i agree in the fact that we should be appreciative of the family, but i will NOT respect the media nor the way they word things, especially in this case. they may not realize how just a few things they say can influence MANY people and change their views on parkour, but it can and will happen. i wouldnt be surprised if that "i cant believe those teens think they can do that stuff!" chick goes out and starts a group against parkour; she may even go as far as trying to get laws passed against it.

the media got the definition of parkour right, but i would think if they got that, it means they got enough information to realize we arent "thrill seeking" teens who recklessly train on buildings, they would see that most of us (at least once informed by our peers if not from the beginning) dont take falls more than chest height until a year+ of training. plus, i would like to know who these reporters talked to that said "parkour hasnt been related in serious injury because its either not happening or no one is reporting it".... why wouldnt she mention the fact that it doesnt happen because we train with safety as a priority? that whole video irritated me, and i read through the article, and apparently the kid was known as a "genius" by his friends, so what would make someone smart do something stupid? im not trying to be mean and im REALLY sorry if i offended anyone but the point im trying to make is that MAYBE it was just an accident, or maybe he didnt just fall.....

whatever, that isnt my place to judge, and i will stop talking about it because i think its too early, however, i believe this news channel needs to talk to some experienced traceurs and and redo their video, because its a "top story" on their website and theyre misinforming a LOT of people.

plus they just so happen to not have a commenting feature on their videos so no one can set viewers straight...

RIP Kenny

*link to article*
http://www.kcra.com/news/21503335/detail.html


EDIT:

i also want to say that i google this incident and KCRA is the ONLY NEWS GROUP with this story! MSNBC just used theirs, and not only is this a popular story on the KCRA site, but the link to their article is popular on twitter as well, meaning its getting a LOT of views.

--just for those of you who dont know, APK is also coming up in the search so its even more reason to be courteous and well informed when posting in here because a lot of people are probably reading this too

This is why i boycott television media, speculation and sensationalism.  I'm not sure when, but it seems to me that investigative and objective journalism died a long time ago.  They seek to put each story in the most attention grabbing light.  This is a tragedy and as such the instinct is to place blame on something, especially when something the general public doesn't understand is involved.  Best wishes to the family.  RIP

damn ... no real upside to this.

Yes it is sad to lose a life. There are millions dieing all over the world.
But if you watch the first vid. posted on this forum, the news cast,
The main thing even remotely showed is flips. there is literaly like only
three parts to the video that even well trained traceurs can barely
even do, let alone a newb, like the large majority of the newcomers
that think it is "easy and cool" just dont know what there getting into.
I have no love loss for anyone getting   INJURED   doing Parkour at a place
like an 8 story parking garage. Seriously, what extra training do you
get from the 100 foot drop?!

Also I'd like to say "injured" is the key word, not dead.

Anguish I have to agree.

Here's what I said on Facebook:

Please only say what you would say to someone's face (always a rule on APK)

Next, imagine this was someone you knew personally, your best friend even, then what would you be saying?


Imagine that Kenny's mother will read this, what would you say to her face?



These are the general rules for posting on APK and they apply even more so in a time and situation as serious as this.

I really don't know what to think about all this.  I really don't. 

I agree with everyone who has said that this is a time when we need to take a collective breather, chill out, and let the family grieve.  We don't do the living who are attempting to get over the loss of a fallen one any justice with angry words, harsh options, or being defensive about the art.  Just give them their time and let them mourn the loss of a young son. 

The problems are with the media.  Like it or not, Parkour is becoming something that is taking off in a major way around the country.  I do not wish to be the eternal pessimist about the media, but after stuff like MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge appeared on TV I said to myself "this is going to get really bad when someone finally gets injured seriously or killed and Parkour is mentioned at any point."  Lo and behold, my worst fears come true.  KCRA, looking for something to spice up a story, decided to hook Parkour into their piece on Kenny's death.  In doing so, they pervert the art and everything it stands for just to get a few more hits on their website for the article and videos. 

I would humbly suggest that every traceur here for a few moments today or sometime this week take a few moments and send positive vibes to Kenny and his family at this point.  If the media attempts to contact you, simply refrain from comment or state that you send your condolences to a family in grief.  Don't give them the ammunition they want by being defensive; as Mr. Chess said we will have our day when all of this cools down.  The moment is still very hot and this is still enough in the spotlight where one ill chosen word can cause problems for us all.

Finally, let this be a moment when we can all unite as the shining community that we are.  One of the things that I love so much about APK, one of the reasons I have our Glyph inked on my flesh for life, is because we stand for something positive--strength, discipline, perseverance, and the transcendence of obstacles that most people choose to let stand in their way.  We can do the same thing here and transcend the obstacles that we have placed in our path with regards to how we react to the death of a fallen brother.  I choose to send my sorrows out and the condolences to a family in grief, not react or look in anger. I invite you all to do the same. 

How about this...

I am walking next to a cliff and I fall off.

The news wouldn't report that "Walking may be to blame.".

See my point?

Agreed. This news story is completely sensational and used purely to insult parkour. They did not even acknowledge the loss of his life or praise him for something good he did. They quoted "very good kid" and "genius" on purpose as if to sarcastically insult the kid. That is not cool. Their sole purpose was to discourage people from participating in parkour by instilling fear using false information.
I am especially disgusted with that lady in the car saying that kid should not expect to do these things and not get seriously hurt or die. Clearly she has not read anything about parkour. To be honest, when I first heard about parkour, my impression was that it was reckless and not for me. But I took the time to lurk around here and grew to love it. My parents also though it looked uncivilized and dangerous at first, but now they understand and support it.
The reporters even suggested that there are many more parkour related injuries and death that aren't reported. The parkour clips they showed aren't even that dangerous. I don't think a vault over a 3 ft railing or a ~7 ft drop could injure someone who has been training for years.