Longboarding: Society a One-sided Judge

Most people nowadays pretty much cling on what the majority of the people in our society think and they don’t bother asking why. They only look on the negative side of things, ride on with the bandwagon and abolish whatever that does not fit in the norms, instead of looking in the positive side and finding a way to make things work out. They jump to conclusions rather than hearing our side of the story. We skaters, especially here in our small community in Dumaguete, are misunderstood, misconceived, outcasts, persona non grata, at least for most of the people.
I say this in behalf of the others who are also prejudiced just because they are doing what they love to do even though it’s beyond the social standard. I think they just can’t handle the fact that even though the road maybe bumpy but we find ways to make that bumpy road a fun bumpy road to skate on. It’s what you get most out of what you have that counts.

We skate for fun and for solidarity, heck we chose to skate rather than engaging in illegal activities, which are very rampant today. We even organize and participate in events that would benefit the community. We push and use our own energy for our beat up environment’s sake and at the same time it is a good exercise for the body. We just do what we love and there is nothing wrong with that. The rush and excitement brought about by skating is by far one of the best feeling that you will ever experience in the face of the earth and I’m not exaggerating. For a moment we forget all our problems and we are disconnected from the criticisms that people speak in their minds.

During our skate trips to rural areas like Valencia, Siquijor and Bacong, the fresh, cold air in that blows against your body and eliminates all those bad vibes and we get to hang with the locals who are more than willing to let us have fun in their neighbourhood. Others say we are a nuisance in the streets, but I strongly disagree. What about those motorcycles that have mufflers that sounds like a chainsaw machine, those that think that they own the road swerving through traffic dangerously, and those vehicles that make use of the hazard as an excuse to park in a supposed to be non-parking area.

I’m not fighting fire with fire but most of these guys are probably still learning and we strongly advise them to stay on the sidewalks or practice on roads that have less traffic if they can and that they should always wear a helmet. We help each other out because we would love for the sport to be recognized as a legitimate sport and not just a hobby, especially here in our society that is still on the adjustment stage.  

Asking the society to change is like asking a million ants not to bite you, and we can’t change that. What we can do though is to show them that we are not just some punks who ride a plank with wheels just to get attention. Anyone who wants to join us is more than welcome to approach us anytime. Most of the guys hang out at the road near the Negros Oriental High school or at the spot we call “bridge”, which is at Bantayan near the Silliman Farm. So keep on doing what you love and haters be hating and stay stoked.•

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