Is Skateboarding A Crime?

This is an essay responding to the issue of if skateboarding should be illegal for Language Arts.

It’s been a hot topic for a while now. The main reason is because all the adults think these young teenage skateboarders are just trying to be rebels and cause trouble. Truth is though, these kids are just trying to have fun. Skateboarding is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle. There’s no reason why the law should take that away from millions of skateboarders, and today I’m going to show you all why it shouldn’t be taken away.

Skating is more than just a sport. Its more than just grinding rails and “ruining your property”. It’s a life. There’s so much more to it. There’s just a feeling you get when you land a trick that makes you feel better than anything else. Skateboarding accepts every culture. The many friendships that people have made through skating is amazing. There’s no reason to take all that away from these kids. They’re not destroying property at all. We leave scuff marks on rails at most. Maybe the person that freaks out about a black mark on their shiny precious rail should be the one changing their lifestyle. People need to lighten up a bit and let us teenagers be teenagers.

The cruelty towards skaters should be the real crime. The law is harsh on skaters only because the other teenagers set bad examples for us. They see us as rebels and smokers and stupid kids, but really skaters don’t do that kind of stuff.  One of my friends was once fined $200 because he sat on a bench eating a sandwich with his skateboard right next to him. I’ve seen videos on YouTube of skaters being threatened by people when the skaters didn’t even do anything besides try to have a little fun. There’s videos of skaters being attacked by uncivilized people. The funny thing is, most of them are elderly. If the elders want some respect, skaters should be treated the same.

Skateboarding also shouldn’t be a crime because there are thousands out there making money off of it. There are multiple millionaires in the skate industry. Why would you want to make some kids future illegal? Even pro skateboarders get chased by the law for leaving a tiny scuff on a rail. The owners will also say it’s for insurance reasons, but we skaters know what we’re getting ourselves into. If I get hurt on someone’s property, I will pay for my own injuries. People think we are disrespectful teens but we can actually be nicer than most people.

It’s funny how some cities worry about skaters more than actual crime like drugs or stealing. In Philadelphia, the law enforcement actually just looks for the skaters. It’s almost like discrimination. Theres no reason the skateboarder should have to deal with that. They get called potheads and rebellious teens when in reality they can’t do drugs because it would mess up their skating and they are actually probably some of the most respectful of the teens if they’re actually treated with respect too.

Skateboarding isn’t really a crime. It’s really just discrimination and misunderstanding. Some few skaters may set a bad example but that doesn’t mean you should make the whole sport illegal. It ruins it for everyone. Skateboarding is not a crime, it’s a way of life, a way to meet people we’ll never forget, a career, maybe just a hobby, but skateboarding is truly the best thing that’s probably happened to me and it’s just irrational to take that away from all of us.