There is a craze going on with the kids right now called PLANKING. Strangely enough, I’ve seen some shots of adults here and there too (ha), but mostly kids.
What is planking you ask? Planking is laying down on your stomach in an uncomfortable position and having someone take your picture. I have seen one web site refer to planking as a REAL LIFE MEME. We bloggers know all about Memes.
If you have a teenager or are associated with any on FB or other social networking genres, you have probably seen the strange pictures.
There are others who find great offense to planking due to some deeper roots behind this term. I am SURE none of the kids enjoying this strange behavior have a clue why some are in an uproar about it. But sensitivity is real and this is why:
When African slaves were brought over in ships, they were forced to lay on their stomachs, face down. Their wrists were chained to their ankles. Some were even stacked on top of each other and many didn’t make it. The ones who did were covered in bodily fluids. I can’t imagine the inhumanity of it all. Just sharing that detail disgusts me and makes me want to weep. Why face down? I can’t imagine the horror those innocent people endured.
As if they weren’t in a horrible situation anyway!
So what is great fun for some is a painful reminder of history to another.
(Sad to think that slavery is STILL happening today with human trafficking!)
Like I said, I am sure NONE of the kids/adults participating in planking ties any of this back to the roots of slavery. I have seen people from all races doing this. They are just participating in this crazy picture game to see who can out-plank the other.
I wanted to share both views.
Of course to end this on a brighter note, my friend Jan said, “We often plank every Sunday at my church” and she meant they fall on their faces before the Lord! That is the sweetest of all planking of course.
Now you’re informed. When you hear the term planking, you won’t be left scratching your head and saying, “Huh?”
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Been seeing this around too. Wondered why. At least now I know more about it than my kids!
Wow, I had no idea the roots of planking went back to slavery. Thank you for researching this, I too have seen this activity going on and it’s pretty much done as just something quirky to do, but never understanding the “why” behind it. It is definitly a horrible reminder of the injustice endured.
I’ve seen it too but didn’t “get it.” Thanks for enlightening us as sad as it is. H
Thanks so much for this, Beth. I honestly had no idea this latest silliness had such a sad history. I can only hope whoever started this craze knew nothing of its painful roots.
This is truly a little known fact. Thanks for sharing this! I homeschool so I was able to teach my kids this but imagine the look on their face when they went to an exercise camp and they wanted them to do this. Um…no lol!
I saw this for the first time this past week. They were making fun of the girl for falling as she was “planking” in her galley kitchen from one countertop to the next. I thought it was the stupidest thing I’d ever seen. Now that I know it’s origin, it’s even more ridiculous that anyone would participate. (I bet the African American female who I saw on tv didn’t know where it came from!)
Omgosh I have never heard of this. Thank you for sharing and for sharing the deeper meaning of it.
Hugs,
Mimi