What can pierced people do for the mutants of the future? |
“Humans are ends in themselves, but that does not rule out the use of oneself as a tool to achieve oneself. In fact, one of the best ways of preventing humans of being used as means rather than ends is to give them the freedom to change and grow.”
– Anders Sandberg
From a talk at TransVision 2001, Berlin
Tori Swanson, 12, wanted a nostril piercing. Her parents both supported her in this wish, and, wanting to ensure that it was a safe and positive experience,
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Want to give your feedback on the abuse of power going on? Here’s some contact addresses for you. Sadly this is far from a unique incident, but we have to tackle them one at a time. Please let them know what you think.
Dr. Judy F. Pippen, Principal at Bailey Middle School [email protected] or 850-479-6479 Jim Paul and Norm Ross, Superintendent’s Office Dr. Allen Scott, [email protected] |
Her father took her to a professional studio where he signed the release forms and she was pierced. However, when she returned to Jim C. Bailey Middle School in Pensacola, Florida, the principal, Dr. Judy F. Pippen, suspended her and told her she would stay suspended as long as the jewelry was in her face. The school argued that Tori’s nostril piercing was so destructive to the other students’ ability to learn that they had no choice but to expel her.
It took a bit of bouncing around — no one wanted to take responsibility for the act or even explain it at first — but eventually I managed to talk to Norm Ross at the superintendent’s office who confirmed the story’s veracity (I’ve put various contact addresses in the above/right sidebar if you’d like to comment after you’ve read this).
| BME: |
I don’t entirely understand why she was suspended. What exactly was the issue?
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I may have been comparing apples and oranges, but I wasn’t “reaching”. Suggesting that one student becoming so mentally unfocused that they are unable to learn around a student with a nose piercing is the pierced student’s fault is ludicrous. Of course, when the victim is a minority, even a self-imposed minority, they are often changed from victim to culprit when the mainstream is the one telling the story. Norm Ross then switched the subject, asking me, “You know, if you really want the real story, you should talk to Tori. She doesn’t even want this piercing.”
| BME: |
What? Are you saying that the parents forced her to get a nostril piercing?
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