Paintball has its supporters in many countries. However, paintball, like everything else, has its haters. There are those who think paintball is violent and politically incorrect. Of course, these arguments are far from the truth.
A lot of people can tell what paintball is. However, not that many people can understand what paintball is not.
First of all, paintball is not an act of violence.
The casual observer would think: people hold "weapon" in their hands and "shoot" at people, but is it really connected with violence? Violence in today's society threatens lives. And basic rules of paintball try to protect players from even minor injuries:
Paintball markers are limited in the rate of fire (90 meters per second), while even in the most severe hit, a maximum trouble is a bruise. (Muhlestein).
Players wear protective masks that are designed specifically for paintball and they are required, no matter how good or bad somebody plays this game.
Shooting at an enemy at close range is strictly prohibited, and players consider this type of behavior as "bad taste". (Rose,34).
No physical contact between players (except hot handshakes after the successful completion of the game)
There are judges on the field who ensure the safety of the players in emergency situations.
These five evidences prove that the paintball players never hurt each other.
Paintball is not war, and not an imitation of war
At first glance, it is hard to agree with this, since game scenarios revolving around historical battles and campaigns, are very popular. However, players with the help of the paintball industry do not try to promote war. Many of the hosts of these events use a similar scenario to glorify bravery in the war, but it is not war propaganda. None of the players in paintball would get pleasure from being on war. As a combat veteran, a paintballer knows how quickly luck can leave him when the shells start to fly around.
Paintball gives the person a sense of his own worth as a human being and mortality.
Despite the similarity of paintball with warfare, the main aim is to defeat the enemy. There is one significant difference between paintball and video games. This difference is that paintball in the first place is a sport where the player is exposed to physical stress. Medium prepared paintballer while playing burns 420 calories per hour.
Children can play paintball.
If children are provided with safe equipment, suitable for their size, why not? Of course, if their parents are not against this and they are of proper age. In fact, paintball can teach children some important life skills. Victory doesn't matter here; race, position in society, age, religion do not matter; respect for the defenders of the Fatherland, the security, and achievement of goals – that are the things that really matter. But the most important thing, paintball teaches children to accept defeat, not as a failure but as a learning experience.
Juveniles, who start to play paintball, do not become aggressive and militant, since paintball is not advocating cruelty and violence. Their behavior becomes better. The game unites and excites children so much that they are struggling to show only the best qualities of their characters, which subsequently lead them along the difficult path of life. (Manière, 240)
Paintball is not dangerous
Protective gear is designed to withstand multiple strikes from balls, it even exceeds the industry standards of safety. (In other words, the rig is designed for a "worst case scenario" that should be applicable to all protective equipment.) Only a few people were injured playing paintball. Accident statistics shows that paintball is even safer than bowling!
Paintball does not prepare people to armed corps
People playing paintball are not a gang of paramilitary fighters. They do not learn military tactics for playing paintball. In fact, military tactics doesn't work in paintball. The reason for this is that military tactics requires a highly disciplined group of people, but this is not a paintball team. People there are a team of hard individualists, who do not particularly obey orders outside the field.
Paintball does not teach people to kill and be aggressive towards other people. Also, paintball is the only team sport where the person can legally withdraw his opponent from the game using skills. No one suffers.
Some players perceive defeat as "murder". This is just an expression and can hardly be compared with real murder. The thing is, the paintball players, do not actually think they murdered somebody when they hit a person from the opposite team.
Paintball does not develop the tendency to violence
In fact, psychologists believe that it is a catharsis (purification). It's a safe and healthy way to get rid of all the everyday life stress. Violent tendencies? A paintballer has absolutely NO tendencies to SOMETHING after a day on the paintball. Well, it is a lie. He tends to a hot bath and a warm bed!
Paintball does not provide skills in the use of firearms
Paintball markers have the same core features as firearms. And markers, and firearms have trigger locks, butts, barrels, bolts, triggers and sights. However, it is impossible to learn how to use real firearms, using paintball markers. Here is an example: how can somebody learn to work on a computer, using a pocket calculator? There are paintball markers that imitate the weight, the design and action of the firearm, but they are designed specifically for police and military trainings. They are not accessible to the basic public, playing paintball. Those that are available have been modified to better suit paintball. Design of paintball and tactical markers is completely different. What would be good for tactical marker, is not necessarily good, or even desirable, in paintball.
Paintball is a safe and fun game
More than one million people in North America play paintball. None of them is a rapist, malicious instigator, not psychopathic mass murderer. Paintball is existing since 1981, and no one since that time could link a felony directly with the result of the playing paintball. Why?Simply because there is no direct relationship.
Works Cited
Manière, Romain, Ritch Telford, and Fabien Cuviliez. Paintballer. The paintball Book: DTB éd., 2012. Print.
Muhlestein, David. 'Are There Official Rules In Paintball?'. About.com Sports. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 July 2015.
Roza, Greg. Paintball. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2007. Print.
