Skating Zen, then repairs

How romantic -- children of all ages, free to express their creative selves on wheeled jackhammers [“Skating the Deep End?” June 2]. Why not encourage kids to take baseball bats to handrails, tile walls, glass storefronts and other architectural objects?

Do you have a real sense of the damage caused to property by skateboarders? We have had to spend many hours and thousands of dollars repairing glass, broken tiles, railings, stairs, and then installing devices to prevent further damage.

You indicate, unfortunately without judgment, that the kids (up to 33 years of age) seek unauthorized, illegal places for new boarding challenges. Why not say that that is wrong? How would they feel if a building owner smashed their precious skateboards? We all want to have creative fun, but at whose expense? You not only do not offer a balanced point of view, but you seem to be supportive of these vandals’ acts.

Mitch Weiss

Beverly Hills

*

The Times has published one of the finest articles about skateboarding ever put into newsprint. Wow.

Susan Carpenter’s ability to research and report back accurately from an incredibly insightful point of view -- well, it just hasn’t happened very often over the past 30 years. Typically, the mainstream media try too hard to be “rad,” or otherwise just scramble information that either offends or distorts what skateboarders are doing.

Thanks for helping give insight into what’s important to and for skateboarders.

Jim Fitzpatrick

Santa Barbara

Jim Fitzpatrick is the vice president of USA Skateboarding.