Watching MSNBC...how does one not know how to swim?

[wercal]

73. Unlike dogs, people have the capacity to think...and panic

When they hit the water.

I worked at a boy scout camp for a few summers. On day one, the scouts would take a swim test, and were classified as 'non-swimmer', 'beginner', and 'swimmer'.

For starters, the mere existence of the 'non-swimmer' category implies that some people in fact cannot swim. And, there was a noticeable pattern that the African American kids were more likely to be non-swimmers.I might get flammed here for pointing that out...but that was my observation. I talked to one of the troop leaders about this. He listed a few reasons. For starters, alot of A-Americans use hair care products that they don't like to wash out in the water. This was corroborated by the prevalence of shower caps that I saw whenever his troop hit the shower....and if you wer to go looking for a shower cap in the store today, you will likely find it in the 'ethnic haircare' aisle. The rest is sort of cultural...born out of the tendancy for A-Americans to live in dense urban areas. There are no 'swimming holes' downtown. Of course there are YMCA, public pools, etc...but the access is still somewhat limited downtown - especially to a young kid who doesn't have transporatation, entry fee, etc.

So, alot never learned. We did teach them the best we could, during their week at camp. Most only made it to 'beginner', but that at least means they know enough to keep from drowning.