Big CONTROVERSY Brewing in the Shot Turd Thread

[AGD]

Come on in and debate the issues, we might do it live at the WLIPP too!!

AGD

[BTAutoMag]

im with ya AGD i wish i was there when you did it

[2000Sabre]

[manike]

Originally posted by 2000Sabre
Mancow is interested more in ratings so his motivations are quite different than ours. He does not have our best interest at heart. I say remove it from the forum and next time the opportunity arises to publicize paintball lets show the public what we are really about. Otherwise politely decline the offer to sensationalize our sport.

Well said.

manike

[FrAuStY]

2000 Sabre.. I agree totally with what you are saying, especially the perception is reality as most people base judgement on sight first.

I will say though, this should open the eyes that paintball is actually a non violent sport. Turd had no injury other than some skin irritation that will go away in a matter of days. Now if they hadn't set him up with proper saftey equipment, then I could see poeple being worried about the saftey.

Come on, parents allow their kids to watch boxing for crying out loud. That is one of the most violent sports in my eyes as people are beating each other silly in a ring surrounded by poeple cheering them on to land that next punch! If these parents are more worried about their children being injured or becoming a "thug/hooligan" playing paintball, than injuries that are sustained playing a common high-school sport such as football or soccer, they should have their heads examined!

Everyone I talked to about paintball (knowledgable and not) all ask does it hurt? And I say sure.. the first couple of times it will surprise you and after that.. you kinda get used to it. I don't think you could ever get used to being a boxer or football player. I mean look at Ali, after years of boxing he's brain dead.. no paintball player will go brain dead.. maybe blind but not brain dead. IMO if people think paintball is violent, they should have their double-helix removed from the gene pool due to lack of common sense!
Thats just my 2 pennies thrown in the cup.

On a different note.. are the lenses made from Lexan or acrylic? I think they are acrylic since they break and crack. Has anyone ever rallied to use Lexan as the material for the lens? Lexan is almost indestructable but its a little more expensive than acrylic. I mean if 1/2" lexan will stop a .357 magnum... I think 1/8" would stop a paintball at pointblank! That would solve the only paintball saftey concern.. is being shot in the mask and bursting your eye. (Which there is a very small chance of it coming through with enough force after impact to do that.. but its still possible)

[manike]

Originally posted by FrAuStY
Now if they hadn't set him up with proper saftey equipment, then I could see poeple being worried about the saftey.

So you missed the fact that NEITHER person had the proper eye/goggle wear in this fiasco?

Both had goggles modified from the original manufacturers intentions. It was not done with the proper safety equipment!

Also how often do people wear 1/4" plastic protection? And why if he wasn't hurt was he squealing like a stuck pig?

What do you think people will believe about the safety?

They will believe that is the normal goggles being worn and that those reactions are valid for being shot.

Not good.

manike

[Webmaster]

JT uses Lexan - at least they used to - they had it in thier ads...

[Spaceman613]

Well, I feel the video doesnt portray paintball very well. All of my friends hear horror stories about pain, and they see my welts after practices. This will just fuel fire to the politicians that think we are breeding murderers and vandals. Politicians are ignorant, and anything they see will make them think paintball is bad. I fear that local leaders see this and try to shut down a paintball field.

The uninformed dont want to hear facts or see how paintball is really safe. they want to look at one or two examples of how it can go wrong. Vandals and media used to be the worst for our sport. This video and "pranks/stunts" like it will soon become the fodder for the anti-paintball movement. And the fact that it was made by one of the leading mind in the sport makes it all the worse.

PLEASE remove the video (and pics) and hope it didnt fall into the wrong hands already.

Thanks
James Dunbar

[MagDog68]

Oh my god...it was a publicity stunt! Do we ban baseball because people get assaulted with bats? I think everyone should chill a little...

~Fred

[Spaceman613]

but politicians KNOW baseball. Paintball is still in its infancy compared to the other sports. I have dealt with local governments not wanting fields in the town or the area because of its perception. Any fodder they have to make paintball LOOK bad, they will use it.

And face it, WE SHOOT PEOPLE... It looks bad, and politicians and ignorant people go by what they happen to see or hear. I bet some listen to Mancow just to find things to go after.

WE know better, but THEY dont, and its them that makes the rules.

Now if TK uses the 20 bps to legitimately test goggles and protective gear, that would be great. But this wasnt a test, it was a publicity stunt.

[2000Sabre]

There will probably not be a lot of repercussions over this stunt. But there is a huge public perception difference between a sport, which uses a bat, and one that uses a gun.

Most people when they think of a baseball bat don't associate it to a weapon. Why is that? Because baseball is promoted and marketed as America's national past time. They use images of young boys and girls playing baseball in friendly competition and associate it to apple pie and ice cream. All positive images. However, the first thing most people think of when they hear the word gun is violence and that they're dangerous. Particularly when they don't own one and don't know anything about them.

That's the point people are trying to communicate. We here on AO know that paintball guns if used responsibly are safe and our sport is not about war games and violence. But if someone who's never heard, seen or read about paintball heard that stunt on the radio what do you think there impression would be? More than likely not a positive one.

If we all want our sport to be accepted then we need to show it in a positive light. We don't need to provide fodder for the anti-paintball crowd to use against us. This is a much bigger issue than what went on between TK and Mancow. If you want to continue to do stunts like this, at least have the sense to communicate to the unaware that it is just a stunt and that paintball is not played this way nor is it condoned on any field, in any tournament or by the industry at large.

[Spaceman613]

Very well said Sabre..

[spazzed]

My only complaint w/ the whole ordeal is that the fac that fat-*** was wearing rubber under his shirt, was hidden from the public. Now if they were to say that that he was wearing it before the incident, that would have ruined the whole thing. But after, no problems there.

[AGD]

edited video up now shows rubber

[MagDog68]

Whatever...I still say its just a promotional stunt and we should treat it that way. Everyone is so hypersensitive these days I am surprised we are allowed to have any fun.

Tom - don't take them down...you can't bow to every complaint of misrepresenting paintball's image! Anyone with half a brain will know this was a choreographed stunt.

~Fred