Fair Play: Green Loop? Why not green sports
(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Oct. 1 edition)
THE purpose of the organizers of the Green Loop experiment is noble and whether the experiment was a success or not--I'd leave that to the writers in the opinion pages--a pro-environment movement is something a dirty urban city needs.
Though it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting, closing the roads for the Green Loop was either a disaster or one big success, but closing the roads of Cebu isn't something new. We do that regularly for events like the Ironman, the Cebu Marathon and other sports events where the organizers managed to secure a permit.
Sure, there were some who grumble at the inconvenience--there was even the case of that drunk lawyer who tried to ron over a participant--but there's a big difference between getting trapped in traffic while watching runners and bikers compete and getting struck in traffic while watching skaters and BMX riders show-off or what-have-you.
So, with that in mind, I hope the men and women behind the Green Loop get involved in sports events, too, to further their advocacy.
Case in point are the skaters. Let's be honest, everyone except the skaters consider the group a menace, a nuisance in the city streets who don't deserve to be there.
And who can blame them? Especially if you're that pedestrian who have to walk on the streets to avoid a group doing flips and what-have-you in the sidewalk? Or you're that motorist who have to swerve or brake suddenly to avoid crushing one?
Share the road, share some responsibility and etiquette? Enough of this rebel-attitude?
Take it mainstream. Organize a competition for the skaters where they can have an area all for themselves without inconveniencing a larger group--and believe me pedestrians, drivers, passengers and workers are a larger group. And once it becomes regular and the skating population grows and gets accepted, who knows? The government might finally recognize the need to build a park exclusive for skaters, walkers and bikers.
Impossible? Impractical? Difficult?
Well, before everyone got bitten by the health bug, 10 or 12 years, a running event was as regular as the blue moon. But because of the persistence and advocacy of some, almost every one is into something physical these days—running, biking, triathlon, zumba or even boxing.
That's something that can also be done, while the group behind the movement spend time and resources to convince people the Green Loop is something viable.
Just a random thought that popped up while waiting for a green light.
THE purpose of the organizers of the Green Loop experiment is noble and whether the experiment was a success or not--I'd leave that to the writers in the opinion pages--a pro-environment movement is something a dirty urban city needs.
Though it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting, closing the roads for the Green Loop was either a disaster or one big success, but closing the roads of Cebu isn't something new. We do that regularly for events like the Ironman, the Cebu Marathon and other sports events where the organizers managed to secure a permit.
Sure, there were some who grumble at the inconvenience--there was even the case of that drunk lawyer who tried to ron over a participant--but there's a big difference between getting trapped in traffic while watching runners and bikers compete and getting struck in traffic while watching skaters and BMX riders show-off or what-have-you.
So, with that in mind, I hope the men and women behind the Green Loop get involved in sports events, too, to further their advocacy.
Case in point are the skaters. Let's be honest, everyone except the skaters consider the group a menace, a nuisance in the city streets who don't deserve to be there.
And who can blame them? Especially if you're that pedestrian who have to walk on the streets to avoid a group doing flips and what-have-you in the sidewalk? Or you're that motorist who have to swerve or brake suddenly to avoid crushing one?
Share the road, share some responsibility and etiquette? Enough of this rebel-attitude?
Take it mainstream. Organize a competition for the skaters where they can have an area all for themselves without inconveniencing a larger group--and believe me pedestrians, drivers, passengers and workers are a larger group. And once it becomes regular and the skating population grows and gets accepted, who knows? The government might finally recognize the need to build a park exclusive for skaters, walkers and bikers.
Impossible? Impractical? Difficult?
Well, before everyone got bitten by the health bug, 10 or 12 years, a running event was as regular as the blue moon. But because of the persistence and advocacy of some, almost every one is into something physical these days—running, biking, triathlon, zumba or even boxing.
That's something that can also be done, while the group behind the movement spend time and resources to convince people the Green Loop is something viable.
Just a random thought that popped up while waiting for a green light.
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