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NiTROACTiVE

Evan Doherty Makes History in Skateboarding

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Nine year old Evan Doherty made history in skateboarding by being the youngest skateboarder to conquer the MegaRamp.

You can read the full article right here, and look for a video there too.

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While a fairly awesome accomplishment, the only thought I could have watching this video was "irresponsible parenting". I guess I'm not rad enough.

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I remember when skateboarding was all the rage. I still own a pretty nice deck, but my lack of balance and fear of pain prohibits me from being a pro-skater.

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Phml said:

While a fairly awesome accomplishment, the only thought I could have watching this video was "irresponsible parenting". I guess I'm not rad enough.

If soccer was his thing then he could get severely injured on the field. Or he could be riding his bike like all kids do and get hit by a car. Clearly the kid has talent and I applaud the parents for letting him do what he was born to do.

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Phml said:

While a fairly awesome accomplishment, the only thought I could have watching this video was "irresponsible parenting". I guess I'm not rad enough.


You're a real trooper, you know that?

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If soccer was his thing then he could get severely injured on the field. Or he could be riding his bike like all kids do and get hit by a car.


Yes, the amount of risk involved in playing soccer or riding a bike is exactly the same as doing this.

Can I interest you in a high-reward investment plan? I'm building a startup selling bridges in London.

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Csonicgo said:

You're a real trooper, you know that?


Real life isn't some Hollywood flick you pirated yesterday, and teen angst as a belief system won't do you much good if your kid ends up paraplegic because of your carelessness.

On the other hand, thinking independent thought is saying "no" when The Man says "yes" is a fine way to drastically reduce your chances of ever getting into a relationship resulting in children, so that probably closes the loop nicely. Internet experts...

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Phml said:

if your kid ends up paraplegic because of your carelessness

What's worse, being a "careless" parent who recognises that their child is physically gifted and allows them to pursue their dreams, or being a controlling one who could cause their kid to rebel against them and do what it is they love doing anyway?

You're talking about it as if his parents are letting him shoot up heroin because he enjoys it.

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You need to step back and lay down your own crack pipe if you truly believe a nine years old has, on his own, without any outside influence, a lifelong dream of skateboarding.

That fourteen years old mentioned in the article doing another impressive feat? I got no problem with that. Fourteen isn't nine, nine isn't fourteen.

Physically gifted? Nonsense! At this age, there's barely much differences between kids, compared to the differences between adults (assuming healthy individuals obviously). Their bodies are still building up, for fuck's sake. This is skill at work and hard work right there. No chorus of angels magically came down from the skies while holy music played to show this kid was "born to do" this. He's not some alien from Krypton completely impervious to damage, he's just a nine years old.

You're seemingly focused on the actual, immediate physical threat. Obviously that's a concern, but in these stories the endgame is often much more worrisome. Being pushed into something this early (and, yes, every kid this age doing something at such a high level is pushed, shove any destiny bullshit elsewhere) can have devastating effects on a mental level, years down the line. These child stars you never heard of again as adults, they haven't moved off to some magical fairy land where everyone is happy all the time.

It's so absurd I can't believe I'm even arguing this. I bet if someone posted a youtube video of a toddler being flown around by his redneck dad, you'd all shout "what a moron", "darwinism at work" and similar comments, but somehow add a few more years and everyone starts assuming a kid is just a little man. Ooh look at him doing this grownup thing, so cute and awesome! Who cares about him as an individual or boring boring medical realities, we got our entertainment. Yuck.

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Phml said:

You need to step back and lay down your own crack pipe if you truly believe a nine years old has, on his own, without any outside influence, a lifelong dream of skateboarding.


He just broke a record, dude. yeah, I think he does. Did anyone else make him make that jump?

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this is the same kind of crap as the kid who climbs the highest mountains of all the continents and that dutch chick that sailed around the world solo. at least she was 14 when she started, although she had to wait for a year for a court to decide. there's massive imprinting of these "dreams" going on by at least one of the parents, projecting their own ambitions. it's naive to think otherwise and i consider such glory hunting kind of sad. but hey, it's their kid who's going to die in an accident sooner or later and i won't shed a tear for them.

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Csonicgo said:

He just broke a record, dude.


But the record had to do completely with age. How young is too young to have your heart set on a lifelong dream?

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Grain of Salt said:

Hmmmmmm.

This debate is quite weird, but it could stand to be a bit weirder.

Not up to your standard of amusement?

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Grain of Salt said:

Hey, I'm just celebrating the convivial surrealism that is EE.


Only doomworld could find a flaw in a 100% positive piece about a child achieving an amazing feat in the pursuit of his childhood dream.

It's almost scary.

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Csonicgo said:

Only doomworld could find a flaw in a 100% positive piece about a child achieving an amazing feat in the pursuit of his childhood dream.

I think many parents would find the same flaw.

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Enjay said:

So... small boy on a wheeled board jumps over a gap, right?

I won't be impressed until he can leap 40 homeless like Cartman can.

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exp(x) said:

I think many parents would find the same flaw.


Meh if my kid really wanted to skateboard or be a ballerina and was willing to put in the effort required to get good at it, I would probably let him lol

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Mr. T said:

Meh if my kid really wanted to skateboard or be a ballerina and was willing to put in the effort required to get good at it, I would probably let him lol

I wouldn't.

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exp(x) said:

I think many parents would find the same flaw.

Yeah, just like Football, where injuries like concussions and contusions are just the tip of the iceberg. Or Soccer, where you always risk getting a fatal kick to your jimmies. Yet, tons of children do these sports on a daily basis.

Nothing is safe. Let's just deal with it.

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Csonicgo said:

Yeah, just like Football, where injuries like concussions and contusions are just the tip of the iceberg. Or Soccer, where you always risk getting a fatal kick to your jimmies. Yet, tons of children do these sports on a daily basis.

Football? Soccer? Define "children" then. I doubt there are even serious competitive events for kids under 12 in any sport.

Besides, that just proves how careless parents can be.

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Am I sensing some butthurt envy here by people who know that at age 9 they were be nowhere near as good?

As for physical differences....seems you never noticed how certain kids are able to bully/beat other kids with apparent ease. All it takes is to be just a bit stronger/more developed than average, be into a some sport routine...and you'll have "super" 9yos on the one hand, and "wimps" on the other.

I only agree with the fact that at year 9 a child can't feel "ambition" or have "dreams" in the sense an adult or a (late) teenager has, it's almost always due to encouragement and/or pressure from it parents. That being said, some will cut it, some won't. Then again, kids raised in the USA may be different...I'm only judging by the standards of my neck of the woods.

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Belial said:

Football? Soccer? Define "children" then. I doubt there are even serious competitive events for kids under 12 in any sport.

Besides, that just proves how careless parents can be.


Meh, maybe he's a skating prodigy. Since we know not even a percent of this kid's story, maybe we're being too harsh.

"Children" varies by culture, anyway. Early-Victorian era viewed them as "small adults". Industrial era viewed them as cheap workers. I think I'd rather see a child do this than work in a coal mine.

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DeathevokatioN said:

When I have children of my own, I'd hate to see them in a situation where they could cause permanent damage to themselves or destroy their lives.


Don't send them to school, then. A rock thrown by a bully is all that it takes.

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Maes said:

Don't send them to school, then. A rock thrown by a bully is all that it takes.

There is a huge difference between school and this dangerous skateboarding stunt record. School atleast teaches children to integrate into shitty modern society and is a necessity, whereas this whole trying to be the youngest person to conquer a dangerous task seems a bit shallow to me. Being the youngest person to hit a tennis ball over the net and becoming a world class champion like Nadel are two completely different things altogether. I don't really care about debating further though, since the chances of me finding a girl are debatable in themself. ;)

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DeathevokatioN said:

I don't really care about debating further though, since the chances of me finding a girl are debatable in themself. ;)


Let's debate the debatability of that :-p

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