f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

one-breath pundit  

The headlines ask Is dodgeball too dangerous for kids?  I’ll let Overlawyered.com cover this

in full, but I just have to wonder about a lawsuit that claims teacher-supervised dodgeball is 

too dangerous for 7-year-olds and inappopriate for grammar school gym classes.   I’d like to see

stats that compare injuries from dodgeball with pee-wee sports like soccer, baseball and football,

which seem to be fine with the very same folk who think dodgeball is too warlike.   Why not

just have the little kids use softer balls?  Would this case exist without a potentially big dollar

payout for the lawyers? (Lawsuit aims to put dodgeball on trial (Newsday/AP, Nov. 19, 2004)

Updates: (Nov. 21): Walter Olson treats this topic here.

(Nov. 22, 2004): Wikipedia has a good, brief history of “dodgeball” and has this

to say about the current Controversy:

“Dodgeball, when it emerged, was touted as the “nerd’s sport”.  Since players

normally were not part of a team, no player had to endure the teasing that would

fall upon a player accused of “causing the team to lose”. As well, the game was

seen as having a light-hearted and self-deprecatory nature and, therefore, more

amenable to non-athletic students.

 

“Ironically, dodgeball has come under attack for failing to meet the needs of precisely

those students. Opponents of dodgeball have argued that the game provides, for

bullies, the excuse to abuse unathletic and unpopular students, by throwing the

ball hard enough to cause injury.”

 

 

 

 

fall’s first chill —

the football

bounces louder

 

driver’s training–

the instructor’s hairy arm

hangs out the window

 

by Barry George from A New Resonance 2: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku  

credits: both poems – Haiku Happens 1998

 

• 
  
  by dagosan: 

clogged drain–

300-pound plumber

under the sink

   

                                        [Nov.20, 2004] 

 

Saturday Searchee Bonus:  I haven’t posted this yet on the Inadvertant Searchee page, but

had to chuckle over our 1st Place showing in the Google Search won’t stop mentioning prior relationships>.

Have no idea why someone was Googling amputee+happy>, but I hope it was therapy, not depravity. [we

came in #72 of 73,000 results.