The tussle unleashed by the newspaper La Stampa on the statements attributed to the senator continues undeterred Giovanbattista Fazzolari (and moreover categorically denied) regarding the idea of practicing target shooting in schools. The story is now taking on contours that go far beyond the ridiculous and which, by now, border abundantly on the surreal. Especially considering the tones and ways in which, to hit (this is the most evident fact) the leading politician of a specific alignment, on the eve of the (umpteenth) elections, in reality very serious statements are made about a sport that is one of the flagships of CONI and of the Olympic disciplines. Demonstrating, however, a racism which literally clashes with the claim (and presumed, but it would be better to say vaunted) “inclusiveness” heralded left and right (especially left) by many of those who today shoot zero in the world of shooting.
Someone even ventured to say that Armi e Tiro “ran to the defence” of Senator Fazzolari. Senator Fazzolari seems grown up, for needing the wet nurse. If he deems it appropriate, he will be the one to defend himself, with the ways and in the places he deems most appropriate. Armi e Tiro has been defending the world of shooting disciplines and the legal possession of firearms for over thirty years. And he does it with his head held high, because if there’s one sport to be proud of, it’s target shooting. Like clay pigeon shooting, dynamic shooting, long range shooting, muzzle loading shooting and all the others. And he does it even more with his head held high if we talk about shooting as a training and educational activity for young people. Because it is.
One cannot, therefore, help but observe how many of those who today tear their clothes to pieces at the mere idea that target shooting becomes part of the cultural-sporting baggage of students, ignore that in reality Shooting has already been part, and for years, of the sporting activities that can be included in the curricular and extra-curricular training program of schools and which are part of the activities part of student games (formerly youth games). We have already recalled, among other things, that just a few days ago the Italian Skeet Shooting Federation gave an account of the first, encouraging results of the experimentation of the Care project in primary and secondary schools. Something of which, and it is perhaps the only positive news, the newspaper La Stampa finally seems to have noticed, which today published an explanatory page on the matter. Better late than never…
He was, among other things, the Minister of Education of the Democratic Party Joseph Fioroni, in 2007 (Prodi government) to be hit by a controversy similar to the one involving Fazzolari today, for having unfortunately included (ohibò) even shooting among the activities “practicable” by students. Which Fioroni, in recent days, has thus commented: “Bringing political controversy within the educational community on issues like these is wrong. I was the object of it in 2007, Fazzolari is the object of it today. Everyone should avoid politically exploiting events pertaining to student sports games, the Olympic disciplines, CONI. I hope that all this ends and that the elections pass as soon as possible so maybe someone will be spared the controversy”.
In 2018, there was a “backfire” of controversy on this topic, because a Venetian school had “allowed itself” to include shooting among the activities for pupils to carry out. “Ovvove”, also in that case the usual conformists had shouted.
Moreover, in the coarse statements of some politicians and leading personalities relating to “fascist Saturdays” and “book and musket”, evidently as well as ignoring what is already happening in Italy (and it is serious when it comes to members of the national Parliament), what is happening in neighboring European countries is also ignoredsuch as France or Great Britain, where no one dreams of questioning the practice of target shooting at the student level. The British National Schools Shooting Championships, among other things, involve boys from the age of 11. But that’s just a small example.
The story itself is simply squalid and shameful, because it demonstrates that everything can be “sacrificed” in the face of petty political opposition in the pre-election period: the truth of the facts, the sporting activity, the sacrifices of hundreds of athletes who have given, over the years, very important medals to Italy at an Olympic and international level. Everything can be trampled on, vilified, in the name of ideology and with absolute contempt for ridicule. Yes, because those who scream about an alleged “dangerousness” of the sport of target shooting for boys, they know perfectly well that if they went around saying that teaching fencing in schools is dangerous because then the boys would go around cutting off people’s heads, like new Highlanders, they would lock them up in a mental asylum or bury them in farts. Not surprisingly, the same ex-minister Fioroni has recently repeated the same example he did in 2007, in the midst of a right-thinking tussle: “I replied with a statement that is also valid today and which I repeat: target shooting is one of the 66 disciplines Olympic Games which since 1968 constitute the competition areas of the Student Sports Games organized by CONI together with the Ministry of Education; and established to promote Olympic disciplines and values. For the record, archery is also part of it without authorizing the claim that the school trains Indians and cowboys to wage war”.
The president of Fitav, Luciano Rossi (who is also the new president of the international federation of Olympic sports, the Issf), on the pages of today’s La Stampa he commented: “Ours is a very safe sport based on strict discipline, which we teach to young people. I invite everyone to avoid humoral reactions and to know before judging”.
Even the president of Assoarmieri, Antonio Bana, intervened on the issue, again in the newspaper La Stampa, emphasizing “the value of clay pigeon shooting for Italy: we have a frightening Olympic medal collection. Always winners in Athens, Beijing, Rio…”.
What is the conclusion? That there are national politicians and “intellectuals” who speak to give air to their teeth, without having the slightest idea of what is happening in our country and in other European countries; that for them there are “right” Coni sports activities and “wrong” activities and that, therefore, it is “wrong” to teach certain sports to children. Encouraging them to smoke high, decriminalizing soft drugs, is “right”. But don’t let him hold (or shoulder? Well) an air pistol, for God’s sake! And they think we should also shut up? Faced with this smut? But let them rather think about being ashamed, if they are capable of it.
In all of this, two great absentees from the controversy remain to date: absentees, to tell the truth, unjustified. We are talking about the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò, but above all the president of the Italian Shooting Union, Costantino Vespasiano. As they used to say in séances, “if you’re there, strike a blow”.
