Urban Swimming WTF?
This guy had his dog tow him out a ways off the beach ... then let go
and the exhausted dog swam back by tself. So here's dude basking in
the sun in some not-very-clean water, right outside the mouth of both
the water taxi docks and the police docks, next to (as you can see)
some rather heavy industry. I was totally expecting him to get
swamped by some of the frequent traffic that uses this bit of water.
or at least to catch a nasty skin infection.
What do you guys think of swimming off urban beaches? It always blows
my mind, for example, when I see families come down and they won't
even let their kids TOUCH the water, while at the same time throwing a
tennis ball in for their dog to retrieve. I mean, either the water's
clean or it isn't, right? Also, a few weeks ago I saw a family at this
same beach, and despite the signs warning of poor water quality, they
let their two girls SWIM! not just wade, but splash around! I'm not
TOO concerned about getting my feet wet in potentially dirty water,
but would never go so far as to immerse my delicate orifices in it.
There are MUCH nicer beaches within the city to take your kids
swimming at.
Of course I am glossing over some other issues that may be in play
here. The family with the swimming girls were Native ... and guess
what? we have a major racism problem in this city. Maybe the parents
figured swimming in dirty water was better for their kids than being
publicly humiliated at one of the "better" beaches. Definitely dude
above wouldn't have gotten away with his redneck behaviour with his
dog at another beach. Who knows, maybe they couln't even afford to get
on a bus and go somewhere else to swim.
Racism? Speciesism? Classism? Lack-of-common-sense-ism? What say you?
and the exhausted dog swam back by tself. So here's dude basking in
the sun in some not-very-clean water, right outside the mouth of both
the water taxi docks and the police docks, next to (as you can see)
some rather heavy industry. I was totally expecting him to get
swamped by some of the frequent traffic that uses this bit of water.
or at least to catch a nasty skin infection.
What do you guys think of swimming off urban beaches? It always blows
my mind, for example, when I see families come down and they won't
even let their kids TOUCH the water, while at the same time throwing a
tennis ball in for their dog to retrieve. I mean, either the water's
clean or it isn't, right? Also, a few weeks ago I saw a family at this
same beach, and despite the signs warning of poor water quality, they
let their two girls SWIM! not just wade, but splash around! I'm not
TOO concerned about getting my feet wet in potentially dirty water,
but would never go so far as to immerse my delicate orifices in it.
There are MUCH nicer beaches within the city to take your kids
swimming at.
Of course I am glossing over some other issues that may be in play
here. The family with the swimming girls were Native ... and guess
what? we have a major racism problem in this city. Maybe the parents
figured swimming in dirty water was better for their kids than being
publicly humiliated at one of the "better" beaches. Definitely dude
above wouldn't have gotten away with his redneck behaviour with his
dog at another beach. Who knows, maybe they couln't even afford to get
on a bus and go somewhere else to swim.
Racism? Speciesism? Classism? Lack-of-common-sense-ism? What say you?
the water was even a funny colour the day I saw the girls swimming ... I was quite concerned. chickened out of speaking to them, though ...
We also have only a very small ethnic minority population of about 1% in this part of Wales but I have never heard of any racism when it comes to using beaches or local facilities . Any racist problems seem to come from fights between gangs of youths from different racial groups . It's very sad if families can't use local facilities because of racism.
of course there are no segregated beaches in Canada ... the exclusion is much more subtle, but it still keeps certain people from feeling comfortable in some public areas. for example it is disturbingly common for average people to sic the cops on Native folks, saying they are drunk or dirty or homeless or stealing, their kids are out of control, or they are harassing women or what have you. not pretty.
hahaha! indelicate orifices!
I'll believe that when I see it!