# Why ban kites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 10, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143 "2003-08-10T04:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/1 "2003-08-10T04:14:27Z")
I can vaguely remember CNN talking about Islamic fundamentalist wanting kites\* banned in various Middle Eastern countries (Afghanistan etc.). Do anyone understand why? Is there a basis for this? A friend visiting India and Pakistan told stories of “kite wars” in which kite were flown with shards of glass attached to them to cut the strings of other kites. Seemed pretty dangerous… Any thoughts for discussion? \*By kites I’m refering to the object at the end of a string that flies in the air… ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/2 "2003-08-10T04:17:57Z")
In Brazil it was pretty common for kids to compete trying to cut each others Kite lines… but after many accidents with the glass on the strings it was forbidden. Naturally kids still use glass… just not where many people can see it. ---
**Author:** ![Elewyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Elewyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elewyne)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/3 "2003-08-10T04:46:37Z")
Does that mean “Mary Poppins” could be banned as dangerous propaganda with it’s song “Let’s go fly a kite”? I remember hearing something about kite flying being illegal in Afghanistan. I think public displays of happieness were frowned upon in general, although I can’t imagine anyone having anything to be too happy about in the first place if they were unfortunate enough to live under the Taliban. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/4 "2003-08-10T04:50:59Z")
Unless you were a Taliban leader of course… Yep I think it was something about being silly/happy/futile and so flying kites was banned. Not sure thou. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/5 "2003-08-10T11:06:51Z")
I think maybe you misundersatand the way the glass is affixed. The top twenty metres or so are coated in gum and run through a container full of crushed glass, so it’s not like there will be shards of glass tumbling from the sky. You can still get cut by it if somehow you mange to get caught up in the lines, but it’s not particularly hazardous, one could get seriously injured watching radio controlled aircraft for instance, even though these are supposed to operate on clear ranges. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@Dave\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_D)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/6 "2003-08-10T12:59:53Z")
Here’s a link on the BBC about the ban. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south\_asia/2978988.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2978988.stm) Apparently they were taking the putting nasty stuff on the line to extremes.(But how you “sharpen” a kite string is beyond me. Unless they mean glue razor blades to it.) ---
**Author:** ![BaldTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BaldTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldTaco)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/7 "2003-08-10T17:42:02Z")
From that article: > [@](#): > > People have also been killed or injured falling from buildings or by walking into the paths of cars while flying kites or gazing at them in the sky. I’m not sure I completely buy this. I think the author of this article is likely just reprinting Pakistani government propaganda. I’ve heard this stuff repeated by several news outlets, with virtually identical wording, and it just reeks of BS. While I can believe that there are a few injuries, it seems that the real motivation behind bannin kite flying is a religious one. This article makes some interesting points [Kite festival soars…](http://www.oneworld.org/gemini/freebies/gemini5.html) > [@](#): > > Loud music, shouts, cheers, drumming, bugle blasts and gunshots set the festive mood. Girls wear colourful, mostly yellow, dresses. Apart from clapping, singing and dancing with friends and relatives, they maintain the food supplies. People who can afford it, arrange special Basant parties for friends. > > The commercial aspect of Basant is now so strong that businesses such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Pizza Hut run special promotions on a Basant theme. Commercialisation has turned the kite and string-making art into a huge industry. It’s not hard to imagine why the mad mullahs would be opposed to anything that fun. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-ban-kites/194143/8 "2003-08-11T02:59:04Z")
I know in Brazil they were having problems with people attaching razor blades to their kites when they got bored of the relatively innocuous glass-on-string technique. And we’re not talking a couple of people flying kites in the park. We’re talking about thousands of kids flying kites from rooftops in overcrowded cities. Seems dangerous to me.