Swimming. Did they make it harder to do recently?

[WillBrink]

Kinda to my point. Another symptom of de-evolution. People can no longer drive stick, parallel park, remember that their kid is in the hot car, etc.

Darwin gonna Darwin bro. Can an entire country win a Darwin Award?

[markm]

Darwin gonna Darwin bro. Can an entire country win a Darwin Award?

We could really rake off half the mouth breathing occupants of this country.

[WillBrink]

We could really rake off half the mouth breathing occupants of this country.

Visions of Rome dance in my head.

[Straight Shooter]

One of the best things my parents did, was to make my 7 year old self and my 6 year old sis take professional swimming lessons.
I dont have kids...but Ive recommended that dozens of times to parents, I feel it is essential.
Quick story- Camp Lejuene Base swimming pool..circa 1985. As we were an Amphibious Assault unit..we had extensive pool time both in swimwear..but with FULL GEAR too.
Learned how to scoop water under a buttoned up cammy blouse to make an improvised floatation device. Learned a lot actually.
Also realized MANY blacks cant swim, dont want to learn to swim..and even under threat of Judicial punishment- WONT swim.
We had several dark greens..literally...CRY... about getting in over their heads. Some never did do it. We also had a simulator you got in and it shot you deep into the water and spun upside down, and you had to climb out to the surface, to simulate a helo crash. HELL NO they wouldnt do it. They took whatever punishment they were promised. Ive seen one guy almost drown someone else in a panic. We were trained to literally knock somebody out if we had to, to rescue them. I still would, if need be.

[chuckman]

One of the best things my parents did, was to make my 7 year old self and my 6 year old sis take professional swimming lessons.
I dont have kids...but Ive recommended that dozens of times to parents, I feel it is essential.
Quick story- Camp Lejuene Base swimming pool..circa 1985. As we were an Amphibious Assault unit..we had extensive pool time both in swimwear..but with FULL GEAR too.
Learned how to scoop water under a buttoned up cammy blouse to make an improvised floatation device. Learned a lot actually.
Also realized MANY blacks cant swim, dont want to learn to swim..and even under threat of Judicial punishment- WONT swim.
We had several dark greens..literally...CRY... about getting in over their heads. Some never did do it. We also had a simulator you got in and it shot you deep into the water and spun upside down, and you had to climb out to the surface, to simulate a helo crash. HELL NO they wouldnt do it. They took whatever punishment they were promised. Ive seen one guy almost drown someone else in a panic. We were trained to literally knock somebody out if we had to, to rescue them. I still would, if need be.

Was that the swimming pool on Julian Smith down by 10th Marines?

Funniest story I had was a big ol' Samoan--a Samoan!!--who couldn't swim. He was also 6'4" and 230# with about 4% body fat. God knows he tried, the RDCs told him he had to make it to the end of the pool and back to pass after he tried the 50-yard flail. He held his breath and walked the bottom of the pool to the end, then back. He passed.

This is my take on blacks, and it is a vast, sweeping, overgeneralization: this is not racist. Most blacks cannot swim, not because they cannot be taught (humans are mammals, and all mammals can swim), but because most have never been exposed to water deeper than the puddles a fire hydrant or a hose can provide. They have not been in pools, lakes, rivers. Those whose parents who had access (to water and swim lessons), usually can, and quite well.

It's not a skin color thing, it's not a racial thing, it's not a genetic thing, it's an access thing.

My parents also made me take swimming lessons. I was never the fastest swimmer, but I was a strong swimmer.

[sinister]

This is my take on blacks, and it is a vast, sweeping, overgeneralization: this is not racist. Most blacks cannot swim, not because they cannot be taught (humans are mammals, and all mammals can swim), but because most have never been exposed to water deeper than the puddles a fire hydrant or a hose can provide. They have not been in pools, lakes, rivers. Those whose parents who had access (to water and swim lessons), usually can, and quite well.

It's not a skin color thing, it's not a racial thing, it's not a genetic thing, it's an access thing.

My parents also made me take swimming lessons. I was never the fastest swimmer, but I was a strong swimmer.

In Special Forces I recall two stand-out black swimmers: the first was Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Simmons, "The Black Frog" from the Bronx. In our Okinawa pre-SCUBA classes he would often do the offshore-to-beach kilometer "Equipment Appreciation Swim" (where aspiring SCUBA divers learned to appreciate their mask, fins, and snorkel) in Speedos -- and typically beat the whole class.



Another played water polo in college in Florida.

I had a man-crush on one of my black NCOs, a cut body-builder Infantryman who had served in the 82d, as a Black-hat instructor at Airborne School, and as President Bush's (41) tandem freefall pilot. I asked him why he'd never got his Ranger tab.

He answered, "Combat Water Survival Test, sir. You know brothers can't swim." He had drowned a number of times in pre-Ranger. His body fat composition was probably in the single digits.

[titsonritz]

Growing up I didn't know about the "brothers can't swim" thing in part because this was my neighbor growing up and would swim in that pool on a regular basis...

Along with being a religious woman, she provided foster care for those who had been neglected
and mentally ill, and was an advocate for child welfare, clean water and other social issues.
Mrs. Perry was also a member of the Santa Rosa – Sonoma County Chapter of the NAACP and a
founding member of the Head Start Program in Santa Rosa. She also built the first pool for the
Black community on her property, which resulted in protests from the Ku Klux Klan. Mrs. Perry
bore the physical and emotional scars of racism, hatred and white supremacy, yet she
continued to be a leader and community builder.

https://srcity.org/DocumentCenter/Vi...y-Final?bidId=

[uffdaphil]

A lot of bubba taught, muni-pool people know only one stroke - a pseudo-crawl. They try to keep their head completely up out of the water and only extend the arms half way forward taking many short inefficient pulls. It gets them across the pool so good enough. They don’t know how to rest at all. Treading water is double time again to keep the head dry. They try to emulate an air mattress for the back float.

When they discover that lakes are cold, rivers have currents and oceans have bigger waves, cold, and currents I’m surprised more don’t drown.

[chuckman]

In Special Forces I recall two stand-out black swimmers: the first was Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Simmons, "The Black Frog" from the Bronx. In our Okinawa pre-SCUBA classes he would often do the offshore-to-beach kilometer "Equipment Appreciation Swim" (where aspiring SCUBA divers learned to appreciate their mask, fins, and snorkel) in Speedos -- and typically beat the whole class.

Another played water polo in college in Florida.

I had a man-crush on one of my black NCOs, a cut body-builder Infantryman who had served in the 82d, as a Black-hat instructor at Airborne School, and as President Bush's (41) tandem freefall pilot. I asked him why he'd never got his Ranger tab.

He answered, "Combat Water Survival Test, sir. You know brothers can't swim." He had drowned a number of times in pre-Ranger. His body fat composition was probably in the single digits.

Some of the best swimmers I knew in recon were black guys. THE best swimmer I knew in the military was a black SEAL. He was like Michael Phelps. Couldn't shoot worth shit, though.

[Pappabear]

I taught my boys to swim as toddlers in South Florida. We moved to Chicago when my boys were 3 and 5 and the neighbors had a pool party and everyone thought my kids were savant athletes. It was hilarious or maybe sad.

Later my kids were on a swim team, they hated it. I said you can quit when you can out swim me. I'm no savant but I did do some mini triathlons when I was a kid, so that took them a minute. Weak swimmers are dangerous.

PB