Skateparks, not just for skaters anymore?
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Editor’s Note: We are proud to say Mike V. will be checking in with us periodically to share his thoughts. For his first shot we wanted to know what Mike thought about the floodgates of BMX, Inline and even razor scooters that have opened onto our nation’s skateparks. It seems to me that our public skateparks are nothing more than microcosms of our greater society. And like in our greater society, there are a few scattered places I¹ve been to where young people, whether they ride skateboards, bikes, in-line skates or razor scooters all get along. The skatepark is their common ground and because of that there is a level of respect amongst all the different participants who can make use of the varied terrain of a skatepark. This is always something great to see and to be a part of whether it’s at a skatepark or in some other facet of our society. At the same time and what I’ve found to be much more common, as it also is in our greater society, is division, hatred and violence at skateparks between these young people who do these different sports. Seeing this anywhere in society is sickening but at a skatepark especially amongst young people really turns my stomach.
This is the sign that welcomes you at my local skatepark here in Long Beach. Notice that bikes and scooters are not permitted. Where are these young people supposed to go? I grew up in a world that didn’t have public skateparks or any kind of publicly designated area for skating and so I guess I’ve always thought of the possibility of a skatepark as being a sort of utopian landscape. I’ve always believed that skateboarding’s doors should be left wide open because the world had shut so many doors on us skaters growing up. But we didn’t let all of those cold shoulders deter us. When we were coming up my friends and I shared terrain with bmxers without question and welcomed anyone even remotely interested in what we were doing into our fold. Skateboarding was about acceptance. I liked it like that, I believed in it. I still do. To be thirty-one years old now and to live in a world where there are public skateparks and to know that many of these skateparks serve as nothing more than a breeding ground for division (even amongst skaters) is bittersweet. Now that we have what we’ve always wanted we’ve gotten greedy and are acting like elitist jocks. By saying that a skatepark is or should be for skateboarders only is leaving so many likeminded and soulful and creative people out of the picture. That’s not skateboarding to me.
This is my local skatepark, El Dorado. Is it a utopian landscape? It could be. Believe me, I’ve heard all of the arguments against bikes, blades and scooters in our skateparks and still none of them hold water. Where are these other young people suppose to go if they can’t go to the skatepark? We’re shutting them out like we were shut out for so long. Maybe you believe that they have to pay their own dues and get their own parks built. I think that’s a bunch of crap. If we can’t do better than those who shut us down by opening our arms and doors to others than we’ve learned nothing and don’t deserve these skateparks at all. Through the years Ive ridden with bmxers, in-line skaters and even a few razor scooter riders all over the world. I’ve never once thought of myself or my sport of choice as being better or above theirs. I’ve always been able to relate to these individuals and what their doing and I’ve always believed that we’re kindred spirits. Additionally, there’s something to be said about anyone who’s out there doing his or her own thing. They shouldn’t have to get grief for it especially not from skateboarders. That they do is sad.
In-line skaters are welcome at my local park and seem to coexist decently with the skateboarders at least while I’m around. Like I said, the skatepark serves as a microcosm of society and if you break it down to what goes on just between the participants of these different sports you’ll see that it’s a scary world that we live in. I still believe that the skatepark can and should be a utopian landscape and I’ll never forfeit such an ideal. If we can’t fight for what’s right and make a difference in our own little worlds how can we ever hope to effect the rest of the world? We all need to look inside ourselves and make a change. For some of us this change starts where we ride.
