"Try to see it through the eyes of the blind."

You've probably seen or heard of different companies or groups give a bad name to paintball. You've probably seen some TV show where they advertise against it, or read an article about how dangerous it is. A lot of us players think that these people are paintball's enemy. After all, we are their enemy. The main problem however is that these people put their opinions in the media. After all, that is how you saw it right? This gets shot to people all over, and this is what becomes paintball's enemy.

Let's get down to the basics. What's wrong with these anti-paintball articles? Apart from the fact that they are bashing paintball, what is wrong with the content of these voiced opinions? The major issue is that these people are misinformed. They get hearsay, gossip, or just flat out wrong information. Say they e-mail a company and ask about the maximum velocity that the ball is permitted to travel.
The company will probably say 300 feet per second. The person will find this outrageous, or possibly misread it and think it says "1300" or something to that extent. The company might just be bad and say 400, or 350 feet per second. Perhaps these people have experienced something bad. A twisted ankle, a few bruises, and the whole lot of minor injuries. Statistically, paintball is safer than bowling. Numbers don't lie folks. All the injuries associated with paintball are usually not from hits, but from taking a slide into a bunker or stepping the wrong way and twisting your ankle. The people who state these negative views on paintball are misinformed, and then the bad opinions, the wrong opinions, get spread around.

So what is the enemy? Most people still say the people who voice these opinions. That is correct to some extent. There is one main enemy. Yes, there must be an enemy. It is impossible for one thing to be created and not be disliked. The main enemy is not a person however. It is not a group of people either. It is a concept. A concept that infects the minds of people all over the world. Once a person is infected, this enemy spreads like wildfire. This enemy is ignorance. Too many people are biased against paintball or think that it's bad. They have a pretty good reason to be to some extent, we do shoot at people. But they don't look past the surface, and one doesn't need to look far past the surface to see the good in paintball. What's wrong is perception. People see guns, and it's instantly bad. The image is progressively getting better, but we aren't very close to our goal.

We need all the help we can get. Whenever you hear an ignorant person (trust me, it shouldn't be too hard to find one), fix him or her. If they start bashing paintball, ask them one thing: "Have you ever even played?". If they say "I heard those things hurt!" or "I saw a welt the size of a grapefruit!" just ask them one question: "Have you ever played?" and see what they say. Everyone I know that has tried paintball has loved it except for one person. You can help and fix the ignorance that infects the minds of those and gives them negative views on our beloved sport for no reason.

So there is an enemy. It's not tangible, and it's impossible to completely eliminate. It doesn't only deal with paintball. The way to fight this is to give information. Give correct information. Informative sources can be found all over, I recommend http://www.pbnation.com. You represent paintball wherever you are, remember that. Keep the sport growing, ignorance is dangerous.

-Tiny Tim