>From: Jill <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: skateboarding is not a crime >Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 09:41:31 -0500 > >Dear List: > > > I'd like to ask the anti-boarders on the list to take a deep breath and get > a little perspective: if the worst thing these kids are up to is > skateboarding, then they're fine kids. They're outdoors, getting fresh air > and exercise, not doing drugs or having sex or committing crimes or looking > up internet pornography. Yes, they wear ridiculously large pants and silly > haircuts, but so what? Most of us wore something stupid when we were 16, > whether we want to admit it or not. It's a privilege of youth, silly > outfits. > > In all of this hysteria about potential liability/lawsuits have I heard of > anyone actually getting sued for a skateboarding injury on their property. > Has it ever happened? Does anyone know, FIRST HAND, of an institution that > had to pay a skater's parents because the kid got injured on their >property? > > Another point: 99.9% of teenagers are lippy and have attitude in the > presence of authority. It comes with the territory. Don't get snarky with > skaters because they're just being normal teenagers. You don't expect > little leaguers to be perfect angels and ask sweetly for baseball diamonds > in public parks; why do skaters have to live up to a different standard of > behavior? If our parks depts. are going to put in facilities for baseball, > basketball, tennis, why not skating?? It's not a crime. Can I repeat >that > one more time? Skateboarding is NOT a crime. Nor should it be. > > Yes, it can be destructive, but it's not INTENTIONALLY destructive. These > are *kids* and they are *playing*. Please try to remember that. Make your > property unappealing to skaters and they will move on. Don't change > anything, and they'll probably get bored anyway and move on eventually. > And, yes, skaters use our parking lot and loading dock on occasion but so > far we haven't been sued and no-one's had an eye put out. > > Jill R. Chancey, Curator > Lauren Rogers Museum of Art > Laurel, MS > (phone) 601-649-6374 > (fax) 601-649-6379 > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).