People across the globe are fucking pissed. Racists just “want their country back,” Le Pen is saying the shit that even Tr*mp won’t say, everyone’s Googling what “xenophobia” means, and everything is basically the person who doesn’t look like you’s fault. A website that specializes in okay skateboard tricks edited to “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” isn’t the place to get into it — but we’re in for a rough couple of years.
Skateboarders, in some bizzaro-world way, are feeling the same prickles of globalization that are being resisted by right-wing forces across the world. The Bible™ tells us that it likes skateboarding being kept a crime, even if Jon Dickson already kickflipped into it blah blah (can we go a FRICKIN’ DARN WEEK without a Top 10 controversy?!) Nine months ago, our percieved-to-be-illict activity was accepted into The Olympics. We’re being asked to Pay-Per-View contests — us — a group second to perhaps only graffiti writers in our aversion of paying for things. Fast fashion brands are taking one of our most sacred years and marking it down 20%.
Even icons of skateboarding’s delinquent past are constructively channeling their emotions, with Jim Greco getting all Cassavettes on us and Bam regretful that he didn’t focus more on skateboarding.
Are we destined to wear mandatory standard-issue dad caps, and be placed in sterile, Olympic-endorsed skateparks where we argue over who is more sorry should we accidentally snake one of our peers?
No, because angst is back, baby. Back in a big way.
As the tide of Monster Energy rushes to baptize us into an NBC-friendly presentation, the Olympic Committee must reconcile the fact that skateboarders are the ones reminding security guards that their jobs suck, and if they disagree, occasionally bodyslamming them. Skateboarders have no respect for foliage. They’re cutting wire fences to break into Six Flags. They’re bringing a trash can back to the bump after you drag it away, and then bringing a third and fourth one after you drag those away. We’re all — to varying degrees — an irrefutable pain in the ass for everyone else, and the reminders are running rampant in 2017.
Skateboarding’s Godfather of Angst would be proud. Respect.