My Story
It all started innocently enough. My daughter, Gwen, was turning 4, which is a really magical age. The tantrums were over. She was incredibly curious, loving and outgoing. She was experiencing new things every day.
So I made the fateful decision to throw a pinata party for her. I live in northern California and there are tiendas all over the place selling colorful pinatas in all kinds of shapes, from traditional donkeys to modern characters like Sponge Bob Square Pants. We try not to expose our daughter to too many commercial tie ins, so I went with a nice looking traditional donkey in red, blue green and yellow.
The party itself went wonderfully. Gwen loved the pinata. The kids loved the excitement of breaking it open and, of course, the candy. After all the presents were opened, the cake eaten, and the guests gone home, all Gwen could talk about was how much fun the pinata was. She’d broken it open in one mighty swing and had been reveling in it all day. She even insisted on sleeping with the pinata bat she’d used. I kissed my little girl goodnight, she said “night-night da-da” and rolled over. I turned off the lights, not knowing that this would be the last night by daughter would sleep in innocence.
I woke up the next morning not to an alarm going off or the sun shining in my eyes, but the crunch of the pinata bat breaking my zygomatic bone. Gwen had woken up early, about 5:30 am, still excited about the pinata party. She wanted more. She’d come into the room and when I didn’t wake up to her whispers of “da-da,” she’d took the bat hit me with it, giggling in delight. I was stunned by the initial hit and Gwen whacked me with the bat two or three more times before my wife realized what was happening and stopped it.
When we tallied the damage up, my zygomatic was broken in two places, I had a tooth knocked out, my cheek split, requiring a few stitches, a concussion and blurred vision in one eye. But the worst thing wasn’t the physical damage done to me, it was the emotional damage done to my daughter. She thought she was just coming in to wake me up and then have some fun, but the response to “the fun” was clear - she’d done something very, very bad. Neither my wife nor I tried to make Gwen feel bad, but my months of convalescence did it anyway. The happy, loving, outgoing 4 year old was gone. In her place is a shy, withdrawn little girl who is reminded of what she did every time she sees the scar on my cheek.
Gwen has been in counseling and it is helping some. During my recovery, I looked up pinata related violence and discovered that it is pervasive - and virtually unreported to the police! I resolved to do something about this epidemic of violence. I’ve lobbied government officials to ban pinatas. I’ve done speeches at PTA meetings and community centers. Eventually a friend made me this web site so I could take my story to the internet and educate more than just the people in my little community about the dangers of pinatas.
I am often accused of racism because of my vehement opposition to pinatas - northern California has a large Mexican population after all. But I want to be clear that this has nothing to do with the people of Mexico. Yes, they are largely a violent society, with the pinatas, the bull fights, the criminals coming across our borders and what not. But for the most part they seem to be hard workers - they mow our yards, clean our houses and pick up our trash. I applaud them for trying to make a better life for themselves. But I deplore the importation of their violent “sports” like pinata bashing parties.
I hope my story has moved you to join my fight against pinatas. If you want to help, there are lots of things you can do. Pressure your elected officials to ban pinatas. Refuse to attend pinata parties. Picket tiendas that sell pinatas. Introduce your friends and family to my site. Together we can make sure that the premature end of innocence pinatas brought down on my daughter doesn’t happen to your kids.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Wow. I was searching for pinatas for my son’s birthday and found your site. Thank you for posting your story! We decided to go with a clown instead.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
you’re an idiot - should we ban forks and knives as well? get a life!
March 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
hi confused, thanks for reading. The difference between forks and knives is that neither of those are designed specifically to incite violence, while pinatas, even more than violent television, encourage our kids to do violence.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I am a ER doc and we see alot of pinata related injuries. Some are very serious and cause permanent disfigurement. Tony MD
April 5th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Maybe you should know not to let a child sleep with a bat. Maybe your child is too young for such an activity. Young children do not understand that others feel pain too.
It is a game Should we ban baseball too? Football ? Anything in which you might possibly get hurt?
Maybe you should understand that bad things happen and you can’t ban everything or protect everyone from everything. Maybe you should go hide under your bed or just stop being a drama queen.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:05 am
As unfortunate as it is,what happened to you…its fanatics like yourself,who take the fun and magic out of the lives of so many innocent children and parents.
With all due respect,I believe your daughter is in counseling because of the “BIG DEAL” you made out of what happened to YOU!!
25 yrs ago my son woke me with a hard wooden mallet from a childs workbench….we laugh and enjoy that silly “unfortunate” mishap,today….perhaps prayfully, someday you will be able to do the same!
April 7th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Bravo, +2 internets!
April 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
You have turned an accident of a young child into one of the most important seeming ordeals on the planet. I still remember going to parties with pinatas and having fun with the whole trying to find the candy. The activity was origianally meant for enjoyment, not what you are making it out to be. Do I have a history of violence because I bashed a pinata? No i do not. Maybe you should put some more thought into your feelings about an enjoyable activity.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Obviously, not everyone exposed to a corrupting influence is going to be corrupted by it. BUT - if we know that pinatas lead to violence - and we do! - then why risk exposing our most precious resources, our children, to something that could harm them? Obviously, we shouldn’t.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Your a fool! First it’s Pinatas, next the Jews and the Blacks…
April 18th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Wow I was amazed by your story and deeply moved by the suffering your family endured by this tragic event. It never even crossed my mind that it would have anything to do with racism until I read that second to last paragraph. Not only have you been accused of racism, it is clear to me that YOU ARE RACIST!! Not only do you accuse an entire society of being violent (completely prejudiced and based entirely on movies and media) You use pinatas bull fights and criminals crossing the border as examples of violence. Then you say that they mow your grass clean your house and pick up your trash. For your information that is a very small segment of the Mexican population in this country. It is however the only one people like you are exposed to. Pinatas are not violent. In my life I have never heard of a child confusing a human for a pinata. A child who would beat his or her parent with a pinata stick is completely deranged. Dont blame the pinata or the Mexican people. I doubt this has ever happened before in the 150 year or so history of the pinata. The real problem is your child!! P.S. Just how strong is this four year old? how could you not wake up after the first hit??
April 19th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Patricia, I see this is your second post on my site. I am glad that my story has engaged you, and I am sorry that you’ve gotten the wrong impression. As I said in response to your other post, I am not a racist. You mistake my comments completely. Culture in the United States worships violence. But physical violence is more incorporated into daily life in Mexico and throughout South America and places like Africa. Life is simply more violent there. The police on the streets carry sub machineguns! Thousands cheer while bulls are inhumanely killed. Bull fighters are like rock stars in South America. Why should we make our own violence worship worse by importing more violent activities like pinata bashing from Mexico? That’s not racism. Also, keep in mind that in the area I live, there is a very large hispanic population, and good percentage of that population is illegal. I am well aware that there are a lot of Hispanics that are doctors, lawyers, and politicians, but in California, 9 times out of 10, the gardener and house cleaner is going to be hispanic. It is a function of socio-economic conditions, not racism. In the South, where I lived for a few years, you were far more likely to have a black person as a gardener or house keeper. Again, not racism, but a function of the socio-economic conditions of the area. Now, racism may play a role in creating those conditions, but how can I be accused of being a racist because I have hispanics doing the cleaning and gardening? I didn’t try to hire hispanics to do the jobs. I just called somebody in the yellow pages.
You’d be surprised how strong a four year old can be. But consider, I was sound asleep when she hit me the first time. My arms were inside the covers. That first blow stunned me and I couldn’t get my arms out to protect my head. I realize it seems absurd, but, stranger things do happen.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I’m very sorry that this incident happened to you, I’ve gone to many pinata parties and have seen accidents happen, most however have happened in trying to find a place to hang the pinata, not so much the day after. I really feel that educating your kids on violence is a better tactic than banning and lobbying against a cultural game. The game has been around for hundreds of years with very little change so it’s still very premative. I do know of a product called DaLe DaLe pinata game kit. This company is doing a wonderful job on making over the game, they are making it safer and funner. check out the website @ http://www.whosdale.com
April 25th, 2008 at 9:51 am
You say you’re not racist against mexicans and then you say this: “Yes, they are largely a violent society, with the pinatas, the bull fights, the criminals coming across our borders and what not.” That is pretty much the defenition of racism - stereotyping a race as violent. Is this a big joke?! You cannot be serious about pinata violence, maybe letting your young daughter sleep with a weapon was your mistake. Not a colorful candy filled pinata! You are retarded, I hope you get deported to Mexico to live in their violent society.
April 25th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
It is amazing how people will respond with a knee jerk reaction when presented with an opinion they disagree with. If I say America is a violent society, and it is, who am I stereotyping? White people in Texas who pack guns? Blacks in New Orleans who lost their homes? Or suburban white kids who shoot up their schools?
Mexico is a nation of many races - indigenous populations, mixed race populations that combined the indigenous DNA with the European conqueror’s DNA, even nearly pure blooded European stock. Who am I being racist towards when saying that Mexican society, their culture, is violent? No one. I am not assigning violence to any DNA profile, I am assigning it to an environment that promotes violence. There is a huge difference.
Unfortunately, my comments about Mexican culture seem to have taken the spotlight off of why I created this site - to educate people like you about the dangerous influence pinatas can have on our impressionable youth.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:32 am
If you want people to take you seriously, spell the word right: it’s piñata.
Also, drop the notion that lobbying to ban anything will stop violence. Legislation does not fix people’s hearts.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:16 am
You gave a **four year old** a **weapon** she could pick up **at will**.
I know who is to blame here, and it’s not the pinata. It’s the damn parents.
And for the record, guns don’t kill people. People will guns, kill people. People make decisions to do things with objects. Including pinata bats. You are trying to ascribe blame to the object, when you should be ascribing blame to yourself for exposing your daughter to an event she obviously wasn’t mature enough to handle, and to your daughter for not being mature enough as a four year old not to hit.
That being said, we had a pinata party for my 2 year old. Went off without a hitch. My 2 year old, not to mention his friends, could tell the difference between whacking a paper object, like hitting a baseball with a bat, and whacking a human being. I really fear parents like you, who ascribe fault to inanimate objects instead of your own lack of discipline towards your precious children. I hope our children never meet.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am
hi Spelling Nazi. I do know how to spell pinata, but have not been able to figure out how to make the character.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:32 am
e.p.,
We did not give our daughter the bat to sleep with. We’re not idiots. She woke up before us and went and found the bat.
I have to disagree with you about guns not killing people. If a child picks up a loaded gun and it goes off and kills her, did she kill herself, or did the gun kill her? I generally agree that in the absence of people using guns, guns wouldn’t kill people, but study after study has demonstrated that if you can eliminate or severely curtail access to guns, particularly hand guns, murder and violence rates go down, so while technically you are correct in saying guns don’t kill people (it is the bullet that kills after all) the fact is that the availability of guns leads to innocent deaths.
The same rationale applies to piñatas (Spelling nazi - I figured it out.) Creating violent scenarios like a piñata party only puts people in harm’s way.
And I fear parents like you who are so careless with their child’s safety that they wouldn’t appreciate being made aware of the potential danger of piñata parties - backed up with statistics no less. I also hope our children never meet.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:26 am
So you had the bat where the child could find it. Still, in my opinion, your kids’ fault. Either (a) it was accessible or (b) she is not properly trained how to act like a responsible child. By four, your children should know better than to hit, bite or kick.
An inanimate object is incapable of harm. It is the intents and motivations of humans which drive to senseless injuries and deaths. Dealing with those intents and motivations is what makes us safe, not the removal of those implements. If someone can’t find a pinata bat, they will find something else. You can use a soda can to incapacitate someone, do you propose we get rid of soda, V8, all food in tin cans, etc? A hardcover bible could leave someone without a few teeth and some scars, do you now propose we ban books? No. It’s ridiculous. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it”.
I’m not careless with my children’s safety. I’m probably one of the more cautious parents you will meet. My kids don’t watch TV, my kids aren’t into the latest fads, my kids attend private school and their mom drops them off. We care greatly about their safety. But not senselessly.
I’ve been to the pinata party, done that, got the T shirt, and guess what, my kid came back with candy. That’s it. Maybe because my kids know better than to beam someone over the head with a pinata stick. Maybe because, even at two, he can discern a pinata from a human.
Your statistics are weak, at least two are speculative opinion, not to mention they are not sourced. For all I know you are making them up. Citations, please.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:43 am
I agree very much with e.p.
Though I do not have kids of my own yet, I know how I was personally raised and watch and assist my friends and family with raising their children. I know I was taught from a very very young age that it is under no circumstances alright to hit anyone with anything. My friends and family have been teaching the same thing to all kids of theirs for many generations and we’ve never had any kind of violence such as you describe, and we live in a farming community, where violence is an everyday occurrence and people of multiple cultures clash everyday because of where we are located. Yet we never have incidents of violence involving children. There are multiple guns in every household, yet there has been never been an incident of gun violence (accidental or intentional of any kind) in the past 20 or more years. We are taught as soon as we are old enough to understand the word “No” what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable. Also, a fair bit of not being sheltered as to the natural occurrences of life helps. We do not shelter our children from violence that happens in hopes that if they don’t see it or know about it they won’t do it. We don’t hide from them the fact that life is difficult and there are bad people, in fact we do almost the opposite, we inform them of it as soon as they are old enough to understand, they learn that it exists and the consequences that they will incur if they do those things, but from the parents and from the law.
Pretending something doesn’t exist isn’t the way to deal with it. You face it head on and deal with it as soon as it’s possible to do so. I don’t know anyone who disagrees that very young children are highly impressionable, even more reason to begin teaching them right from wrong and showing them exactly what is wrong at a young age, so they get that into them from the start and know that life isn’t all parties and fun and games, there are people who do bad things and there’s no way to stop them, they’ll always be there, you have to have the constitution to not become one of them and to be one of the ones who helps to counteract them.
I was raised in this same manner, I’ve been in two fights in my life, both were in defense of someone weaker being attacked by someone far stronger (or a group of stronger). I am a very non-violent person, I don’t like to fight, I always try to first break up a fight, but I also am not so naive to believe that violence will just stop if we take away the bad influences.
Pinata’s aren’t the problem, your child not knowing the difference between a human and a pinata is much more of a problem. At 4 years old she should thoroughly understand the difference between humans and all other objects and that humans are not to be hit. There are many other things she should know as well, but that one in particular pertains to this article. Also, you left the implement in a spot where it could potentially be found and obtained by her, why would you not put it somewhere, such as on top of a cupboard, or the refrigerator, somewhere where a 4 year old cannot reach it.
May 10th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I have to say this is kind of retarded. I can see where you would want to say “Parents, make sure your child is old enough to understand that hitting a piñata is a game,” or something, but that is the limit of necessity.
And I can see where your child would be traumatized by this experience, but (and I’m not saying you are) don’t tell HER that the piñata was to blame. I just mean, if your daughter specifically were to have another party with a piñata, it would be no big deal because she has learned that hitting a piñata is a game; you wouldn’t have to worry about any premeditated violence. That’s the root of all this: you just have to discern whether your child can handle a piñata or not at their age.
Also the idea of legislating something this trivial is going overboard. No one needs the government to tell them that piñatas are too dangerous; it’s the fault of people whose children aren’t able to handle a piñata yet. And you really can’t help it, so either take the risk or don’t.
As a side note, that video on your site has nothing to do with what you are talking about, which is that piñatas give a child a latent content for violence. The people getting injured in the video got injured by accident or because they were retarded and stood too close, and like I said, if you are going to campaign against accidents then good luck.
As a final thought, I just have to say that the amount of effort I see put in to this cause is ludicrous. No person should be in a situation where operating a site about piñata violence is viable in their life. What do you do? This situation is SO insignificant compared to so many others that I can’t see warranting its existence. As long as you have the time and resources for this site, please overhaul it and adopt a different issue.
I will say this in agreement though: guns propose a different issue than piñatas, and I don’t agree with e.p. on that. The comparison is loose because if someone really, really wants to kill someone, they probably will find an alternate method than with a gun. But no one really, really wants to go hit a piñata, be influenced by it, and then proceed to beat you with the piñata stick. These are two different, and incomparable issues.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I am sorry for your ordeal Ron, but your reaction is typical. People are always trying to blame their own shortcomings on someone, or something else. When you introduced the kids to the fun of piñata bashing, if only you had the foresight to say something like: “remember kids, it’s only ok to hit a piñata, but never animals or people!” This one simple sentence could have changed the lives of both you and your child. But you didn’t think of this Ron, obviously this is your fault, not the piñata’s! Don’t feel alone though, by your statistics there are plenty of other parents who didn’t have the common sense to teach their kids about responsibility, or respect for others.
As for guns, you are once again wrong. Guns, or bullets for that matter, can’t kill people on their own, they are inanimate objects with nothing but potential. It is the human who is irresponsible with the gun, by either pulling the trigger, or leaving it in an unsafe place, that is responsible for any damage done.
Kevin makes some great points, we also live in a rural area and own several guns. So at 4 I introduced my daughter to my 9mm handgun, which is always kept in a safe location. I pull it out every time we have to run off some coyotes, so pretending it doesn’t exist would never work. Instead I showed it to her and let her hold it, unloaded of course, and I checked the chamber twice while telling her exactly what I was doing. I told her if she ever wanted to look at it again all she had to do was ask. She asked a few times after that, and each time we explored the gun I took the opportunity to teach her about gun safety. After a while she got bored of the gun, so she has no urge to go looking for it. Better yet, if she does come across a gun somewhere else, she is now thoroughly schooled in gun safety.
It’s unfortunate that in our society common sense is anything but common. It has been replaced by litigation, and protest. Learn to take responsibility for your own mistakes Ron, and for god’s sake teach your children to do the same by stopping this ridiculous crusade against an innocent childhood pastime! If you want to relieve your child’s guilt then tell him the scar on your face was your fault because you never taught him that hitting people with bats was bad!
If you still want to do something more, then make it a crusade of enlightenment. It baffles me that I even need to say this, but TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THAT VIOLENCE IS BAD, AND TO RESPECT LIFE IN ALL IT’S FORMS! Do you really think banning piñata’s will teach children this most important of morals? Please get your priorities straight, fix the problem, not the symptom.
Now, I’m back to finding an alpaca piñata for my kid’s birthday. She’s 7 now, but I’m confident she knows that hitting real alpacas is bad.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I’ll personally be staging a piñata protest by smashing as many as I can find.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:12 am
… this is a joke right?
First of all, bullfighting originated in spain! Not in mexico. And we are far less violent than americans! We don’t even have serial killers in Mexico! Whearas you can pick them out by the ton!
Please tell me this whole site is a joke! I have been to so many piñata parties in my life and have NEVER suffered an injury! My parents threw many piñata parties for me and my younger siblings! Yet we never woke our parents up by hitting them with the piñata bat!
Banning piñatas won’t do anything but take the fun out of children’s parties… A CLOWN!? PLEASE!
May 24th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Seeing as how you didn’t reinforce the fact that REAL people and REAL animals could actually be hurt by hitting them, your child was going to experience some form of accidental violence anyway. It just happened to be with a pinata. She had fun HITTING an object, and everyone around her applauded her for smashing it to pieces, why wouldn’t she think it’s funny to do that to something else if you don’t explain to her that real people and creatures can be hurt from something like that?
Just as you said, your child is curious, which is exactly why you need to be explaining such things to her at such a young and tender age. Don’t blame the game for something you forgot to do.
And how dare you make it seem as if being your servants is the highest achievement of another race? You’re truly ignorant if you believe that.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
You know, kids hit baseballs with bats too, and kids sometimes end up in hospitals with baseball injuries. Should we ban baseball now? Child safety, as well as teaching kids right and wrong, is the responsibility of the parents. I think your crusade against pinatas is misguided. Sorry your face was broken.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
One of the things I love about America (and I am always proud to be an American, unlike Michelle Obama) is that we can have such a wonderful civil discourse over subjects about which we disagree.
I want to thank the people who wish me well but disagree with my crusade. Further proof that we live in a wonderful nation.
For everyone who says “four year olds should know better” have you spent much time around one? They do tons of stuff without thinking. They’re still pretty basic creatures. You can teach them right from wrong, but they simply aren’t fully capable at that age to comprehend the consequences of every action.
I would agree that there is an age at which piñatas are probably ok, but when there are so many safe alternatives, like pull string piñatas, why allow something that is basically inciting violence to be sold with the intent that it be used by minors? Especially when so many piñatas are based on intellectual property that the piñata makers don’t have rights for?
Perhaps my position is a radical one. But if I can keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else, isn’t it a worthwhile position to take?
And I was not suggesting that being my servant is the highest achievement for anyone. The following statement is simply a description of the socio-economic situation in northern California. There are a lot of Hispanics here. A large number of them are employed as unskilled labor (car washes, house cleaning, yard work) despite the fact that many may have law or medical degrees from their native lands. Our nanny has both in fact. But can practice neither law nor medicine in the United States. My comments on this subject should be seen in this light. I am not endorsing the situation, I’m simply saying it exists.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Four-year-olds are much more sophisticated than you give them credit for. They have the ability to understand much more than they can even communicate at that age. Unless they are mentally limited, a two-year-old can be taught that it’s OK to hit the piñata, but not OK to hit a person or a real animal. I am puzzled as to why your child didn’t know the difference.
You state “Neither my wife nor I tried to make Gwen feel bad”. Gwen should have been made to feel bad. She did a bad thing! This incident was her fault, and possibly yours for not making it clear to her that hitting people is wrong! She is an individual with a will of her own. The piñata did not break your face, nor possess her and force her to do it, she did it of her own free will and she should have been severely punished.
Another thing that’s great about this country is my freedom to not have your will forced upon me. If I want to have piñata parties for my kids, I will do it, because they are fun for the kids, and with proper supervision, perfectly safe and non-violent if the kids have been properly taught not to direct violence toward people and animals. That’s the parents’ job after all.
I’m sorry, but I think your crusade will ultimately fail because the majority of folks will disagree with your position and you’re not going to change their minds.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:28 am
“Wow. I was searching for pinatas for my son’s birthday and found your site. Thank you for posting your story! We decided to go with a clown instead.”
Oh, the bitter irony there.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
If anyone thinks this site is even remotely serious then wow. If this site IS actually serious, then quadruple WOW.
Oh also, can we get some grammar nazi’s(or semi-nazi-ish) on here please? My soul hurts from all of the nearly unreadable comments and blog posts…
On 100% honest, serious note, I got smashed in the head/face with a golf club because my sister didn’t understand that you don’t swing a PUTTER like a crazy person when we were kids. Fast forward 14 years to the present- I think im going to call her and set up a therapy session or two and get a blog set up.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Let me ask you this: If your daughter would not have gotten up early in the morning and hit you. Would you still have been protesting? Before your injuries occured you did not think the way you did. So I think it is to sad that you got injured, but like other people say would you ban vehicles due to accidents, any sports, swimming because of drowning or anything else that people have done and has caused them injury. No of course not. I think you are just being racist.
June 17th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I think ur stupid for wanting to ban Piñata, I was reading the comments u got and the ones against u r right i believe u have no right to ban Piñatas, Just for the stupid incented may other stories against Piñatas where becuase they where to stupid to stand back from the kid hitting the Piñata. Sports cause more damage maybe u showed just ban all sports and tv shows
June 17th, 2008 at 7:53 am
[...] Ok. So, those of you that use Gmail know that it scans your emails for relatable text and then puts little adds around the border. It is no big deal and sometimes helpful though usually off the mark. Well after receiving the email from Roo with the link for his dino pinata video, I noticed a link for this site [...]
June 19th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
You are a racist, indeed! You refer to “Mexicans” in a very derogatory and denigrating way. First of all, the proper term is “Hispanics” or “Latins.” Not all are from Mexico but from other “Hispanic” countries such as South America, Central America or even Spain.
Secondly, you refer to them taking the “lowliest” jobs in society such as mowing yards, cleaning houses and picking up trash. Excuse me, but ALL minorities are forced to take on “menial” jobs in this country, as they are often raised in poverty and have few opportunities to afford higher education which would give them better job positions in society.
Thirdly, you also refer to the “Mexicans” as “crossing” the border who are criminals and are a “violent” society. It is a pity you cannot hide your despise, hatred and bigotry toward this gentle and peaceful society. “Bull fighting” and other such “sports” are a part of their proud culture. Most cultures in ancient times had “blood sports” of one kind or another that used “humans” as sacrifices. At least bullfighting uses an animal instead of a human…..
Fourth, the “Mexicans” did not personally hit you with the bat. Your own daughter did so. Sleep with a bat?! Parenting 101 should have taught you this ABNORMAL and “loving” attachment to a “bat” would almost certainly lead to something more sinister and violent, as is surely did, indeed. Why don’t you let her sleep with a knife or a gun? A bat is considered a weapon by all standards. People sleep with a bat by their beds for protection in the event of an intruder and the like. Bats are used in violent crimes as a battering weapon. Allowing a child to sleep with a potential “weapon” such as a bat is a most disturbing and extremely WRONG choice for a parent to allow this.
Lastly, rather than blaming an entire race of innocent people for your daughter’s violent battering of your face, you should accept responsibility for your own poor parenting choices in this matter. No one is to blame except for you! You are a bigot and a hater who is to be pitied and scorned. You are despicable and deserve the “bat beating” your daughter doled out to you. Each time you look in the mirror at your scar, remember your stupidity and blame no one except yourself!
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:42 pm
@ Holly -
“Wow. I was searching for pinatas for my son’s birthday and found your site. Thank you for posting your story! We decided to go with a clown instead.”
You’re going to let your children beat a clown with a stick? WTF is wrong with you?
August 6th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I first thought your site was a joke when i read it and it seemed pretty funny.
And then I read Holly’s comment.
Seriously, that’s totally bullshit
August 7th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I’m Mexican, I’ve never hit a pinata, I didn’t cross the border, never seen a bullfight except for on TV, but I still want to bash your brains in you racist son of a bitch.
Not because I’m violent, but you are violently and vehemently stupid.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
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August 7th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Might I ask Ron, why did you allow your child to sleep with a bat?
August 7th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Not to mention, I believe this probably goes unreported because as you said your own four year old hit you with a bat, not some man attempting to cause harm
If you believe police should be called into a matter where you allowed your child to sleep with a weapon, did not inform the child of the differences between hitting a paper mache pinata and a human being, and after the ordeal ran to ban the practice of using a pinata, which not only is used for merry making (unlike a gun, an actual weapon, which you compare a pinata to) but a practice that was established upwards of 500 years ago, I believe a broken face is not your only problem.
Seriously, “She even insisted on sleeping with the pinata bat she’d used.”
That statement just reeks of ‘asking for it.’
For the sake of common sense, I hope this is a joke, if not, some photos of your injury would be much appreciated as validation, x-rays also would be appreciated.
August 11th, 2008 at 7:07 am
omg hahah i really thought this was a joke. i stumbled upon this looking up info for my Viva Pinata Game
you gotta be kidding buddy
get a LIFE
August 21st, 2008 at 10:10 am
I think I’m stupider for haven’t read your story!
August 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am
There has got to be something wrong with your daughter if at the age of four she does not know the difference between hitting a toy and hitting a person. Were you perhaps covered in paper mache while you were sleeping? Also, explain to me how a grown man cannot fend off a four year old girl? You’ve got to be kidding about this. Viva la piñata!
August 21st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Perhaps next time you should consider buying better candy for your piñata so your daughter doesn’t retaliate against you. Also, please leave the margaritas alone for Cinco de Mayo. Some things are sacred, pal!
August 21st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I too have found that pinatas are just a problem waiting to happen. I am hispanic, and have never really understood the importance of having them at parties. Last year I made a move to do something different. I created a “Candy Run” for the kids to a) eliminate a child with a weapon b) eliminate the trampling of small children by the bigger ones c) prevent the tears from the kids that don’t get anything d) create a friendlier experience. I spread candies, toys, prizes over a giant grass area in the park, roped it off, and when it was time, I had all the kids circle the area (80+ kids) and make a run for it. The idea is the same with Easter egg hunts. It was a success, and now my family members all do the same thing at their parties. I hate pinatas.
I do see however, how some may think you are being racist. In my area most of the gardeners are Asian, but to generalize about them cleaning your house, mowing your lawn, etc. etc. seems a bit ignorant. Your message gets completely lost once that last paragraph is read.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:54 am
So Val, are your kids so well behaved that they don’t trample over each other fighting for the candy that you’ve hidden? I have never known using a piñata to cause trampling, but a “Candy Run” or Easter Egg Hunt is another story.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Val, just let me say that I think your ideas about a candy run are outstanding! I will have to add that to the list of alternatives.
I have considered deleting that paragraph. But you see, I actually added it because people accused me of racism for simply being against piñatas. I suspect I am going to receive that criticism whether that paragraph is there or not, and it does represent reality for a lot of people who live in Northern California. I lived in Miami for several years and know first hand that the situation there is very different.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
HAM- The idea is to have the prizes so spread out and readily available that the kids don’t have to fight their way to the prize. I had more than enough candies/toys for every kid to leave with a full bag. And yes, our kids are well behaved. Because they have parents nearby who care.
Ron - Glad to see you found the idea helpful. I’m out here in California, so I make sure to head to the Toy District in Downtown Los Angeles months before our parties. We have 4 storage boxes full of prizes for our party coming up in September. The kids love it. Take care.
August 29th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I hate to say it, but these people are right, sir, you’re a loser. AND a racist. If you only know Mexicans for cleaning your house, picking up your trash and mowing your lawn, that’s not only the biggest generalization that you could make about Mexicans, but it shows nothing but pure ignorance of those unlike yourself. Any idiot that lets their kid sleep with a bat and then is surprised to be awakened by the smashing into one’s face is a moron. If you let her sleep with a beebee gun, do you supposed a trip to the ER would’ve been warranted? I bet so. Down with Pinatas. Down with Idiot Parents and Racists, alike.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:27 am
OH MY GOD!! I can’t leave this site alone! I tried to leave, but I keep coming back to read what other people have to say… and then you say, you’re proud to be an American unlike Michelle Obama??!! You white honkey! Get a life and suck on a pinata! You’re a racist idiot, if you didn’t get it the first two times I typed it. LOSER LOSER L-O-S-E-R. And i’m not on your site because it’s the hottest blog in town, I’m bewildered by the fact that you find this to be a serious issue. Let me not move to Northern California, lest the air up there be for idiots of the world. PINATA LOVERS REJOICE! Let your sticks be heard! Be sure to WHAP YOUR PARENTS WHILE THEY’RE SLEEPING! Shout out to Michael Vick!
August 31st, 2008 at 11:00 am
Ron,
youre something else. in the beginning you stated that your daughter “insisted” on sleeping with the stick (bat). later you replied to a comment that the stick was somewhere else. which is it?
in all honesty this has nothing to do with guns, bats, anti-aircraft machine guns or any other implements of violence. it basically has something to do with bad decision making on your part. as a parent, its your responsibility to teach your son/daughter between right and wrong. no parent is perfect, but to blame an inanimate object for what your daughter did to you, thats totally out of line. Then you go on to try and lobby a petition to have pinatas banned completely. That beating you took not only scarred you but rattled your ability for rational thought. Furthermore, you really should have reprimanded your daughter for beating you with a pinata stick. You’re not going to “scar” her spirit if you let her know that what she did was wrong. What is wrong is that you decided not to say anything at all for what she did. You just let her go on with her life after what she did and now she’s in therapy???? She isn’t old enough to know that beating daddy with a stick is wrong, but she’s old enough to have to go through the pain of talking to a complete stranger about what she did. Seriously, what is wrong with you for putting your daughter through something like that at that age?
I’m not even going to get into the whole “Mexican” thing. Your ignorance is astounding. Get a book about what the British did to the Indians when they decided that their Empire needed to be expanded. Talk about a violent society. What about the most violent “Icon” of race there ever was, Hitler. Yeah, maybe we should posthumously award him the Nobel Peace Prize. And what about them wonderful group of guys know as the KKK. Talk about a bunch of swell fellows. Bull fighting is the least of our worries.
Again, lets not get started on violent societies. Your aim is horribly askew.
It’s a shame that when the founding fathers of this country wrote the constitution, they couldn’t foretell the level of ignorance and blatant stupidity that people like you display in the name of Freedom of Speech.
I agree with some of the other comments that state that you can use your time for better agendas than trying to ban Pinatas.
A-Salaam Alaikum!!!
September 6th, 2008 at 9:57 am
haha confused good one, hey fuck you your story is bull shit and your kid and your family needs help banning pinatas does nothing asshole what are we gonna ban anything you can get an injury from if you think about it thats pretty much everything that exsists you could hurt yourself with
September 9th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Dear Ron:
I think I’m having a change of heart. Over the weekend I was watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and witnessed a grandfather get crunched in the nuts by a four year old weilding a pinata stick. It was hilarious! Especially when they played it in slow motion. I instantly thought of you! How’s that kid of yours? Is she up to serial killer yet? Hope the therapy is helping!
haha.
Kind regards,
Amanda
September 16th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Amanda,
The therapy is helping. It is largely to help her get past her feelings of guilt and her nightmares. Although I suspect your question was insincere.
I am disappointed to hear that you think a poor elderly man getting hit in the testicles is amusing.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I make piñatas for people and think they are great. There is something viscerally affecting and kind of zen about seeing something I spent so much time on being destroyed. It helps if people have just eaten a lot of sugar before attacking with the whiffle bat, as well. I am not averse to the non-violent pinata, however. I was asked to make one for my boyfriend’s nieces and nephews last year and devised what I thought was a good secret rope/trap door system. The first niece (who is two) ran up to the pinata on her turn and grabbed the entire swath of ropes and yanked so that there was a small hole with very enticing toys bulging out but nothing fell to the ground. Someone yelled - “get a bat!!!” and all heck broke loose. The pinata was destroyed in typical bat-wielding fashion and no one was hurt.
Sarah
October 7th, 2008 at 10:08 am
HAhAHAHAHAHAHa…this is hilarious!!! I am totally starting a website just like Ron’s but its those FOR pinatas…WOOT WOOT!
And why the hell would you bring politics into this. Michelle Obama, please! That woman has more balls than you ever will. Wait do you even have any balls? Boo Hoo a four year old beat you up? Haha, maybe she had a reason to beat you. Her daddy is a cry baby. Points for her!
Wow, you should have submitted a video of that to America’s Funniest Home Videos. That would have surely gotten you a million dollars. Then you wouldn’t be here complaining!
Question: Are you and your wife still married!? Hahaha
Wimp!
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:33 am
“Yes, they are largely a violent society, with the pinatas, the bull fights, the criminals coming across our borders and what not. But for the most part they seem to be hard workers - they mow our yards, clean our houses and pick up our trash. I applaud them for trying to make a better life for themselves. But I deplore the importation of their violent “sports” like pinata bashing parties.”
I find your statement unbelievably offensive and ignorant. Mexicans are no more violent than other societies in the world. And Mexicans don’t just ‘mow our yards, clean our houses and pick up our trash’… Mexicans are a vital engine of the American way of life. America is a melting pot, and if you want to get technical about it, the true “Americans” are the American Indians, a society now almost extinct because of the violence inflicted upon them by the white people… Talk about violence!
Don’t penalize Mexican traditions over your failure as a parent. A good, informed parent should fully understand the implications of new game or party activity (such as a ‘pinata’) prior to adopting it. A good parent would not allow the child to sleep with a bat. A 4 year old child should know that no living being should ever be beat up, and that includes Mom and Dad…
By the way; bull fighting is a Spanish sport, not Mexican. And in Mexico, there are no such things as “Pinata Bashing Parties”, the pinata is merely an element to the party, not the main attraction. Next time, do some research before you write. You will seem less ignorant.
November 16th, 2008 at 12:06 am
I think this a problem that can be avoided very simply by making sure you tell your kids not to use the stick or bat used in Pinata bashing to hit anyone with.
We’ve had pinatas with our under 6’s and part of the game was making sure we told everyone to stand back, not to EVER swing near or at somebody, and that the bat must be put away safely and not run around with afterwards.
Actually, it’s a great learning opportunity to bring up lots of safety rules in practise. As you point out many kids don’t understand the repercussions of violence (but they LOVE to hit stuff) and they are bound to come across examples of ‘hitting’ on TV, in sports, in lots of innocuous party games.
But I do agree that pinatas are inherently risky, so all precautions should be taken when playing.
In reference to the pinata ‘drug’ parties, well, there is a time and a place for everything and that is university. The issue there is the drug parties, not really the pinata. While using a pinata for such things does make it seem more indulgent, I’m sure there are one hundred times as many similar drug and sex parties where they just grab a handful from a communal bowl or something. Taking away pinatas won’t stop college drugs and sex.
My 1 year old broke my nose with a head-butt to the face years ago. But I wouldn’t recommend other parents don’t hug their kids, rather I’d advise to watch your facial area around them.
This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer gets a mallet to the head from Maggie who had seen it on Itchy and Scratchy. The moral was “one nutcase can make a difference, but most of the time, they probably shouldn’t”.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:39 am
You are an idiot ! Who the hell lets a 4 year old go to sleep with a baseball bat !? You basically told your 4 year old to come put it to your face in the morning and scarring her and yourself for life. On top of it you are too much of an ignorant bitch to take responsibility for your own actions i.e. letting your daughter, whom you stated was tantrum prone, go to sleep with a baseball bat. You’re basically blaming the consequences of your own shitty parenting on a pinata !
Next thing you know, she’ll be off to college doing drugs and getting hammered like most other college students across the country. Sad part is, you won’t be telling yourself “Where did I go wrong?” but instead you’ll be saying “if only pinatas did not exist!”
WAKE UP!! Stop wasting time on this stupid site and go raise your child.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:04 am
WOW, my last post was before I even got to read you racist remarks. You piece of shit! I am from Mexico and I’ve beat more pinatas than you’ve given your daughter valuable life lessons. I have never been involved in a physical altercation or have I ever put a stick to ANYONE. You want violence?!? Have yourself some Sunday football. Afterwards do some research about football related injuries, to young children in particular. How about a nation at war for as long as its been a nation? Or how about psychopathic children shooting up their classmates? Can’t remember the last time that happened in Mexico, and I’m pretty sure none of these shootings involved any Latin children. And parents like yourself blame everything but themselves. Grow some balls, tell you poor child that it was your fault for not educating her and for provoking her by letting her sleep with a baseball bat, and have yourself a hearty laugh. You’ll be surprised what closure will do even for a young child. It’ll save you a lot on counseling. Lastly, go fuck yourself you racist bastard.