It is legitimate to inquire about the racial/religious/sexual makeup of participants in the industry.
The question could have been asked more delicately, such as "why do I see so few racial minorities playing"? This way of asking the question encompasses race, but is less potentially provocative,as it refers to 'race' as a phenomona, rather than singling out a particular minority.
It is inappropriate to make untrue, seemingly bigoted remarks such as 'whites are wealthier' as this is sterotyping of the worst kind and deliberately invites outrage and upset.
By analogy, its like these statements: 'why is there an apparent difference in educational success that seems to run along racial lines' versus 'all asian kids do really well in school because their parents beat them if they don't bring home straight As'. One asks a question based on presumably factual information, the other makes racially charged assumptions.
There are any number of reasons why there might seem to be fewer people of a particular racial type participating in paintball:
1. 'whites' are a majority in the country. this of course includes many 'non-whites' who appear to be white. naturally, you will see more 'whites' playing than non-whites
2. geography. there are numerous areas around the country that have far less racial diversity than others. If you live in a 'white bread enclave', its unlikely you'll ever see a non-white playing locally
3. economics. the general history of racial minorities in this country is to enter as unskilled labor and, after several generations of struggle, to have a spread of economic diversity like everyone else here who already went through the process. Some have been more successful than others at this.
4. local economics. A large percentage of playing fields are naturally located in rural areas; it is not atypical for the populations of rural areas in this country to have a large population of low-income minority residents.
5. cultural. here's a good one: why don't you see more Hasidic Jews playing paintball? If you want to be sterotypical, they're Jews, right? They can certainly afford to play...well, it turns out paintballs are non-kosher, so whether most of them actually control the banks and the media or not hardly matters. Even if they do, they still won't be playing. There are all kinds of cultural norms that may contribute to a bias against playing paintball.
6. cultural perception. it may also be that paintball is perceived by various minorities as being a 'white person's game' (gee, wonder where that concept might come from?) and most folks don't want to go where they think they won't be welcome.
There are many other reasons as well.
The question could have been asked more delicately, such as "why do I see so few racial minorities playing"? This way of asking the question encompasses race, but is less potentially provocative,as it refers to 'race' as a phenomona, rather than singling out a particular minority.
It is inappropriate to make untrue, seemingly bigoted remarks such as 'whites are wealthier' as this is sterotyping of the worst kind and deliberately invites outrage and upset.
By analogy, its like these statements: 'why is there an apparent difference in educational success that seems to run along racial lines' versus 'all asian kids do really well in school because their parents beat them if they don't bring home straight As'. One asks a question based on presumably factual information, the other makes racially charged assumptions.
There are any number of reasons why there might seem to be fewer people of a particular racial type participating in paintball:
1. 'whites' are a majority in the country. this of course includes many 'non-whites' who appear to be white. naturally, you will see more 'whites' playing than non-whites
2. geography. there are numerous areas around the country that have far less racial diversity than others. If you live in a 'white bread enclave', its unlikely you'll ever see a non-white playing locally
3. economics. the general history of racial minorities in this country is to enter as unskilled labor and, after several generations of struggle, to have a spread of economic diversity like everyone else here who already went through the process. Some have been more successful than others at this.
4. local economics. A large percentage of playing fields are naturally located in rural areas; it is not atypical for the populations of rural areas in this country to have a large population of low-income minority residents.
5. cultural. here's a good one: why don't you see more Hasidic Jews playing paintball? If you want to be sterotypical, they're Jews, right? They can certainly afford to play...well, it turns out paintballs are non-kosher, so whether most of them actually control the banks and the media or not hardly matters. Even if they do, they still won't be playing. There are all kinds of cultural norms that may contribute to a bias against playing paintball.
6. cultural perception. it may also be that paintball is perceived by various minorities as being a 'white person's game' (gee, wonder where that concept might come from?) and most folks don't want to go where they think they won't be welcome.
There are many other reasons as well.
Comment