Re: Is It Time To Ban Boxing?
Originally Posted by
ben-varrey
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You say the world would be boring if things started to be banned but I'd bet the people who enjoyed dog fights and cock fights felt the same way - would you agree to those past-times becoming commonplace again?
I think there is a moral difference between two people who choose to fight and animals who have no choice.
I just worry that the health and safety brigade wouldn't know when to stop and, emboldened by banning boxing, would quickly move on to their next target. I also worry that in many of these cases the "cure" is worse than the "disease." There is, I believe, strong medical evidence to suggest that there would be a much lower risk of brain damage if boxers didn't wear big, heavily padded gloves. Apparently the use of gloves, as opposed to bare knuckles minimise cuts, but maximise the jarring of the brain within the skull causing brain lesions and bleeds. Same in American football - because the players are "protected" by helmets and body armour, their collisions are much more damaging than those experienced by "unprotected" rugby players for example.
As a younger man I was very active and was involved in rugby, football, cricket, volleyball, motorcycle grasstrack racing, surfing, rock-climbing and mountaineering. Ironically, the most serious injury I ever had came while playing the gentle game of cricket. I was fielding at short square leg when the batsman cracked a brilliant shot right into my mouth from about 5 yards. I lost several teeth, had a couple of dozen stitches, and looked like Quasimodo for a month. Any sport can be dangerous and any sport could be regarded as a drain on the NHS. As a fully paid up adrenaline addict, my view is that a totally risk-free life is no life at all.