GO FLY A KITE! NOT!

In Lahore you don't tell anyone to go fly a kite anymore.

They've banned kite flying in Lahore, Pakistan. It's kind of a downer for the Lahorians since it's Spring festival time there and they celebrate the season of re-birth with a kite flying festival. I mean, what's a kite flying festival without...kites? It's an enforceable law and local police arrested 800 people over three days. For their own safety, of course.

While kite flying might seem like a passive, fun activity, it appears that it has caused a number of deaths due to kite strings being re-inforced with wire or glass fibre. I mean - since when did kite flying turn into a deadly sport? What happened to plain, old string? There are always a few people that spoil it for the masses. Some avid kite flyers strengthen their kite strings prior to dueling(?) with opponents in a game that requires cutting another's kite string. Furthermore, more than a thousand people were detained for the infraction of flying their kite, while others were arrested for firing celebratory gunshots into the air and playing loud music.

Gun shots? As in owning fire arms? Real bullets that can kill people?

One wonders how the police would react to a youngster flying a string version.

"Hey sonny girl/boy - you stop that illegal and banned activity right this minute!" a police officer would tell a kindergarten girl/boy who was flying a home-made kite, "or we're going to have to make an arrest!"

The zealous police officer who would be doing her/his job and following the letter of the law, would probably grab the kite out of the youngster's hands at which point the kid would probably break down sobbing her/his heart out.

"Do not cry, child,", the officer who might be experiencing pangs of guilt would probably attempt to calm the probably hysterical child, "you do not want to be arrested, do you? We would have to take you away to jail in handcuffs..."

At that point to make the child understand the gravity of her/his offensive act, the officer would whip out a set of cuffs and dangle them in front of the child.

"Then you would have to be finger printed and held in a waiting cell with lots of baaaaad people until your parents came to bail you out. You wouldn't want that, would you? Of course not and that is why we have to take your kite away from you."

The festival by the way has been celebrated for centuries with kite flying and roof top parties.

Seems to me that there should be a provision in their law whereby kites be classified as dangerous or an innocent children's diversion.

Talk about taking the joy out of what is and/or could be a fun activity...