"Socialism has finally reached the surfing world.....gnarly!"
Didn’t we have fun three weeks ago when it was revealed a PHD candidate at the Uni of New Zealand had written his thesis on the sorry lives of “vulnerable surfers.”
To paraphrase Shinya Uekusa, who may not be Polynesian which will become important shortly, if you’re white, male and a good surfer you have your jackboot on the head of all the “vulnerable surfers” and you’re also guilty of the crime of cultural appropriation.
“Surfers use multiple capital to exercise their power to increase the likelihood of catching high-quality waves, which appear to be scarce commodities,” Uekusa wrote. “Focusing on the experiences of vulnerable surfers, quality waves are not evenly distributed.”
Today, the news website Breitbart, which is to the right-wing what the Huff Post is to the left, and which the WSL once banned from buying ads on its site, ran with the story, much to the joy of its famously anti-identity politics commentariat.
It’s worth a stroll through that particular garden of thorns.
TankMcNamara
so socialism has finally reached the surfing world…..gnarly!!
The Prisoner
There has always been a pecking order for waves. If you can’t run with the big dogs you have to find smaller prey, bide your time, grow, gain skill, then one day you may be the big kahuna yourself. Of course this takes work, but hey, why labor when you can force someone to give up the fruits of theirs?
Fuzzychickens
Only the brightest, hardest working, and sometimes lucky surfers get top tier waves. No affirmative action surfing, thank you. If substandard surfers are allowed unearned top tier waves, civilization will collaps….I mean the wipeouts will be narly dude.
Steve Obeda
He’s making the point that trying to redistribute waves to low-performing surfers is unlikely to result in any positive outcome, just as redistributing wealth away from those who are good at multiplying wealth to those who are good at diminishing wealth is also likely to not result in any long-term benefits.
old red
Appropriation? OK. I believe white men invented indoor plumbing and basketball.
Bothsidesnow
No. No the surfers or the strong should not give way to the weak. That’s like saying the truly intelligent people should give up their seats to the mentally challenged. Everybody suffers.
sm
And here I thought that only American Universities were sufficiently stupid to pay “professors” who can’t think straight. It’s refreshing in a way to see that NZ schools are equally idiotic. Incidentally, native cultures have expropriated white culture by using cell phones and fiberglass surfboards.
Geolo
How exactly does one “steal” a hobby? Basketball was invented by a white guy. Did most NBA players steal basketball? Should we complain about redistributing court space to lesser players
DaveTheTrollTriggerer
Oh dear. The stupid is strong in this one.
RidUSA of demonrats
Even the sea discriminates…
jonnyamerican
“Surfing, which was an important activity for many Indigenous cultures in Oceania, Africa”
Um, no it was not an indigenous activity of Africa! Surfing was invented by Polynesians not Africans! It is indigenous of Hawaii and other Polynesians cultures not Africa. Go back to school you ignorant liar.
John Prescott jonnyamerican
Don’t forget, it was the haloes who first rode the big breaks on the North Shore, in modern times.
The Oatmeal Savage RidUSA of demonrats
The oceans are racist!
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Thank you for confirming that you are constitutionally unable to have a real debate. GFY
By people like you I mean people who have no point except to spew hate at the other side. In your case it is Democrats, and yes I’m aware that there are plenty on the left like that too so let’s not go there.
This whole conversation about who started the KKK? Fucking useless buddy. I’m more concerned about who is, today, fomenting hatred against immigrants and telling black people to keep their mouths shut and be grateful we let you have a job. That’s racism.
I would love to have a real conversation with someone about this. People like you are unwilling to have that conversation because you hate Democrats so much you have to interject their perceived hypocrisy at every turn.
I don’t know where to leave it with you except that I would be willing to bet that if you and I both had a few beers together, I have a feeling we would find that our fears for this country are largely the same. Maybe different on how to deal with it. Would we be able to have a lively debate? I hope so.
There will always be a hierarchy in the lineup, that’s why Charlie don’t surf.
Goat still unwilling to say racism is bad. Showing your true colors I see. Neither of us has changed the subject, neither of us has stated anything but fact. I hoped people like you wouldn’t be on a site like this. Kapernick, AOC, etc. you people are terrified of the coloreds when they have a voice.
I will grant you that those people you mentioned need to be eradicated from the Democratic Party. If that’s your position I agree. If you continue to want to demean Democrats simply for the simply for the sake of telling me I’m wrong then you are part of the problem and not the solution.
Why not have him on this site? Variety is the spice of life no? Gets a little boring being a mutual love society echo chamber. So you disagree…so what? At the end of the day, Chas’s purpose is being served by your guys’ back and forth and the divisiveness therein.
How about we go beyond partisan politics and discuss something that has so much more far reaching implications across socio-economic, health, environmental sustainability, geopolitical, and just plain common sense bounds? The issue that neither Dems nor Repubs nor the supposed “environmental” groups IE Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Surfrider, etc will touch with a 1000 ft pole out of fear of loss of funding, support, constituency, jobs…namely, how agribusiness has absolutely ravaged the planet and destroyed ecosystems globally, how politicians on both sides of the aisle are totally beholden politically to the all powerful meat and dairy lobbies (The Department of Agriculture and the USDA…talk about conflicts of interest!!!) that dictate policy on their own terms to ensure that profit margins continue to rise for themselves and Big Pharma who continue to pump out drugs to treat the symptoms rather than the root causes of totally preventable chronic diseases that are largely brought about by the very “products” that they market so insidiously and intensely.
Not to mention how a mass awakening of people to the absolutely undeniable health benefits of a purely plant based whole food diet could reverse the tide of continuing chronic disease of which a Western diet comprised of processed meat, cheese, dairy and other highly processed food along with lack of exercise is the leading culprit, could free up countless amounts of natural resources which if appropriated wisely could begin to truly combat and reverse world hunger in a very cost effective (hmmm how much $ to grow a shitload of grain to feed tons of livestock standing in their own feces 24/7 vs a bunch of whole food out of the ground on the same size piece of land???) and extremely health beneficial way, would undoubtedly go much further than any other contrived reduction of carbon footprint strategy to reverse the global environmental degradation to land, ocean and global ecosystems in general caused by big biz factory farming!
Sorry, this issue just drives me nuts and aside from the personally revelatory health benefits (very rarely sick, high levels of energy and stamina, clean insides, surfing better at 45 than i did when I was 25, heightened mental acuity, etc etc) that I’ve experienced as a result of a plant based no animal or animal by-products and no processed foods diet, I continue to be dumbfounded by the lack of awareness about the global ramifications agribusiness has not just on health and the environment but even more importantly in my opinion on the continuing suppression of vital information and most importantly resources IE land and healthy, life-sustaining, disease preventing and reversing food for those globally and even in the good ole USA who are already so economically marginalized to begin with.
IMO, this issue is vastly more urgent and important in the grand scheme of things than measly partisan politics. Problem is, seems most people would rather die of totally preventable diseases, see the planet and its inhabitants both human and otherwise ravaged by big business, and turn a blind eye while more and more natural resources are burned up while world hunger increases, than to make a simple yet profoundly beneficial lifestyle change that done en masse would have a globally positive effect on planet and people (except for the global industrial agri biz complex who profit off death and destruction) unlike the world has ever seen!
Sorry, soapbox vacated.
Holy shit some guy I am right there with you. The saddest part of the whole above and below debate (if you can call it that) for me is that both of us are ignoring real problems like this one. Although I must interject my side actually wants to address climate change.
But seriously, when did you do it? And how? I’m 30 and have been flirting with vegetarian but can’t seem to sustain the commitment it takes. Meals at work, meals out, parents house, etc. all make it hard to keep up. And vegan (which I assume you’re referring to) is that much more rigid. I’m not gonna sugarcoat this one guy, it’s a little scary.
Honestly it’s far easier that people think. I’ve been vegetarian for quite awhile but would still eat chips and sweets and just far too much processed food in general. The various oils (canola, vegetable etc) and dairy products were literally eating my insides and causing me terrible reflux. I began to research cancer of the esophagus and saw the correlation between what I was eating and the formation of pre cancerous cells in my esophagus which an endoscopy confirmed. I have 3 young kids and want to live as long as possible to see them grow up not to mention wanting to surf well for as long as possible. So my wife and I really decided to go full bore strictly plant based vegan IE no meat (and all processed meat is highly carcinogenic…deli meat is a class 1 carcinogen same as tobacco and plutonium, read meat is class 2 , and grilling any type of meat…very carcinogenic), no dairy, only oil we use is in very small amounts like when we make bread. I also rarely eat fish but cheat every great once in awhile.
There are endless plant based recipes available and they are all very easy to make. Also very inexpensive. But you have to be willing to cook, which is most of the fun when you get into it. And dude the food tastes so good and pure. It does take about a week for your body to adjust so it’s common to get little stomach aches and you’ll probably shoot some spackle from the backyard for a day or two but that’s just your body detoxing. In 3 days you’ll notice such a difference. In a week, you’ll have lost a bunch of not necessary weight, your gut will feel really light and clean, you will have crazy amounts of increased mental acuity, and much more energy. And you can eat as much as you want. You’ll feel like a totally different person in 2 weeks. Countless people w countess forms of preventable chronic diseases who have had to take endless meds have participated in trials where they went strictly plant based for a month or 21 days. Lo and behold, they go back to the doctor and their illnesses have totally receded and even completely gone away in some cases. Pharma treats the symptoms and doctors only do procedures and prescribe pills. Only a whole food strictly plant based diet can reverse diabetes, heart disease, cancer etc because it’s the only thing that actually reverses the plaque build up in arteries caused by consuming processed meats dairy and other food loaded w unhealthy fat and chemicals. In other words, people taking pills for chronic disease WILL NOT get better. They will still die and probably not much later (and in many cases earlier) than they would’ve without pills. But put them on a strict plant based vegan diet and their diseases recede. Even cancer. It’s unbelievable the healing power inherent in plant based whole food.
American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, Susan B Koman all sponsored by big meat and dairy companies and by big pharma companies. And big pharma is the largest political lobby in the world. Meat and dairy are not far behind in terms of political influence. Look it up. It’s sickening.
And people always ask about protein. Americans on average eat twice as much daily protein as is recommended but only half the amount of fiber. Also, all of the largest most powerful terrestrial creatures (gorillas, oxen, elephants, horses, etc) are herbivores. A gorilla is friggin ripped. Where do you think he gets all his protein from? All protein is plant based anyway. Animal protein is simply recycled plant protein that comes from the grass or grain (almost all grain really, which is modified and not in their natural diet. If vegetables were grown instead of all the grain to feed animals for meat, bye bye world hunger. One half of the land mass of the US is used to grow grain for animals killed for meat!!!). And eggs? The USDA cannot legally label eggs as “safe, healthy, low fat, healthful, balanced diet, nutritious, good for you, low calorie”!!! What’s that tell you about how “healthy” eggs are???
Anyway, if you wanna email me I can send you all sorts of super easy and extremely tasty recipes and other info. If you like research based factual science related to this stuff, a couple good books to start with are How Not To Die and The China Study. These will open your eyes big time to the truth about all this stuff. Endless documentaries too about the effects agri biz has on the planet and people (esp poor people). It’s evil shit and all the more incentive aside from the ridiculous health and feel-good benefits to eating purely plant based. Even if you ease your way into it, the more healthy your insides get as you increase your intake of real food, the less your body will crave garbage and after a couple weeks you’ll feel so much stronger, sharper, more energized, mentally sharp etc that you won’t want to eat anything that’s going to set you back. And even if you do, your body will let you know in no uncertain terms that it isn’t stoked on you.
It’s real and it’s life changing. Hit me up for more info if you want.
Craig
[email protected]
Oh my god you are worthless. What part of what I’ve said was fake? You’re the one with the fucking cherry picked facts.
Care to state respond to my other comment or are you too busy just hating the Democratic Party?
Absolutely!
Any FOOL can see that the Democratic Party is fully responsible for how white and male the Republican’s representatives are. I mean look at those future corporate lobbiest in the picture, they can hardly smile with the oil industry dicks crammed so far down their throats! But for a little name calling by the Dems that picture would look like Wanda Sykes with 20 different hairdos! Sad.
Rehearsed, cherry-picking partisan silliness. Tell me next how common sense is mistaken because cats are actually dogs. It’s totally obvious that the modern day Republican party contains and attracts the large majority of racists in America.
Here’s the committee heads the
most recent nearly all white male Republican congressional majority appointed in to positions that steer the national agenda. So many coffee-colored women!
https://i1.wp.com/i.huffpos…
Are you willing to admit that racism both overt and systemic is a scourge in this country that we all need to reckon with as a nation?
If yes, we can agree. Debating the merits of racist southerners gets neither of us moving forward.
If no, and you think for example that white privilege is a myth. We cannot agree and I feel sorry that people like you hold our country back from progress.
Wow. Both sides huh? So why does David duke love Donald trump? If I recall he said “he’s one of us” Richard Spencer (you know, the leader of the neo nazis) says “hail trump, hail our people, hail victory” which translates in German to “sieg heil!” You remember where that was used don’t you?
Robert Byrd was in his 20s in 1930 something. The democrats are no longer the party of racism. You know and I know and everyone else knows that racism is concentrated on the right-hand side of the aisle in this country.
I know what’ll fire you up, Colin kaepernick!
A lot of it is, yeah, because of the power of the written record. It doesn’t mean the white people understood what they were seeing. Then again neither did the West Africans or Polynesians. Everyone gaped at each other in mutual incomprehension.
Cultural gulfs are really difficult to grasp I think. They can be crossed in an instant but they can never be crossed at all.
Nick, your reference to pre colonial west African surfriding is well taken and I’m not sure why the question of who rode the first wave even matters. Any indigenous people from any continent with warm ocean access would need no instruction or prompt to hop in and attempt to ride a few barrels with wave vehicles or not.
For sure pre contact Peruvians were riding totora craft in the surf and there is credible speculation/evidence that Polynesians were making the journey from Marquesas isles and Rapa Nui to the coast of western S America voyaging eastward from Polynesia in the southern hemisphere where the mid-latitude westerlies are prevalent.
Recent findings that Chile’s Araucana chicken shares its DNA with ancient birds from pre contact Polynesia archaeological sites have come under scrutiny recently but it is unquestioned that there was South American contact with Polynesia from the South American sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) found in many pre AD1000 archaeological sites throughout Polynesia.
As a Hawaiian, I am not unaware of my Indo-Pacific origins and that Polynesians are linked to Southeast Asia through the Austronesian expansion. But I am not so naive to adhere to a belief that with the incredible expansion throughout the Polynesian triangle that surfriding was not already firmly established somewhere in the Pacific or elsewhere on this planet well before Polynesian Hawaiians first sighted the waves of my beautiful home.
I also believe that the most successful seafaring culture on the planet who stretched the length and breadth of the Polynesian triangle would not have visited or been aware of north or south America.
Cultural gulfs do exist because of the power of subjectively written historical records and the old axiom might be apt here in that “just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen”.
That’s a slippery precept, “well you can’t prove it’s not the case.” You can’t prove that there isn’t a tea kettle in orbit of Venus, for instance, or that the son will rise tomorrow, but there’s not and it will. Pseudoscience of all stripes leans hard on that rhetoric ….
Black women also have a higher rate of leash pulling incidents. Coincidence?
Nice try at revisionist history there. How about a recent example less than 150 years old? The leader of today’s kkk is a republican, at a unite the right rally they were chanting “Jews will not replace us” and waving nazi flags. Drop the dinesh D’Souza bullshit.
I reckon GSI would be looking hard at the Adult Learner market wouldn’t they? I’ve seen more splayed legged, wheelie paddling on 7s’s than most other brands. So I’m guessing BG taking their cash for banner Ad’s is some kind of subversion that we’re not privy to yet?
I was shocked when I saw someone ripping on a 7s Superfish
When surfers were scum
There were no adult learners
So shake your scum thang
https://www.theguardian.com…
Between 1984 and 1989, the men’s world pro tour underwent its swiftest ever period of prize money growth, from $335,500 to $1,913,580 — an increase of just over 570%.
Don’t even start.
Keep it coming. Useless trivia is the only thing my brain takes on board. Any thing remotely useful has been pushed out to make space for what year pottz was champ
Can jack be on tour already FFS?
Jesus was the first surfer, duh!
Walked on the fucken water, didn’t even need a board, end of the fucken who surfed first squabble.
Yeah but he was a Stand Up Peddler.
He also made 5000 bongs out of one fish, fucken try doin that mohomo!
Then turned water into wine . You beauty Jebus !
Salty wine. Bleuggh!
I hope he used fresh wave-pool water. The amoebas would be pickled and provide a chewy addition.
Anarchy point vs Democracy beachbreak vs Autocratic peak surf at your own peril or fun. Surf ranch will be a communist state no??
Moneytocracy, dude.
Hollister Ranch goes out to pasture …
Theres a buyin for sure.Those sorts of locals are pretty annoying. I am a hypocrite though, probably would have bought in back in the 70’s….but surfing alot doesnt lead to saving money.
Coastal Commission is trying hard to open it up. No more driving on the beach, messes up the sand!! CC needs more power I think.
So many! ps European explorers came across people surfing on wooden boards in West Africa in the 15th century.
They were trying to escape from cannibals most likely
Source?
Oh man. Numerous. You want to get a handle on West African surf skills pre-colonialism, read Kevin Dawson’s book “Undercurrents Of Power: Aquatic Culture in the West African Diaspora”. The central West African coasts are notably low on good harbours, thus the locals had to get real good at figuring out surf zones. They built amazing canoes and shit. I guess maybe as result they learned to play in the surf in a most Polynesian fashion. A lot of it was blown away by the slave trade etc.
ta muchly.
Makes sense.
Book-website here I come.
Imagine the Jordan dunking from the free throw line moments surfing has been robbed of!
The Endless Summer I Nigeria section