Positive Airsoft Publicity
 

Hey everyone, I just had a bit of a thought and I wanted other people's creative opinion about it. (Key word: creative)

I've noticed on this site alot of paranoia about the Media giving us bad publicity, and in turn giving Airsoft a bad name in Canada which may result in the sport being banned. Like everyone else on this site, I hope I never see the day that happens; but part of me wonders if maybe we are contributing to the problem?

Airsofters usually keep to themselves about the sport. It's the same all over North America: we live in fear of being shut down. Maybe, though, we are contributing to the bad image by being paranoid and driving off rookies who are still trying to find thier way into the sport. So why not give the media and Government an example of how responsible we can be?

For example; I was thinking one of the best ways to establish airsoft as a recognized sport is to provide training and saftey lessons to those who wish to participate. Allow the media, Government, and anyone else who is curious see that airsofters, 99% of the time handle the guns approptiatly, and do not go out into public with them. This would also allow rookies a place to get started and allow the Airsoft community to grow (especially if some of the anti-newb airsofters on this site would lay off of them). We won't get recognized unless we have numbers that demand recognition; and we won't get numbers if we don't encourage people to join up.

As for the training bit itself: all you really need to do is set up a shop somwhere with enough room for an airsoft shooting range, and hold small training sessions on proper gun handleing, sport rules, etc. to those over 18 who are interested. (and maybe 16 if they have parental permision)

Anyways it's just an Idea, any thoughts?

TTAC3 has training sessions. It's a nice idea

people who play as want it to stay back counter. if it becomes popular it becomes commercialized. when it becomes commercialized more people will be into it. as it stands now, we have a few rules to follow, and we are more than happy to oblige. statistically speaking your guranteed to get more idiots who refuse to see the rules and regulations for what they are and what they stand for. these people interpret the rules to suit their wants. the reason and saving grace of everyone being a hard ass on the newbies it to weed out the idiots from the people who actually deserve to be a part of this exclusive sport.
i see your point if we educate and expose ourselves to the public we run the risk of 2 things, being socially accepted in which case we will meet more regulations (clear guns w/ orange tips are a gurantee) and have it become a popular sport that would be availible to the majority exclusivley until walmart decides they want to capitalize on the sport and sells out making it readily availible to the masses. when this happens the injury rate and statistics will drastically rise due to the increased number of people abusing the saftey issues attributed with as by the lack of respect, reserve normally excersized by the majority. when that happens youll see moms on oprah and sally jessie raffielle crying about how our great nation is crumbling because we let our kids play with toy guns shooting each other and how her little tommy lost an eye at his 8th birthday party because he got shot in the eye with an AS gun, and he dreamed of being a pilot... boohoo. instead of accepting the fact that she raised an idiot, shed see her son an innoccent victim and martyr to the cause. same moms will be campaigning to ban toyu guns capgun or as altogether for this reason.

OR the other thing that might happen is well be shunned by the public because we advocate viloence by running around shooting each other, obviously we must be terrorists, in which case the NSMAOA (national soccer mom assosiation of america) will campaign to have toy guns (cap gun or as) banned altogether, ie no more importing/sale ect.... do you see a trend here?

dont get me wrong, wed all love to see the sport flourish, but the fact is, there is stupid people out there. people who are iggnorant and refuse to see our guns as anything other than illegal and dangerous replicas,
people who would use them (and do use them) to rob people,
people who refuse to realize these are dangerous
people who think theyre above the rules
people who think theyre kid is mature enough to have one
ect ect.
think of the sport as a nice tropical island where the grass is green, air is fresh, animals flourish that only a few people know about. when the word spread about the island, EVERYBODY starts coming and soon the grass is all pitted and chewed up, air is full of pollution, the animals all leave, eventually it turns to shit.

the sport cant get big without losing alot of the amenties we have now. we would have to comrimise so much that the sport wouldnt be the same, and for what? so more people can get involved in a sport they dont really care about, as long as they get to have fun. its hard to explain, but we have a good thing, you cant change things with out rocking the boat, and when you rock the boat people fall of and when you rock it enough, you flip it over and lose the boat all together, accept the sport for what it is, be thankful for what youve got, and fight to keep it that way. you attitude changes the more you play and the longer your around, eventually you see it in a way where youll want to keep it secret and want to keep the clowns and jokers out for fear that theyll ruin something youve been a part of for so long and even help build.

Ok, then here's an Idea that may or may not be good: Airsoft registration. We already have the age-verified thing going why not have a government registration system that allows only those who qualify to carry proper, real-looking AEGs that are over the age of 18 to have them. If they are not 18, or do not have a licence to use them then the get fined and have thier gun confiscated. I for one would actually prefer not to do that, but who knows it may help calm the government and prevent Airsoft from becoming a scapegoat for teen violence.

Lets say to get an airsofting licence you simply have to prove that you are a responsible adult who will not abuse these products. You then pay a small fee ($20 maybe?) and get a card that proves you to be a licensed Airsofter, at which point you are allowed to buy whatever the hell you want in the way of AS guns. Nothing too hard, but something that will keep the morons out.

Also, my point is that we should not aim to be super-popular, but certainly do things to indicate we are more respectibal than we a currently viewed, and find a way to get the government off our backs. The registration idea is just one example, if anyone has better Ideas feel free to chip in.

(P.S. Trust me I know full well there are Idiots in this world and by no means are they exclusive to Anti-Airsoft. The last thing we need is a Jack Thompson equivilant going after Airsoft. I'm not trying to rock the boat too much just trying to find better ways to keep it Afloat.)

Experiance has taught us that no publicity is good publicity. It's just better to stay off the radar of soccer moms all together then to be popular like paintball. In the past couple years I've only witnessed ONE positive reference to airsoft in the media and even then it's something that could trigger pleanty of soccor moms to march and demand that airsoft be banned to prevent their kids from doing bad things...

Airsoft isn't big enough to go to the burocratic licensing crap. It's either the way it is now or if the gvt has to step in then it's shut down outright. The way it is now (difficult to buy) is probably what is saving us from being outright shut down.

I know that the training aspect works. Down here in the Northeast, our airsoft gruop offers AirSoft 1.0 Its is a training class that teaches responseability, tactics, saftey, and land navigation. It is offerd to all airsofters, but it targets the under eighteen airsofters. I also do believe that the training is for the kid as well as their parent. over all a good system. AS 1.0 is not manditory for all airsofters in the NE; but if they want to play at our largest Milsim field, then they need it.

The media is another thing. I normally do no tlike the media and I think thier only goal is to bring the downfall of our beloved sport. This year at our annual huge airsoft game, Battle for Tolland, we had a combat photographer. At first I thought he was just another airsofter taking cool pictures, but he is actually a photojournalist from France. He gave the Airsofting world a great boost with his story.

But I guess that is an isolated incident

Yes, it would be......also keep in mind there is a different culture in the States in regards to the general publics views on the military. Most people in the States have or have had someone who has served in the military. There is a greater respect for military personel Stateside. In Canada, the general public tends to put the military and it's families down due to an over zelous Liberal agenda. In this regards any public acnowledgement of Airsoft would be a detriment to our sport overall. Just like the old saying "Loose lips sink Ships". I feel this would hold true for our sport. Keep in mind this has all been discussed before. A stakeholders letter has been written to the government. ECT. Although your ideas are valid they are just a little late.

Perhaps but I'm sure I'm not the only airsofter out there discouraged by the amount of anti-airsoft publicity we've been getting. I think if nothing else a training course that helps teach parents as well as players the ropes and responsibilities of airsofting would be a very good Idea and a step in the right direction. It probably wouldn't even be all that expensive, if somone were to host the training sessions on private property.

Hey all,

those are only good intentions that will bring you problems.
Everyone as an airsofter feels the need to be public about it and tell everybody around how fun it is.
Problem is, it's only because it's discreet that it's fun.
Journalists will not follow your advices, they will say whatever they want, cut and write the way they want.
In the end , you'll feel robbed and disrespected.
You also have to take into consideration the fact that military gear brings animosity from some specific people who really don't care if you can't play anymore one day...
to live happy is to live hidden.
cheerz!

Jim

We should have more of a centre wing view on this, instead of a right wing view on this.

Instead of registration and all that crap, just keep the sport closed off. In canada I see that practically noone likes the military, but guess what they are the ones who serve the people, they risk their lives every day on missions and operations for freedom. I generally have a more liberal (well actually centre-wing) view on things, but some things are just too left-wing for me.

In the US they generally have a more positive view on the military. Although you do get dumbfucks like that lady with like 30 kids, and owns her own church, and says homosexuals are evil. WTF?

Remember: you've got to put things in perspective.

Or we could do something like in the movie "Wag the Dog" where we put up political smoke-screens to distract the media from whats really important.

Its nice ideas guy but.. it won't work. Kids now are taking Paintball guns on the street and doing drive by shooting and Thank god getting arresed for it, Now let say these kids get a M4 or M16/203 and cops are called for kids speeding and shooting pellet guns. Well dear old officer goes to pull over the kids and sees this assault rifle and next thing you know there is a damn shoot out and media grasping poor old Timmy got shot by the cops for his toy gun.

Plus Swat

Let everything be, people are slowly joining by 1) finding sites like this and we somehow route out some of the idiots 2) Our personal friends, we let them know about it, tell them the dangers and the fun.

But when time comes there is people on this forum and other forums that will approach the legal side of things when shit hits the fan. I for one plan on being a Cop and when I do I plan on meeting with my Chief and other officers and informing them about airsoft, so when they do pullovers, like pulling Lisa/Katey over that 56 or so guns in the car are not real and are for playing milsims. Ofcourse im not going to lay it out like this but I plan on talking to people at whatever station I am at.

Plus like Swatt13 said s 100% true, I totally agree with him.

This is somewhat offtopic, but I can't for my life remember. Did we ever get a reply to the options paper we submitted to the CFC?

It is already being done, I do introduction to airsoft courses practically every Sunday at TTAC3.
To date I have graduated well over 100 NOOBs into the activity.

I think to describe this activity as a "sport" is a misnomer, it has more akin to Live Action Role Playing than sport. I know that being tagged as a LARP is not considered a positive by many.. but LARP is known as a mostly harmless activity, What really is the difference between Role playing as a "master swordsman, or a wizard" or Role playing as a "special forces operator" To us.. it is a huge difference , but to a detached observer both could be considered "weird" and nonsensical.
There is no way to cast the simulated killing of human beings with modern assault weapons in a positive light.. the best we can hope for is to cast it as a "mostly harmless" passtime.

Paintball has made the transition to a Sport.. but we know what it has become.. I don't think anyone wants Airsoft to go that way.

airsoft is more a sport then golf is

From the Dictionary

SPORT
Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

A particular form of this activity.

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
An active pastime; recreation.

So , Yeah.. it is a sport

but when compared with other activities... I think the sport aspect would be lost on a casual observer

I'd have to go digging in the thread to confirm, but from what I remember, it was taken under advisement and there were small wording changes that reflected some of the content we submitted. Changes were somewhat positive, but small...nothing significant. If anything, it seemed to indicate that they at least took time to read the options paper.

I havn't seen KD around in a long while though, and he's the one who had his ear to the ground with some of the bureaucratic types.

Talraga, do you honestly wonder why we're "paranoid"? The issue isn't about showing the world how safe and responsible we are, most people don't care. All they see is that we're using 1:1 scale 'replica' guns. Are you not aware of the people out there who just dont see or care that we're playing a game? Like Lisa said, there's no good publicity. Why? Because even if the media does good coverage on our sport, there are all those people out there who will STILL see airsoft as a bad evil thing that is destroying the morale of good children.

I understand your suggestion to train noobs, but bringing the media in is never a wise idea in the long run simply because of those people who refuse to see airsoft for what it is. All it takes is one group of people to ruin things for the majority. I'd rather be "paranoid" then have the sport I love so much shut down. and yes that is a very real possibility.

Also having registration is really useless - since most of the stores are online - just get your older brother - so if you 16 and your bro is 18 most people wont even notice a difference anway - to buy a card for you.

Ok What I mean by this is....

It's not really going to make a difference as to weather or not you have to get a license or a special card to get an airsoft gun.

Kids are still going to tell their parents "Mommy i need a card to buy this bb gun"

Mommy gets them a card and now the kid has a card to use wenever he wants - and even though the card says 40 year old woman - no one will know because most stores are online

I wasn't trying to promote kiddies purchasing airsoft - sorry if i confused you

talraga dont take this the wrong way, nobody is ragging on you personally, its just these kinda ideas may be in the best intrest of the sport superficially, the fact is your still fucking with a good thing. if its not broke dont fix it. we have a good thing, nobody wants to risk changing it for the risk of making it worse. sure wed love to see our sport socially accepted and popular, but realistically, it is impossible to accomplish in the light we wish to see it in.
it all seems like a good idea in theory, but improbable in practicallity. your not the only person on crazy pills with these kinda ideas and your sure as hell not going to be the last rest assured your time will come very shortly where youll be on the other side of the fence arguing this point along side us, this point of view we have isnt something you can teach, it comes with time and experience, it wont take long for you to see things our way... if you already havent.

Trust me I take none of this personally... I just like throwing our crazy Ideas to get people thinking ;)

I agree we have a good thing here and if everyone is opposed to change who am I to say that it's wrong? I just wanted to see if I could get an inteligent debate going among the Airsoft comunity to assess the pros and cons of an Idea like this.

I read perhaps, at best and no more than a few times a week, less than 1 per cent of the threads on this board now.

It's amusing to me that I just happened onto the thread where I was mentioned. Really, it’s purely by chance.

Anyway, yes, we received a response, three in fact. I have the original signed copies from the (now former) Commissioner in my files somewhere, as well as the others.

I also spoke at length about airsoft with a few people in the federal government a few times back when that initiative was still on, at least one at the senior level.

Arnisador is correct that, for the most part, it was taken under advisement at the time, largely because of the political climate that existed then, i.e. the larger policy framework of the former federal government. We were also alerted to a number of other factors in play, all of them beyond our immediate control.

However, I see the options paper as having resulted in a number of positive developments:

1) Our interactions with the federal government created an awareness at the staff level around airsoft where there was, quite clearly, none before -- at least not with the individuals I spoke with. The documentation of that awareness provides at least some measure of a knowledge base for future policy documents to work from.

For ourselves, we were also able to learn about a number of things that are not really discussed on ASC. All of that was helpful in framing things for our discussions and products.

2) It made those of us actively involved in the file aware that staff within the federal government were actively reading Airsoft Canada, which is why a number of discussions around positioning were taken offline.

3) We were alerted to a number of what I will refer to as parallel initiatives, which we were able to provide feedback and input into. I feel this is one of the most positive benefits of the options paper.

4) I believe that by providing our context and input, a measurable degree of goodwill was established with staff within the federal government who were, at the time, actively looking at the issue.

5) It provided, in at least some form, a formal written submission to the federal government where none had previously existed; I believe this provided, at least to some, a benchmark to consider actions (or lack thereof) around airsoft as a sport in Canada.

For all the time and effort that went into it, and despite the problems that were encountered (most details around both remain largely unknown to most of ASC), overall, I am still somewhat pleased to have participated in that effort.

In retrospect, I would have approached the product a bit differently and characterized things in a different context, but, for the resources that were available, it was an acceptable product given the considerations in play, timing constraints and operating environment that we were forced to work with.

KD