What would you teach a banger?

[Cuebacca]

Oh, come ON. What poolplayer have you EVER met that would not get pi**ed as hell if you told them they were a banger? It's an insult, and you know it. If what you are trying to say is that you are not going to stop using the term, then fine.. Say that..

Just don't try to pretend it's not an insult.

Banger is part of the pool lingo, the way Ni**er is part of the racist "lingo".

With the current state of affairs in pool, you REALLY think we can afford to alienate the beginners?

Russ

I can't believe you went there. If you really had to do that, it would have been better, IMHO, to at least use the term "N Word" instead of writing the actual word with a couple of stars over it. Either way, the analogy is a really bad one and in poor taste, IMO.

 

[Russ Chewning]

In the interests of kindness and gentleness, let me limit myself to saying, Russ, that I don't think this is an apt comparison. One term is used to dehumanize an entire race of people, while the other is an admittedly unflattering but accurate description of how some people play the game of pool. These two terms are miles apart in terms of their intent and their historical context, and IMHO you shouldn't even have used them in the same sentence.

To illustrate, every player was once a banger, and a banger can become a 'player' with improvement. How do we 'niggers' stop being 'niggers' in the the minds of the racist dogs who use the term?

My point was... banger is a term that is insulting and demeaning. Perhaps not to the degree of racist terms, but I assure you the beginners don't want to be called bangers.

The mindset is the same, though. Racists use that term because it makes them feel superior. "Good" players use the term "banger" to make themselve feel superior over lesser players.

Pool is suffering perhaps the worst slump in history. I'm not sure if even post World War II had this kind of slump.

Let's save the insults for people who truly deserve it, like rapists and murderers..

Oops.. I forgot.. They are a product of their environment, so we should pity them.. [/sarcasm]

Russ

 

[Russ Chewning]

And since I know I'm gonna get a slew of negative comments on the above post, here's my response:

Save it. Just give me bad rep and move on. I don't want to hear your griping in PMs...

But know this.. I'm betting just a few of you will be less likely to refer to bad players as "bangers".

I just never could stand people who felt the need to denigrate other people's skills. Guess what? The object of pool is to have fun. For some, that may be hitting the balls hard and seeing what happens. For the majority of us, it is running out. What gives anyone the right to call other people names just because they play the game differently?

Thanks.. That is all..

Russ

 

[VIProfessor]

And since I know I'm gonna get a slew of negative comments on the above post, here's my response:

Save it. Just give me bad rep and move on. I don't want to hear your griping in PMs...

But know this.. I'm betting just a few of you will be less likely to refer to bad players as "bangers".

I just never could stand people who felt the need to denigrate other people's skills. Guess what? The object of pool is to have fun. For some, that may be hitting the balls hard and seeing what happens. For the majority of us, it is running out. What gives anyone the right to call other people names just because they play the game differently?

Thanks.. That is all..

Russ

OK Russ, it's all good! All you have to do now is to apply this same tolerance to us "commie pinkos" who think about social issues differently!

P.S.--Call it my perverse love of debate, but I look forward to your posts, even when I know I will vehemently disagree. After all, aren't we supposed to be each other's sidekick or members of the Village People or something?

 

[Cuebacca]

And since I know I'm gonna get a slew of negative comments on the above post, here's my response:

Save it. Just give me bad rep and move on. I don't want to hear your griping in PMs...

But know this.. I'm betting just a few of you will be less likely to refer to bad players as "bangers".

Calling someone a "bad player" isn't very nice either, is it? Why not just say "beginner" or "novice" or "recreational player"?

I just never could stand people who felt the need to denigrate other people's skills. Guess what? The object of pool is to have fun. For some, that may be hitting the balls hard and seeing what happens. For the majority of us, it is running out. What gives anyone the right to call other people names just because they play the game differently?

Thanks.. That is all..

Russ

I agree with what you said above, but I think using "banger" can be fine or not, depending on how it's used. It may not ever be a flattering term, but it has a place in our jargon.

Besides, has anyone here actually used the term banger where a banger could hear them? LOL. Let me be clear; I'm not saying that I condone talking "trash" behind people's backs. I'm just saying it's a term used more often between two or more "non-bangers" to describe a certain category of player. I don't think it is often used to insult someone within earshot. Obviously I have no data to prove that, but that's my perception at least.

That thread, "You might be a banger if...", was a classic. If the term "banger" couldn't have been used there, the thread wouldn't have been nearly as funny. I highly doubt any bangers came on here and read the thread and then shut off their computer crying, never to play pool again. I suppose you never know though.

From now on, perhaps when asked, "is your friend so-and-so good?", if I must reply, "well... he's kind of at the banger stage", then perhaps I should add, "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

If you were to use the term in front of a banger, you could easily be more insulting by calling them a "bad player" in a certain tone than you could by calling them a "banger" in a different tone.

I just don't think "banger" is a term that we need to eliminate from our vocabulary. I think we should just be careful of how we use it, because I agree, we should welcome people of any skill level to play this game.

In fact, maybe if we use the term "banger" delicately to the banger, he has a chance to reflect on his style of play. If he is so inclined, he can graduate to a slightly higher skill level, or at least adjust his style to put him in a good position to improve in the near future.

Let me just add once more, that I agree we should not look down on other players due to their skill level. We were all beginners once and were perhaps even bangers for the first couple of games! Not me, of course.

 

[Slider]

Are people really THAT sensitive?

Oh, come ON. What poolplayer have you EVER met that would not get pi**ed as hell if you told them they were a banger?

First of all, the bangers know who they are...

I don't know how things are at your sewing circle, but similar "insults" are traded regularly where I hang out, and no one seems to get very asterisked about it.

Ken

 

[Russ Chewning]

Let me just add once more, that I agree we should not look down on other players due to their skill level. We were all beginners once and were perhaps even bangers for the first couple of games! Not me, of course.

Well said...

Russ

 

[Pushout]

Banger has been a part of the pool lingo. It is a distinction or a word to identify or determine a player's playing style. Banger as defined refers to a forceful or aggressive player. so there is nothing wrong or disrespectful with that word. every pool player knows that and shouldn't be offended when referred as such. it is not the same as being referred as a "pool clown".

Never heard that definition. To me, it means someone who can't play a lick. Someone who cares nothing about the rules, etiquette, or respect of the game or its players. The only pool player they ever heard of is Minnesota Fats. The kind of person who chalks a cue and then whacks the shaft on the side of the table to knock off the excess. Somebody who, when they can't find a ball stuck in the ball return, pick up the end of, and drops a 9 foot slate table, rather than go to the counter and ask for help. I've seen this one with my own eyes, more than once. I thought the owner was going to have a stroke. If offered help to improve, they say they don't need it or care. Someone who deliberately stands in someone's line of sight, even after being asked politely to move. Who tries to distract somebody in a money game "just for the hell of it". I could go on.......

 

[Russ Chewning]

OK Russ, it's all good! All you have to do now is to apply this same tolerance to us "commie pinkos" who think about social issues differently!

Touche!

P.S.--Call it my perverse love of debate, but I look forward to your posts, even when I know I will vehemently disagree. After all, aren't we supposed to be each other's sidekick or members of the Village People or something?

I love debating too! And thanks a lot.. I now have an image of you, bare chested with leather chaps and leather cap, dancing to Y.M.C.A..

Funnily enough, you look like Borat...

Russ

 

[pooltchr]

At the risk of bruising an ego or two, I can tell you that as an instructor, EVERY student I have ever worked with started at the same point in the class...working on the fundamentals of grip, bridge, stance and stroke. Until a player has solid fundamentals, speed control, tangent lines, draw, side spin, aiming, and everything else is useless. If you can't make contact with the cue ball where you need to make it, and you can't get the cue ball to go where you need it to go, nothing else is going to help.
I have worked with some very strong players, and some that were just starting out. Once we break out the video camera, every student has found at least a flaw or two that needed correction.
Without solid fundamentals, you can't get a consistant repeatable stroke, and that is the one thing we all need to have in order to improve.
Steve

 

[Pushout]

At the risk of bruising an ego or two, I can tell you that as an instructor, EVERY student I have ever worked with started at the same point in the class...working on the fundamentals of grip, bridge, stance and stroke. Until a player has solid fundamentals, speed control, tangent lines, draw, side spin, aiming, and everything else is useless. If you can't make contact with the cue ball where you need to make it, and you can't get the cue ball to go where you need it to go, nothing else is going to help.
I have worked with some very strong players, and some that were just starting out. Once we break out the video camera, every student has found at least a flaw or two that needed correction.
Without solid fundamentals, you can't get a consistant repeatable stroke, and that is the one thing we all need to have in order to improve.
Steve

I just started with someone last week. She's already started league play, but is a complete beginner. Stance, bridge, grip, a little on stroke. Showed her the ghost ball aiming system, just to get her started.

 

[Neil]

.............

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

Oh, come ON. What poolplayer have you EVER met that would not get pi**ed as hell if you told them they were a banger? It's an insult, and you know it. If what you are trying to say is that you are not going to stop using the term, then fine.. Say that..

Just don't try to pretend it's not an insult.

Banger is part of the pool lingo, the way Ni**er is part of the racist "lingo".

With the current state of affairs in pool, you REALLY think we can afford to alienate the beginners?

Russ

Don't put words into my mouth Russ. If you think that such word is rude for you, then consider it as rude for your behalf.
I'm not pretending and I refuse to agree to your thinking that it's an insult. It's exclusively your thinking. you were asking me which pool individuals who aren't pissed in such word? well , I'll give you an answer. the type who are able to spell the word "POOL" and I've met a lot of them.

I can't even believe that you even compared a BANGER to a "N***A". Obviously that made me laugh. it's like comparing a Saturday morning cartoon to a RATED R movie.

Lastly, if those beginners you were talking about think that calling them as bangers as an insult or a form of alienation, obviously they have a severe case of sensitivity problems and they aren't barred from leaving the pool premises whenever they wish. they don't need to be motivated , sweet talked and given a sense of belongingness. this is not OPRAH, this is POOL.

 

[rackem]

Russ, your analogy really is off base

Oh, come ON. What poolplayer have you EVER met that would not get pi**ed as hell if you told them they were a banger? It's an insult, and you know it. If what you are trying to say is that you are not going to stop using the term, then fine.. Say that..

Just don't try to pretend it's not an insult.

Banger is part of the pool lingo, the way the N word is part of the racist "lingo".

With the current state of affairs in pool, you REALLY think we can afford to alienate the beginners?

Russ

The word you have refer to is accepted lingo within the race. Go listen to some Rap music. With your analogy therefore The word Banger would be an accepted term between Poolplayers. So Yo Bangga.

 

[VIProfessor]

Touche!



I love debating too! And thanks a lot.. I now have an image of you, bare chested with leather chaps and leather cap, dancing to Y.M.C.A..

Funnily enough, you look like Borat...

Russ

Good, good! If that's the image you have then you'll be totally unprepared when I sneak up on you in a poolroom in Florida! When did you say you're coming back from Iraq?

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

Just to cite some examples of true and evident rudeness and insult to some beginners.
I have witnessed beginners being abruptly interrupted or insulted in local poolrooms. these acts are not in the act of saying or mentioning the word "banger" but instead in the form of loud yelps, chuckles, laughter, etc... (pretty much annoying I should say). I dunno if you have spent much or enough time in such places Russ, coz I did. and I understand that those misdemeanors are way much more provocative compared to your "banger" argument.

In any case, since mentioning the word "BANGER" is taboo to you, and only to you, I would gladly not to mention it again. St. RUSS !

 

[VIProfessor]

The word you have refer to is accepted lingo within the race. Go listen to some Rap music. With your analogy therefore The word Banger would be an accepted term between Poolplayers. So Yo Bangga.

If you don't understand the difference between that and what I was talking about, go into any black neighborhood near you and say "What's up, my N_____s?" to the first group of brothers you meet. I guarantee that the difference will be made clear to you in the most unmistakeable terms!

 

[rackem]

If you don't understand the difference between that and what I was talking about, go into any black neighborhood near you and say "What's up, my N_____s?" to the first group of brothers you meet. I guarantee that the difference will be made clear to you in the most unmistakeable terms!

I fully understand. Please note I said within the race

 

[VIProfessor]

I fully understand. Please note I said within the race

My bad! Peace!

 

[Hail Mary Shot]

If you don't understand the difference between that and what I was talking about, go into any black neighborhood near you and say "What's up, my N_____s?" to the first group of brothers you meet. I guarantee that the difference will be made clear to you in the most unmistakeable terms!

I saw this difference in the movie "RUSH HOUR" where Chris Tucker greeted his fellow brothas with such and it was ok. Jackie Chan on the other hand, tried to copy it and said it to greet some brothas as well. obviously, he was greeted back with fists by sayin so.