Paintball Theory

I've always had a soft spot for animals.  Even if my fish died after I caught it, I was sad. I still get a little sad.  

Hunting, then, I decided, is not for me.  I love to shoot, but I don't think I would have the heart to shoot and kill an animal bigger than a fish.  Like a deer.  No way. 

Then one day I realized that you didn't have to shoot them if you didn't want to- you could just buy this thing called a paintball gun and practice shooting.  

Perfect! 

I thought I had it all figured out.  You shoot, see the paint splatter if you hit the animal, and that's that. 

I mean, what else would a paintball gun be used for?  

...

This belief was firmly fastened in my mind until about the age of 14.  Some kid at school was telling me about the welts he had from paint-balling the previous weekend. 

Me:  "You mean one of your buddies shot you?  In the stomach?"

Kid:  "Yeah, it was sweet."

Me:  "Well, it was an accident, right?"

Kid: "Um, no. That's the whole point of the sport."

Me: (Silence) 

It was then that I was introduced to the sport of paintball. 

I stumbled across this comic and was glad someone else out there had the same thought cross their mind: