Orthodoxy, Fundamentalism and Blasphemy
Originally Posted by Vince
It’s probably occurred to you over the years of perusing paintball media both print and web, that there always seems to be some commentary as it pertains to the philosophy of paintball. Almost always there are references to trends (real or perceived) that the writer refers to as damaging, or subversive to the cultural norms that they understand and believe in.
“The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas – uncertainty, progress, change – into crimes.” — Herbert Reade
I can first remember reading about how ‘paintball is dieing’ back in 1998 in an issue of some paintball magazine that probably doesn’t exist anymore. I guess it died but paintball didn’t. Perhaps it’s a matter of perception? An argument can be made that speed ball is ‘dieing’ right now given the financial turmoil in the market though it all depends on one’s definition of what ‘death’ really is. Are people really going to stop playing speed ball? Probably not but I also don’t measure it in the same way that someone else does, someone who cares. I’ve always believed that paintball is a very personal sport and so I think that paintball dies along with people who leave it. Conversely paintball is alive and well in those that play it and have a passion for it. Therefore attendance at events and other data points should be rigorously evaluated at least by 10 year intervals before drawing any conclusions. But let’s be serious here, more often than not an article describing paintball as dead will probably have more to do with what the writer deems as ‘blasphemous to the sport’. There’s always something evil that’s chipping away at their beautiful paintball paradise, something sinful and dirty…and naughty.
Just because someone tries paintball once and decides they’re not going to make a hobby of it doesn’t necessarily mean that they left with a bad taste in their mouth. We love our sport so much that we believe everyone could be as obsessed as we are. With the proper ‘guidance’ and ‘game play’ of course, (orthodoxy) but it just isn’t so. Some people just aren’t into it like we are.
