So, I was chatting with some folks on Reddit about my experiences with paintball in the 90s and had a random thought that turned into a question, and I figure this would be the place to ask it.
I remember back then there was a concern in the paintball community regarding the "redneck survivalist" image paintball had and how thanks to the rise of militia groups paintball would get legislated out of existence/regulated/shunnned/whatever. I did subscribe to APG magazine back then and saw a couple of articles about the possibility and how we as players should be more "mindful" and "politically correct" when talking about our hobby to avoid 'scaring the squares'.
Now, my recollection of the reality of 90s woodsball doesn't line up with this even being a possibility, nor did I ever see any evidence of people hating on paintball because we had Scary Black Guns and Wore Camo. And really, 90s woodsballers (at least where I lived) were mostly a bunch of suburban teenage nerds; some wore a bit of camo, but most also wore sneakers, hoodies and Metallica t-shirts. Most had either ponytails or shaggy Kurt Cobain hair, acne, and a lot wore glasses. Nobody had the scratch for fancy kit - which is why some kids wore hoodies on the field. you could easily stash a pod or two in the pocket.
In short, taken in sum we looked about as "tacticool" as an episode of M.A.S.H.
Sure, there was the occasional older guy (30s/40s) who would show up in worn out camo with oil stains ( I learned what that meant right quick), usually packing either a beat-up Illustrator or some species of Sheridan...and those guys were serious. They'd one-ball you out of nowhere, glide past you on their way to their next target, and shake your hand in the staging area between games. If you asked, they'd explain how they snuck up on you. Like I said, definitely took their paintball seriously but again not very "tacticool" or aggressive at all. Just...you know, really good at paintball.
My experience with any "Moral Panic" regarding paintball was parents (usually mothers, mine included) asking various questions of the field owner about what this "paintball" thing was about...and it was more geared toward "is it safe?" than anything else. There was the occasional question about military involvement/militia stuff, but the owner just answered their questions with information and courtesy and that was generally that.
So I guess my question is, did that "Moral Panic" ever actually materialize anywhere? WAS there ever an organized attempt to shut down/limit paintball due to its 'redneck/survivalist' roots? Did I just get lucky and miss the fire, or was the whole worry for nothing? Because I don't remember any real attempts at coming after woodsball...and honestly, IMO the attempt in the 2000s by the industry to turn paintball into the next "extreme sport" did far more damage to its image and enjoyment factor than any supposed connection to survivalist groups ever did.
Am I missing something?
I remember back then there was a concern in the paintball community regarding the "redneck survivalist" image paintball had and how thanks to the rise of militia groups paintball would get legislated out of existence/regulated/shunnned/whatever. I did subscribe to APG magazine back then and saw a couple of articles about the possibility and how we as players should be more "mindful" and "politically correct" when talking about our hobby to avoid 'scaring the squares'.
Now, my recollection of the reality of 90s woodsball doesn't line up with this even being a possibility, nor did I ever see any evidence of people hating on paintball because we had Scary Black Guns and Wore Camo. And really, 90s woodsballers (at least where I lived) were mostly a bunch of suburban teenage nerds; some wore a bit of camo, but most also wore sneakers, hoodies and Metallica t-shirts. Most had either ponytails or shaggy Kurt Cobain hair, acne, and a lot wore glasses. Nobody had the scratch for fancy kit - which is why some kids wore hoodies on the field. you could easily stash a pod or two in the pocket.
In short, taken in sum we looked about as "tacticool" as an episode of M.A.S.H.
Sure, there was the occasional older guy (30s/40s) who would show up in worn out camo with oil stains ( I learned what that meant right quick), usually packing either a beat-up Illustrator or some species of Sheridan...and those guys were serious. They'd one-ball you out of nowhere, glide past you on their way to their next target, and shake your hand in the staging area between games. If you asked, they'd explain how they snuck up on you. Like I said, definitely took their paintball seriously but again not very "tacticool" or aggressive at all. Just...you know, really good at paintball.
My experience with any "Moral Panic" regarding paintball was parents (usually mothers, mine included) asking various questions of the field owner about what this "paintball" thing was about...and it was more geared toward "is it safe?" than anything else. There was the occasional question about military involvement/militia stuff, but the owner just answered their questions with information and courtesy and that was generally that.
So I guess my question is, did that "Moral Panic" ever actually materialize anywhere? WAS there ever an organized attempt to shut down/limit paintball due to its 'redneck/survivalist' roots? Did I just get lucky and miss the fire, or was the whole worry for nothing? Because I don't remember any real attempts at coming after woodsball...and honestly, IMO the attempt in the 2000s by the industry to turn paintball into the next "extreme sport" did far more damage to its image and enjoyment factor than any supposed connection to survivalist groups ever did.
Am I missing something?
- or some reporter, usually with an anti-gun viewpoint, would badmouth the sport as "violent" or "war games", and paint with red fill seen as "shooting fake blood at each other".
Comment