Ethics – West Coast Review

An easy win is never a true victory – ethical questions for parents

Believe it or not Artistic Roller Skating is a real sport, alive and well. The members of the USA National Team do things to rival the Ice Skaters you see in the Olympics. It is a great sport…but like all sports there are some issues…

My 13-year-old daughter just qualified for the US National Championships in Artistic Roller Sports while at the SW Pacific Roller Sports Championships in Fresno, CA (for Arizona, California and Nevada).

In Artistic Roller Skating there are A, B and C skating events according to the abilities and experience of the skaters. Sounds good on paper, but there is a dark side of this sport.

We’re all happy today about skating BUT there are young skaters who should be going to the National Championships who are not. That is because overqualified A skaters who PLACE and WIN in A events are skating B events and winning. That is bad sportsmanship and ethically WRONG. What sort of satisfaction do the coaches and parents get out of that. It is totally jacked up. I’ve seen these kids work so hard all year. I’ve seen the B skaters improve and become great skaters – and then they have their spots stolen from them.

That is one reason good skaters are dropping out of the sport. I often wonder about the parents of the A skaters who skate B and win in both. How can they look at themselves in the mirror and not see a bad person? What sort of wrong messages are they sending to their kids. The easy A is no A. The one who dies the most metals/toys/prizes does not win if it is a hollow undeserving win. The life lesson isn’t there.

This is KILLING the sport. IT IS KILLING IT. This might be the last group of skaters because the rules are so jacked up. Every year there are fewer skaters at the skate meets. Every wonder why? Letting A skaters who place and even win turn around and skate B events is WHY. Yes, you selfish coaches and parents YOUR egos are killing the very sport you claim to love.

And to all of those B skaters out there who worked so hard this year – keep skating – when you’re grown you’re the ones who will be on top and you’re the ones who will be the true winners!

One more word…and this is not for all of the really great adult skaters from age 21-over 79 that I meet at the competitions and in the rink. You’re the ones who encourage the young skaters and inspire them. You’re the ones we look at and say WOW.

But there are those “others”. We all know who they are.

A big problem with the sport of Artistic Roller Sports is all the OLD TIMERS who go online or in the rinks and do NOTHING BUT COMPLAIN and talk about the good old days. Those who live in the past will get older faster. It is sad that a bunch of old haters are doing everything they can to ruin it for young skaters who are desperately trying to keep this sport alive. They complain about everything from the quality of the skaters to the dress styles. Well HEY you OLD FARTS – the kids skating now are doing an AWESOME JOB. They are skating better than you ever did. Their dresses are better than yours ever were. They are doing this almost dead sport out of LOVE. Love that you’ll never know in your black nasty old spiteful heart. So just SHUT THE F UP. You and your old fashioned outdated ways are why this sport can’t get corporate sponsors.

So to end on a higher note and a positive note: For all of the skaters who are out there…THIS IS YOUR SPORT. Take charge of it. If you don’t like what your coach is doing TELL HER. If you don’t like the rules WRITE THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE. Write a blog post. Put it on Facebook. Call USARS. Let them know what YOU WANT.

A Message From The Creator

A Message From The Creator.

Enemies of the Art Part 2–Psychic Vampires

From the blog of Kristen Lamb:

The first enemy we discussed, was Approval Addiction. Today, we discuss Psychic Vampires. We all know them and likely are related to more than a few. These are the complainers, the whiners, the neverending-vortexes-of-need, the flakes, the wafflers, the haters, the critics and the bullies.

Writing is a unique profession. We are in the entertainment business which means we wear many, many hats. We are artists, but we are also entrepreneurs in a marketplace with staggering competition, where discoverability is nothing short of a nightmare.

Our profession is also distinctive because our emotions and state of mind cannot be separated from our work. Anything that drains us, distracts us, discourages us can spell death if not dealt with early and swiftly. Toxic people will poison our muse, the root system of our art.

For the rest of the article see: Enemies of the Art Part 2–Psychic Vampires.

My kids don’t care if you hate their music for no reason. They DO care if you hate people for no reason.

My kids don’t care if you hate their music for no reason. They DO care if you hate people for no reason..

Personal Hygiene, Vampire Hunters and Real Friends…and don’t forget the Marx Brothers

Personal Hygiene, Vampire Hunters and Real Friends…and don’t forget the Marx Brothers.

10 Rape Prevention Tips

Don’t throw rape back in the faces of women. Women who are raped don’t ask for it. They don’t want it. They are not to blame.

Ten rape prevention tips:

1. Don’t put drugs in women’s drinks.

2. When you see a woman walking by herself, leave her alone.

3. If you pull over to help a woman whose car has broken down, remember not to rape her.

4. If you are in an elevator and a woman gets in, don’t rape her.

5. When you encounter a woman who is asleep, the safest course of action is to not rape her.

6. Never creep into a woman’s home through an unlocked door or window, or spring out at her from between parked cars, or rape her.

7. Remember, people go to the laundry room to do their laundry. Do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

8. Use the Buddy System! If it is inconvenient for you to stop yourself from raping women, ask a trusted friend to accompany you at all times.

9. Carry a rape whistle. If you find that you are about to rape someone, blow the whistle until someone comes to stop you.

10. Don’t forget: Honesty is the best policy. When asking a woman out on a date, don’t pretend that you are interested in her as a person; tell her straight up that you expect to be raping her later. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the woman may take it as a sign that you do not plan to rape her.

Don’t throw rape back in the faces of women. Women who are raped don’t ask for it. They don’t want it. They are not to blame.