I'm not clear which aspect of this video I'm supposed to be applauding.
If I'm supposed to praise highly the skateboarding expertise of this person, I have to admit that I've seen much better even among young locals. They make their boards spiral with them as they sail through the air, they sail over areas filled with earth and various plantings, they soar from top step over a short flight to solid landing, too, and they do other gravity-defying tricks on curved and flat structures designed for them to show off their mad skills. Sometimes it makes my stomach knot to see how fearlessly they attack the challenging surfaces in front of them as I imagine them landing and skidding in a bloody, broken-boned heap, but I have to admit that I admire their physical daring. That kind of skill deserves acknowledgement. Yet that's not, I think, the point of the video I viewed.
Instead, I think the point of the video, what the performer was seeking, was to demonstrate his defiance and lack of respect for the places he chose as his stage. One is a business with sidewalks for the safety of its customers and plantings to make the parking lot attractive. One is a public school building. In each case a clearly posted sign indicates that skateboarding is banned, and in one case, a legally designated area sits on the opposite side of the driveway.
The video began with the young man skating down the lengthy sidewalk of the open business and a pony-tailed woman scolding the skater for doing so. His vocal response was also audible as he continued to skate on the business's property. This set the tone for the film, and it was difficult for me to set that aside as I watched the rest, trying to identify the different locations and looking for postings prohibiting skating. In the city scenes, they weren't visible, but the antics took place on staircases of buildings which typically are off limits to skaters. (Whose insurance covers people injured on that property? Who is responsible when damage to property occurs?) Defense attorneys may call them "attractive nuisances," but that's hogwash. How else are walking people supposed to enter buildings? At least the skater in this video has the decency to wait until evening when the stairs aren't actively in use. The video ends with the scenes at the public school, one that he and his family members attended years ago, his antics taking place just below the posted sign banning skateboarding, so this piece begins and ends with the same message: it's not the skills that are noteworthy but the rebellion and defiance of displaying them where they're illegal.
That's what I cannot applaud.
