Erwan, I mostly agree with your ideals, however I don't put too many of them to practice. while I recognize this may sound hypocritical, I think of it as "choosing my battles".
for example with a sticker, I feel if one person sees a sticker, finds parkour, and it opens their eyes and changes their life, then it is worth
1) the cost of the sticker to both me and whoever gets it (at UF I think I gave away many more than I sold)
2) the cost to the environment, as one person thinking more conscientiously for years to come will probably outweigh the toxins from the plastic created to make the sticker
3) whatever effort it took me to design, get printed, and distribute the sticker
Really, the larger example here is that I truly feel with all my heart that Parkour is good for people.
It is better than playing video games, it is better than doing drugs, it is better than hanging out, it is better than fighting, it is better than vandalism, it is better than so many things that a bored teenager could (and usually would) choose to do.
Instead, it makes people want to be healthier, more conscious of themselves, which I believe in turn helps the world to be a better place. People who are conscious of themselves and have a good self image are likely to help others and be generally kind people.
This is why I want to spread Parkour.
It is not so much different to me than choosing to spread some martial arts which I think have many of the same characteristics, except that I think that Parkour is more appealing, it is relatively easy to start, nothing special needed, no special place or time, Parkour is everywhere and anywhere. The fitness that Parkour builds is transferable to almost any other activity, because it is a very general and total fitness.
So, to me, if doing a media thing, even if it is only 90% the correct message, but gets people to the right place to find the right info ( I know Matthew Blackwell is out there somewhere waiting to quote me on this) then I think it's worth it.
If people want to wear T-shirts that say parkour, and 5 people ask them what it is and one person changes their life because of it, then it is worth it.
I've had many emails from people who weren't fit, or were just plain overweight who I helped to sort of "coach" into trying some basic activity which lead to good enough fitness to really start exercising, and that is a feeling I can't describe, knowing that you helped someone become a happier healthier person. I won't go into religious beliefs here, as it is my own rule, but I believe the BEST thing we can do is help other people, I believe that whether we have some other purpose or not, whether there is something after this or not, I know I can have an effect on real people, today, now.
Nothing ever gets done in the future, things get done now, at this instant, at whatever time someone decides that now is the time to act, to help, to do something good, worthwhile, beneficial. This is how I want to be.
So, I realize that not all my actions will be approved by everyone, and really, I don't mind, because I know what I'm doing, I know that I've helped people, and I know that I will continue to try to help people. I think Parkour is a perfect vehicle for that, it's fun, challenging, engages the body and the mind, and as I said, I feel it creates better people who are more likely to be helpful and useful in society.
I don't care what someone's job is, what their financial situation is, what color or religion or sex or whatever, we all have the CHOICE to be good human beings and to help each other out.
