Kite fighting banned in county parks
The Fairfax County Park Authority is banning kite fighting in county parks.
Kite fighters use super sharp wires, such as piano wire or metal filament or line coated with glass fragments, instead of string, to cut lines from an opponent’s kite.
The practice is being prohibited, the Park Authority states, due to “increasing reports of harm to wildlife, vegetation, maintenance equipment, and the inherent risks to public safety.”
Once lines are cut, defeated kites are blown by the wind, trailing the sharpened string behind them. The material has been found tangled in treetops and in low-lying brush, along trails, in the water, and in open green spaces.
There have been incidents where kite-fighting wires have entangled and trapped birds, reptiles, and other wildlife and gotten caught in lawnmowers, other maintenance equipment, and bicycle gears.
“Thankfully, we have not yet had a report of a serious injury in the parks as a result of this material, but it is certainly a hazard that we are trying to eliminate before we reach that point,” says Park Authority spokesperson Ben Boxer.
The agency began to see evidence of kite fighting about a year ago, Boxer says. Kite fighting has not been concentrated in any specific park or geographic area and most often occurs in parks with large open spaces.
“Individuals observed to be kite fighting will be asked to stop,” the Park Authority says, “Individuals who refuse or repeatedly violate this rule may potentially be banned from park use.”
Anyone who observes kite fighting – or any other suspicious or unsafe activity in a park – is encouraged to call the Fairfax County Police Department non-emergency number, 703-691-2131.
No reports of actual harm, and now illegal. Here are things that have caused actual harm in parks, that heretofore should be illegal: dogs, bicycles, balls, frisbees, humans.
Yeah, we should wait a person, no five, no… ten people are hurt before doing something to make things safe and less unpleasant for the residents of our County. Next thing you know they’ll make launching fireworks from kites illegal.
No one has launched fireworks from kites. That’s made up.
Hyperbole – exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
Harm is not limited to physically harming humans. There’s a list of issues that this asinine activity has already caused.
Asinine? Flying a kite in a park is as American as apple pie.
Flying a kite is different from kite fighting. They use wires and strings coated with glass bits to deliberately cut lines, leaving the broken kites and lengths of wire as litter that is hazardous. It is not a historically American sport.
No one is banning flying kites.
The slope is slippery around here, if you haven’t noticed!!!
No it’s not. Slippery slope is a fallacy.
The practice is being prohibited, the Park Authority states, due to “increasing reports of harm to wildlife, vegetation, maintenance equipment, and the inherent risks to public safety.”
These razor-sharp wires can lead to electrocution and slice open flesh. In some cases, it has even led to fatal injuries in bystanders and passers-by whose throats were slit. It hasn’t been reported in Fairfax County YET, but I truly appreciate that the park service is trying to prevent it from happening here. You may not give a crap about the safety of others, so I’m also glad that it’s not your decision to make.
“Braintrust reasoning” my arse.
“These razor-sharp wires can lead to electrocution and slice open flesh”
I vote for signage to warn against such an inevitability!
Thanks for the laugh.
Stay in your basement, duct taped in pads so you never get hurt; a walk in the park is far too dangerous.
The world is truly upside down.
Please note that KITES are NOT banned. Thank you.
Ron – your argument is a non sequitur: Slippery slope can be of fallacy, but it is not always.
https://intellectualtakeout.org/2016/03/not-every-slippery-slope-argument-is-a-fallacy/