Lucero: Problem may be your misconceptions

Misconceptions about different social groups are abundant anywhere you go, but taking the time to become familiar with someone from a particular social group can completely change the way a person views the world around them.

link Joshua Lucero

Since high school I have hung out with a group of people (people who frequent or frequented the local skatepark) who were labeled as trouble makers, losers, and degenerates by most of the people I knew outside of that circle.

Much of this group’s bad reputation came from the generations that preceded it with a bit of misinformation sprinkled in. (I was once told by a friend in high school that he had heard on good authority that people who go to the skatepark are devil worshipers.)

Like any group, skatepark regulars do have a few bad apples, (though in my experience, the bad apples get weeded out eventually) but for everyone else at the park it’s about having a good time with friends and pushing yourself to learn.

What I don’t think people realize, even today, is that the people using the skatepark are normal people with a less mainstream hobby.

People from the skatepark are often labeled as drug addicts or slackers and that label is far from the truth.

The people using the skateparks are actually as diverse as the multitudes of people who play intramural softball.

I know skaters who are in the Air Force, skaters who farm for a living, skaters who are truck drivers, skaters who run track, and skaters who go to church every Sunday.

That’s not the end of it either. I know people who used to frequent the parks and occasionally still do who are successful business owners, designers, and electricians.

Even my father used to tell me when passing the skatepark before I got my first bike that everyone who went there did drugs and didn’t have a future.

Now that I’ve had a chance to grow up viewing this group from both the outside and the inside, I know what he told me was based on misinformation. It became obvious that he had never interacted with any of the people at the park.

Once inside this group, I quickly realized they had been completely misrepresented.

Most of the kids and adults who frequent the local skateparks are highly motivated people with creative backgrounds.

Even with no one around to tell them what to do or give encouragement, they still go out and push themselves to learn new things and push through both mental and physical barriers on a regular basis.

This is true of the current generations of skaters and bmxers I’ve run into while out riding.

Sure, most of them are young and rebellious still, but no more than your average teenager or young adult.

They’ll say ignorant things and act inappropriately, but it’s nothing worse than the things I’ve seen and heard on the sidelines while covering high school and college sporting events.

Still though, people don’t like to see some social groups for what they are and stick to the narrative they have been told in the past. The reasoning for this behavior isn’t clear to me, but from the looks of it, people would rather believe the misconceptions and steer clear instead of getting to know people from a particular group.

When I was younger I wasn’t a fan of the jock social group, but once I got to college and got to know a few athletes, I realized for the most part they are just like me.

Many social groups are unfairly judged every day, ranging from motorcycle enthusiasts to gun owners. It’s always those on the outside with little to no connection to the group who feel it is their duty to paint the group in the bad light they think it deserves.

What some tend to ignore is people in each of these social groups are living, breathing persons who have experiences that shaped who they are and what they choose to be a part of.

Instead of judging and condemning people from social groups you’re not familiar with, try getting to know someone from those social groups.

I’m sure what you find will surprise you.

Joshua Lucero is a reporter for the Portales News-Tribune. Contact him at:

[email protected]