Forces of Darkness
By Dan Reeves
October '99 issue
Suffolk, Virginia. Bobby Weeks, Jr., field operator of Actiontown Paintball, found himself in the midst of controversy earlier this year after he attempted to move his field to a new location.
When a few people near the Suffolk Actiontown field complained about noise and traffic on the gravel road that leads to the paintball field, city officials decided that the paintball field was a "shooting range" and told Weeks he could not operate a "shooting range" at that location. Weeks, who had operated the field at the origional location since 1992, found another field location. He dutifully applied for a government permit for the new location. He agreed to pave the access road, and to certain hours of operation
Then a firestorm of opposition hit.
How great a firestorm? A news story by Chris Grier ("Opposing sides paint different pictures of the sport") appeared in The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Virginia, March 1, 1999, and described what happened. The story quoted retired Col. A. Lewis Greene as having said, "Paintball theaches the youth how to kill. It's paramilitary training, pure and simple...That's what they do. They play war games."
The article also reported that ministers have attacked paintball during their sermons, and held a breakfast meeting at which certain church leaders wanted to see paintball banned. About 150 people signed a petition to the city, opposing paintball.
What do these opponents fear? That paintball might bring liquor, drugs, crime and "cussin" to the neighborhood, among other things.
Weeks told the reporter, "Most of these people have known me since i was a little boy. I went up to one of them the other night, and they told me, 'I'm not against paintball, but I heard you were going to setup a paramilitary complex.'" Weeks, who doesn't know where these distorted views of paintball origionated, told the person, "No, that's NOT it."
Of Actiontown supporters, Griers wrote: "To those who play, the controversy is a little silly. And the regulars aren't too happy about being painted as violent, boozed-up neo Nazis."
This isn't merely a little thing in Suffolk, Virginia. Though far less common than a decade ago, today's paintball players continue to face discrimination, prejudice, and hatred.
Todd Campbell and his son Robert, 12, play at Actiontown.
Listen well to the words Todd Campbell wrote in a letter to APG:
"These ignorant and vindictive people will stop at literally nothing in order to prevent the opening of the Actiontown site. There is no lie, no falsehood, and no innuendo these individuals will not use to achieve their goal. If you don't think this could happen to your paintball facility, think again. Suffolk is not some upscale bedroom community in New York or New Jersey. It is a city where the primary economic activity is agriculture."
"Should your facility come under attack, I urge you to fight back. Don't let the owner face the enemy alone. Don't leave it up to the other players to carry out the fight against the Forces of Darkness. Be advised that there are people in this country who would like nothing better than to see paintball banned permanently."