How can some people (US) NOT know how to swim?

[Al Gorefiend]

Swimming, to me, comes as natural as jogging or climbing. Being capable of swimming or at least comfortably floating is a trait that comes instinctively to nearly all mammals, except humans.

Why is it that ~15% of American adults cannot swim AT ALL? Why do we constantly hear the stereotype that minorities in America have a fear of water and cannot swim (In fact, According to the U.S.A. Swimming Foundation, 70 percent of African-American children and 60 percent of Hispanic children don't know how to swim.)? Is swimming really such a difficult thing to master? I wouldn't even consider basic swimming to be a skill no more than walking or running. My 8-week old Chihuahua puppy, never exposed to a large body of water in her life, instinctively began paddling as she got close to a 2-inch deep bath of water. Would a person who cannot swim really just allow themselves to drop like a stone if they were dropped in a lake? Even if you wildly flail in a random direction you're bound to move to some degree. That is swimming, is it not? This just really baffles me, I cannot comprehend this.

Can you swim? If you can't, why?

URL Sources:

http://www.thetakeaway.org/2012/jul/...norities-swim/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...cant_swim.html

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

No, I do no consider flailing in water "swimming" lol.... I think you would need to be able to comfortably and safely swim a good amount and back.

[Pool of the Dead]

Bad parents? Laziness? Stupidity? All 3?

There really is no reason for people to not know how to swim. I myself am Terrified of the open ocean, yet I still know how to swim and enjoy swimming in Pools/lakes/rivers.

Learning to swim is something that is actually taught in schools in my country, even my Nephew who is only 6 at the moment does swimming as part of his curriculum in school.

At the end of the day everyone should learn to swim, and by that I don't mean be able to do backstroke/freestyle/breaststroke perfectly at the drop of a hat, but at least know enough to keep your head above water and be able to move yourself around in water.

[Hooked]

So kids if you are being chased by a large group of minorities, your best bet is to jump in the water and start swimming.

[Lefeng]

Not everyone grew up near a body of water, have access to a pool, or is fortunate enough to have swimming instruction in school. When I grew up in the 1980's my school had a natatorium and swimming was part of our education. Most towns near mine had no school natatorium or even a public swimming pool, so most of my friends from those communities didn't know how to swim. Also, in my rural area most adults as I was growing up were terrified of the water. Many of them wouldn't even go in water higher than their knees.

[yurano]

No, I do no consider flailing in water "swimming" lol.... I think you would need to be able to comfortably and safely swim a good amount and back.

This guy is right.

Almost everyone knows how to wade, but the numbers that are reported usually represent real swimming: freestyle, backstroke, etc.

[KeirAdish]

I know how to swim, 4 years ago I didn't simply because I live near Atlanta GA, don't go to a pool often or anything of the sort...
Family went on a cruise and I learned to swim before it...

Still can't sit there floating in place like most people, I just sink to the very bottom within seconds no matter what I do unless I'm moving.

[Garnier Fructis]

I can swim, but as soon as I stop moving I start sinking. I just cannot tread water to save my life.

[blackyfrost]

i can't think of one situation in life that i accidentally fell into water and needed to swim
i can swim fine and enjoy it, but it's nothing like walking, running, or jumping

fuck you'd be better off learning how to change your alternator than learning how to swim if you had to pick between the two
you NEED to swim about like you need a 36" vert

[starlord]

I know how to swim, 4 years ago I didn't simply because I live near Atlanta GA, don't go to a pool often or anything of the sort...
Family went on a cruise and I learned to swim before it...

Still can't sit there floating in place like most people, I just sink to the very bottom within seconds no matter what I do unless I'm moving.

weird, i have the opposite problem. float like a cork, cant dive more than a few feet or so without floating back up. i could take a nap in the water if i wanted.


i found this part interesting;

A child's ability to swim is also strongly correlated with his parents' income. Sixty-seven percent of poor swimmers have a household income less than $49,999. Only 29 percent of skilled swimmers fall below that income level. In the second phase of the University of Memphis study, researchers looked more closely at income and found that 12 percent of children who participate in a reduced-cost school lunch program—an easier piece of data for a child to report than household income—said they don't even feel comfortable in the shallow end of a pool, compared with just 6 percent of wealthier children.

looks like poor people just dont have the luxury of a day at the pool.

[Ayla]

i can't think of one situation in life that i accidentally fell into water and needed to swim
i can swim fine and enjoy it, but it's nothing like walking, running, or jumping

fuck you'd be better off learning how to change your alternator than learning how to swim if you had to pick between the two
you NEED to swim about like you need a 36" vert

my friends toddler fell off the boat and sank to the bottom of the lake. She had to jump in after him.

[Brightamethyst]

If you don't live near water and don't go to pools then when would you have ever learned?

I haven't been swimming in years. I'm a fairly decent swimmer (or was at least), but it's not part of life in any real way and I doubt my life would be impacted much if I didn't know how. I've never had to use that knowledge to save myself, or anyone else from drowning or anything.

[KeirAdish]

weird, i have the opposite problem. float like a cork, cant dive more than a few feet or so without floating back up. i could take a nap in the water if i wanted.


i found this part interesting;

looks like poor people just dont have the luxury of a day at the pool.

I can(and rather enjoy) sitting at the bottom of pools when I go swimming...
I'll swim to the bottom(or just sink) and just sit down there while everyone swims above me until it scares someone and they think I've drowned then I'll resurface...

I should mention, I can hold my breath underwater for an extremely long time...
Just can't stay surface side for the life of me unless moving XD

[blackyfrost]

my friends toddler fell off the boat and sank to the bottom of the lake. She had to jump in after him.

tell your friend to use a lifejacket next time since it's illegal not to, and tell her to lay off the coronas and watch her kid
but even then, other than a bridge collapse (which will probably still kill you anyway whether you swim or not) you're not going to be in water unless you choose to be. it's like worrying about falling out of a plane.

[Wiyld]

I went to 3 different primary schools in 3 different countries and was given swimming lessons in all 3.

Now I'm a certified scuba diver and have gone on dives in 4 countries.

Go figure.

[Cernunnos]

full on proper strokes like butterfly, no. but i am surprised by the sheer number of people that cant even move their legs and arms just enough to keep floating.
I wouldn't expect people to have mastered backstroke, freestyle or butterfly by the time they are an adult, but I would think they would have at least the basic understanding to at least keep a float and move.

Heck even the "doggy paddle" is enough to save your life in most cases, but it seems a huge number dont even know that one.

Every now and then I read an article or something about someone who drowned, they weren't in a rip (which is pretty much a your fucked no matter what you do scenario), they weren't miles out at sea and couldn't see the coast, it wasn't a rapidly flowing body of water, they weren't a baby who accidently fell into a pool, they were what you would consider a fit, fully able person, not drunk or impaired, yet they some how managed to drown, and I sit there thinking, how?

[hulkgor]

Wow, the amount of ignorance on this thread is astonishing. As already said above, if you don't live near water or have access to any sort of swimming pools, why would you have need to, or where would you learn? Filling the bathtub?

I have had issues with a ear-drum since very early and couldn't (to this day) get it submersed, so i very rarely (close to never) go inside a pool\lake\ocean, and albeit i learned how to swim at a late age, i very rarely swim anyway.

I'd be more concerned by the widespread lack of basic communication skills then the inability to swim...

[Wiyld]

Wow, the amount of ignorance on this thread is astonishing. As already said above, if you don't live near water or have access to any sort of swimming pools, why would you have need to, or where would you learn? Filling the bathtub?

I have had issues with a ear-drum since very early and couldn't (to this day) get it submersed, so i very rarely (close to never) go inside a pool\lake\ocean, and albeit i learned how to swim at a late age, i very rarely swim anyway.

I'd be more concerned by the widespread lack of basic communication skills then the inability to swim...

So you are saying then, that you have an exceptional problem that would fully justify your not learning to swim.

And yet.. you still learned anyway.

But we are supposed to understand people who do not have such an excuse not learning?

[Kathranis]

A big part of it is how many people grow up in an urban environment and never even encounter open bodies of water in their lifetime. There are people who grow up in cities and never leave the city for their entire life. Unless they go to a swimming pool, they don't have any reason to learn how to swim.

When these minorities drown, it's often a combination of no formal swimming training and swimming in rivers or lakes where there are currents and undertows they aren't prepared to deal with. Like when six black kids drowned in a single family outing in Louisiana.

There are underlying issues, but situations like this seem to largely stem from ignorance and a willful adherance to stereotypes.

[Spectral]

I swim like shit. I can do it, but it's not very good at all. I never had any desire growing up, and although I've played around in small pools plenty, I've never had any incentive to do anything other than the sloppiest freestyle ever.

That said, now that I'm enjoying duathlons, I'm thinking I should learn to swim better this summer so I can do tris. So... it's on the way.