Nazareth's New Skatepark: Will it Dispel or Reinforce the Stereotype?

The skateboarding mystique.

Let's be honest. With their bizarre language, dress and style, skateboarders are anti-establishment. They like it that way.

Yesterday was a perfect example of their mystique, at least to me. On one of the hottest days this summer, I saw a herd of them at Nazareth's new skatepark, which officially opens next Saturday. I spoke with a skater wearing a black cap (sideways), bulky trousers and a piercing in his face. He was oblivious to the blood, mixed with sweat, streaming down his right arm.

Despite this unsettling appearance, it's a relatively safe activity. Every year, 26 thousand skateboarders, mostly kids under 15, are treated in hospital emergency rooms. That may seem high, but it's a lot less than the number of kids treated for cycling injuries - 373,000! At least 100 of those kids pay the ultimate price.

In addition to being relatively safe, it's clearly a sport, too. A group of Nazareth kids made and posted a video (love the music) that demonstrates their athletic ability.

Negative Public Attitude Towards Skateboarding.

As athletic as they may be, skateboarders are foreign to most of us. We grew up with baseball, football and basketball. Few of us understand that kids who like to skateboard are no different than kids who play any of the more established sports.

Ross at NewsOverCoffee states the common attitude. "[M]any people are not happy with the general lack of respect displayed by many of the skateboarders in town. The lack of respect is for both property and individuals. Kids have used personal, private property for their own amusement, have been rude and disrespectful to individuals who have asked them to move along, have had a disregard for public safety by skating in intersections off curbs during daytime and evening hours and down the middle of the road despite holding up vehicle traffic."

My own experience is much different. Once you get past the goofy tee shirts, those kids are pretty much the same as the ones playing baseball and football. Most of them are being condemned simply because they are different. Only a very few are disrespectful.

It should come as no surprise that this general public resentment is shared by many police officers. That's expressed pretty clearly on the YouTube video at the beginning of this post. A Hot Springs, Arkansas cop lays the smack down on "Go Skateboarding Day." He chokes a 13 year-old boy, puts a neck lock on a teen-aged boy and girl simultaneously, and throws the boy to the ground like a rag doll. Conan? 'Roid rage? Amazingly, this officer has already been cleared and is back on the job, keeping the world safe from skateboarders.

Sadly, what happened in Hot Springs occurs pretty much everywhere else, too. A Philly skater was harassed by two cops at LOVE park, of all places. In addition to screaming that he was a druggie and "some kind of retard," cops broke this guy's glasses in the course of throwing him to the ground.

Now I realize they haven't broken out the hoses, but since when is it appropriate to respond to a petty summary offense with neck locks and throwing children to the ground? By that nitwit logic, we should all be bodyslammed every time we get an overtime parking ticket.

Nazareth's new skatepark already a focal point of public resentment.

Nazareth will be opening a public skatepark this coming Saturday. It's located right inside Nazareth park. It will be one of only seventeen skateparks in Pennsylvania. Much of the credit for this goes to councilman Jack Herbst, who has devoted six years to making this project a reality.

This park can dispel many of the common myths about skateboarding. But that won't happen if Nazareth police are unwilling to give it a chance. Let me tell you what has already happened.

As you enter Nazareth park, the very first thing you see is a large sign telling you dogs and booze are both verboten. Gambling, too, bippy. And ATVs. Once you pass this sign, the skatepark is on your left and two nice basketball courts are on your right. If you go a little farther into the park, close to the pool, a sign warns you that bikes and skateboards are prohibited beyond that point.

Now a logical person would conclude, based on that sign, that skateboards and bicycles are permitted before you get to that point. But this is the People's Republic of Nazareth, so you can throw logic right out the window.

Although the skatepark won't officially open until Saturday, it's already getting heavy use. And Nazareth police have already arrested at least one kid who dared skateboard on an unused basketball court located right next to the damn skatepark! He was fined $157, and his board was confiscated as "evidence" for over a week. He had no idea that he was doing anything illegal because no signs are posted that prohibit skateboards in that area of the park, and the basketball court is right next to the frickin' skatepark.

This is pure harassment. In addition to the lack of notice, this skater was bothering no one. He even asked basketball players on the other court for permission before he began grinding. Police were told he had their permission, but that didn't matter.

I suspect what really upset police is that this boy ignored them when they originally shouted at him. "You will respect My Authority." They assumed he was being disrespectful because that is, after all, the common misperception. In truth, the poor kid never even heard them. He skates with an ipod implanted in his skull, a common occurrence among teens these days.

"I was making gnar on my shredsled and never saw the bacon."

Translation: "I was so preoccupied I never heard the police officers."

What about dem dogs?

One sign that is plastered throughout the park is a prohibition against dogs, even those without skateboards. But as I saw myself yesterday, plenty of dogs are walked right through that park. Funny thing. There were no arrests Saturday night, when I attended an entertaining outdoor presentation of Oedipus Rex at Nazareth Park. Many Nazareth dogs must be classical scholars because at least ten of them were there for the play.(Maybe they know Rex!).

I sat in the cheap seats (on the grass), but I'm sure those dogs are so cultured they wouldn't think of relieving themselves on the public green.

Besides, dogs are man's best friend, while skateboarders are slackers who deserve what they get. Might as well be illegal aliens. Right?

A more enlightened view.

Not all cops are this insensitive. A few weeks ago, a detachment of Wilkes-Barre's finest was dispatched to quell seventy skateboarders demonstrating for their own skatepark in Luzerne County. Many of them took off when they saw the cops. Those that remained had a pleasant surprise. Three officers signed their petition, and with flashing lights, gave these kids an escort.

The skatepark is an important recognition, but means nothing if cops and the general public retain such a negative attitude. That's where Nazareth police are wrong.

The charges against that young boy should be dismissed. They are going to be dismissed anyway, but police could open up a line of communication if they dismissed the charges themselves. It's a thought.

Nazareth, like Wilkes-Barre, is an old town. Our kids leave the second they can get out of here. Part of it is jobs. But another big part is a community with an intolerant attitude. That's the worst way to attract or retain young professionals.