said:
We had a rule that if you hit the player in the head, you were out. The smallest kid in class was actually a good pick because he crouched the whole time and could actually catch a ball if it wasn't thrown hard enough. he sat in the back and the only way to get him out was towards the end of the game when he was the last one and HAD to thow a ball
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I was that kid.

TheGolfPilot said:
Some girls can flat throw a dodgeball. I specifically remember one gal being the meanest person on the court. Might be totally unrelated but she identifies as a man now...
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That would be my aunt. Except she doesn’t identify as man. She was a woman’s fast pitch softball national champion.
 
SoonerAviator said:
...we played a game which went by various names, but was essentially “tackle the man with the football”...
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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.
 
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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Lol yeah our version was referred to a “smear” as well. I was a pitcher through middle school as well as catcher, so I had little issue throwing a bullet. I just don’t know anyone who ever vocalized dodgeball being a game that altered their life, good or bad.
 
I loved dodgeball. I couldn't throw, didn't catch well, but was quick and had very good S.A. I generally got way up front during the game so my teammates didn't block my view.

Fun times.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Lol yeah our version was referred to a “smear” as well. I was a pitcher through middle school as well as catcher, so I had little issue throwing a bullet. I just don’t know anyone who ever vocalized dodgeball being a game that altered their life, good or bad.
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Briany, in his post said the word, or at least partially spelled the word, that I was thinking of. We're becoming a whole nation of them.
 
I think our teachers knew this would be a problem, and this is almost 50 years ago; they kept the lines apart far enough that if anyone got beaned the ball was traveling pretty slow and did not leave a mark.
 
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