While recently trying to purchase a piñata for an upcoming birthday
party, I was smacked in the brain by a little "tidbit" of information
that was both shocking and a little disheartening. During my online search for
a specific piñata, I kept seeing the term "pull-string piñata." Of
course, I could see pictures of what looked like good ol' fashioned piñatas for
sale, and sure enough, they had colorful strings hanging off of them, which at
first I believed to be merely for decoration...but whoah was I wrong! The
strings were in fact (as the name implies) for pulling. Then, I asked myself, why would you pull strings on a
piñata? It was then I began to read the
description of these fun party game favorites, and lo and behold, I learned
that now instead of hitting the piñata with a stick or a small bat until the
candy and toy filled figure gives up the goods, some people have gone to a more
gentle approach by having kids (and
adults) take turns pulling the strings one by one, and when the lucky
"puller" gives it a yank...it's chaos and cavities for all! As I began to figure out this new
"piñata paradigm", the conclusion I came to was, it is an attempt to
circumvent all the senseless "party game violence" associated with
beating the piñata into candy giving submission. In my mind I really do want to
understand and accept the whole "pull string theory”, but no. I can’t.
That’s not how a piñata works. Pulling
strings? Really? Where’s the excitement, where’s the fun, where’s the danger?
O.K. let me point out that I do indeed understand how we live in a
world fraught with increasing violence. I read the news (probably more than
most), and I see the shocking stories of violence by young people, whether
through acts of school shootings, stabbings, and threats against other students
and teachers, and even violence against their own parents and family members. Yes, we do have a problem. But you can’t
convince me that piñatas are a part of the problem, whereby worsening the
situation. If you do a little research, piñatas actually have a long history
going back to 13th century China (yes, apparently China did invent everything).
Back then the figures were made of clay and filled with goodies, and broken open
how? That’s right, by hitting them with
sticks! So, you can’t tell me that eight centuries of piñatas are the problem
for modern day violence. Do we need to teach our kids not to be violent, yes!
Do we need to teach our kids to be respectful, yes! Does our society have some work
to do to help curb violence…a big time YES! But having to change the whole method
for the “payoff” of a fun party game?
Let’s get real folks, piñatas aren’t the problem.
I can see wanting to
teach children at a young age not to engage in “violent behavior,” like swinging
sticks and bats at the wrong things i.e. people, pets, cars, windows etc... But if we’re convinced that swinging a stick
for a game is inappropriate, we can forget about little Johnny or Joanie ever playing
little league baseball or softball. Not that we play a lot of it here in the
U.S., but how about the game of cricket? They use a bat. Sure it’s rectangular,
but a bat none the less. How about a leisurely game of croquet on a sunny Sunday
afternoon with the kids? Forget it! Oh the trouble you can get into with those
mallets. You can’t tell me that soccer can’t be violent. Look around the world
and tell me why in some places they have to put chain link fencing between the
fans and the field. Or watch how riots breakout in the stands at soccer
matches. Sure hockey is violent, but even tennis, and golf can be a dangerous sport if the
equipment is used in a violent way! And don’t even get me started on lawn darts.
If you want a world with less violence, you want to pin the blame on something
or someone? Look around you, it’s not how you break open a piñata that’s at
fault. It never has been, it never will be.
So forget the strings and swing away my fellow birthday party
revelers! And remember, just like all
other games we play at parties, if you do it responsibly, everybody has a good
time…and maybe you even get some candy!
I’ll see you in groves and thanks for reading.
-Tony
