So this is going to be a bit more of an esoteric blog post, in fact it
probably will turn into a series of posts.
I really wasn't planning to address this particular set of topics yet,
but a recent set of Private Messages, a couple of threads on two different
forums, conversations at work, and other elements of life have combined to
cause a bit more focus on the more mental and philosophical elements of
bowling, which I feel reflect how one perceives life in general.
So, I received a PM on one of the forums I frequent from someone who read
my blog. He then posted a thread
introducing himself and further in the thread linked out to a website that
dealt with some concepts in a recent movie.
Although I apparently didn't quite follow where he was going with the
point he was trying to make (and for that I still apologize), all three of the
elements from that brief paper did lodge in my thinking. She (Julie Moore, the
author of the paper) titled her paper "The Movie Crash and the Concepts of
Sociology", and the elements she brought out focused mainly with Race and
Multicultural interaction. I’m going to
take her three points and look at them pertaining to both the sport of bowling
and the people who participate in our sport.
The seed sentences are:
"The first sociological concept that Crash demonstrates is the Thomas
Theorem. Basically, this theorem tells us that if we believe situations to be
real, they become real to us. Our own subjective reality becomes our objective
reality. It follows then that if we believe certain things about an individual,
he/she begins acting in exactly that way. "
“Another sociological term demonstrated in Crash is the theory of
micro-aggression. Microaggressions would be defined as "Microaggressions
are subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal, and/or visual) directed toward people of
color, often automatically or unconsciously." While the individual effects
of these particular instances may be small, the cumulative effects can be
devastating.”
“The last concept that is displayed in Crash is the sociological concept of
ethnocentrism. This means that we judge other cultures by the standards of our
own. Not only that, but we also believe that our own culture is superior to
everyone else's.”
So yes, this is not going to be a normal series of technical bowling posts –
there are plenty of resources out there for technique and equipment. I want to go deeper into the ‘why’ of bowling
more than the ‘how’ of bowling. There
are things like self awareness, sportsmanship, self image, and perceptions that
I’m going to focus on both at the society/corporate view and also at the
grassroots/individual view. Do I have
the answers to major questions within bowling?
I think I’ll have a major win in just opening up discussion and
accurately defining the questions. But
every step forward, no matter how small, is still a step forward.
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