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Being a modified person in an unmodified world can really suck, and genuinely brings truth to the expression “life’s not fair.” Most people think we’re a bunch of losers, and few of us work to change that perception.But still, I hear a lot of tattooed people (for the sake of simplicity, when I say “tattooed” in this article, take it to include people with any public mods that visually set them apart from the mundanes) say that they’re “proud to be tattooed”, or they’re proud to be a part of the tattooed community. Common slogans seen on t-shirts sold at tattoo conventions such as “the only difference between people with tattoos and people without is that tattooed people don’t care if you’re tattooed or not” imply not only an us-and-them stance, but the idea that we the modified are somehow “better”. The pages of my editorials here clearly have the same bias.

 

But what does it mean to have “modified pride” or to be “proud of your tattoos”? I often hear this coming from people with badly done tattoos that show minimal creativity or skill, and from people who do little to excel in life, thereby strengthening these stereotypes the mundanes already have about us. Pride (like respect) can be earned through achievement and dignity, or it can be seized with conceit as empty pride. When you hear someone say that they’re proud to be tattooed, what are they saying, and what exactly are they proud of? Do they have beautiful tattoos? Have they been successful as a tattooed person? Are tattooed people generally an over-achieving lot? Are we “the winning team”? Or are we no better than ignorant unemployed racists proud of our meaningless skin color?

The stereotype of a tattooed person is that of criminals, drug addicts, and chronic underachievers, and there is a statistical truth to that slander. Sadly, when it comes to people who choose to show those tattoos on public skin, the stereotype is often all too true. Not much to be proud of. That’s no surprise though — tattooed people are treated poorly by the majority; those who are not tattooed. The job market is much more difficult, we have to work harder for the same wages, we get poor customer service, we are shunned in mixed social groups, and are effectively a self-made minority and are treated as such. This stereotype remains because too many people with public tattoos and other mods continue to foster it — although we do plenty of whining about it, as if that could somehow change it. To make matters worse, too few who can shatter the stereotype stand behind their tattoos in the real world, choosing instead to hide them more with every promotion, thus reinforcing and giving a stamp of approval (or at least silent concession) to every prejudice they’ve faced themselves.

“If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.”

– George Aiken

 

Let’s be honest for a moment about what happens to most people when they get their hands or faces tattooed or pierced, or otherwise set themselves up visually as an outsider. If you do this, you will be harassed in public. People will make fun of you, and it will be the same insults and rude questions every day for the rest of your life. People will try and hurt you just for having chosen to look different than them. You will get poor service at restaurants, banks, and just about everywhere else. You will be turned down for jobs that you are more than qualified for. You will be turned down for loans that you have the credit rating for. If you work in the modification industry, governments will pass laws against your livelihood. If you have children, it will be harder to get them into a good school, and their teachers and other parents will abuse them because they don’t like the way you look. You and your family will have to work twice as hard and be twice as skilled to get the same amount of pay as people who fit the ignorant, ugly, mundane mold of the mainstream.

But these chosen hardships can be a foundation for strength — as Nietzsche put it (and he was far from the first or the last to say so), “that which does not kill me makes me stronger”. In the beginning of the 1960s, to many people, the Soviet Union had a broad lead in the space race. Even though US engineers had far less experience than the Soviets, and were working with the aid of computers no more powerful than a desk calculator, John F. Kennedy proposed that by the end of the decade — only eight years later — Americans would be walking on the surface of the moon, an almost laughably impossible ambitious goal. On September 12th, 1962 at Rice University he explained,

“But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

 

America did achieve this incredible goal*, Americans are still the only people to have achieved it, and their peaceful domination of space went a long way to defining America as a nation that inspired people around the world to shoot for the moon in their own way.

	*	and they did it with the aid of an eccentric and very heavily tattooed engineer – Erl van Aken – but that’s another story!

It was the facing of difficult tasks (Herculean challenges might be a better term) and overcoming them that let this greatness bloom, and as well, in our own lives we need to choose the difficult path if we want to be great individuals. Heroes are nothing without challenge. We’re already starting down such a path by choosing to be publicly different than everyone else. The problem is that too few of us are also working to succeed. We’ve ridden off to war, but forgotten our swords at home, dull and rusty (luckily our opponents did as well). Hardship in and of itself does not bring greatness, but besting it can. These hardships of being publicly modified can be turned into successes. By facing challenges, we both avoid stagnation and allow ourselves to reach our potential.

The biggest problem in this world is the unholy trinity of stupidity, laziness, and lack of critical thinking. It’s why the biggest, richest governments in the world, made up of multi-millionaire politicians, can continue to trick their impoverished masses into electing them over and over. The masses have spent the last hundred years being conditioned toward ignorance in order to allow them to be controlled (see my previous column on this subject) — which is why modern elections are popularity contests in which fact-free advertising determines the winner and actual debates on the core issues are rare, let alone voters going out and educating themselves independently. Movies and television sell as fact pop science devoid in reality, and movies like the upcoming King Arthur are called “true stories” and “historical dramas”, fallacies that even the most basic of understanding should shatter… but rarely does.

Seeing this, I’m hardly proud to be a human, if I’m to define myself by the actions of these masses. Luckily, I don’t, and if you’re reading this you probably don’t either. I’ve decided instead that the masses haven’t earned the right to call themselves humans. In their failure I see a playing field optimized for success for those who don’t fall prey to the pitfalls of the easy life of the modern wageslave. The modified have already broken one bond of the mainstream — but only one of many — by crossing that social line. While “safe” tattoos grow in popularity every day, we still have a long way to go before the average person can tattoo their face — and I am not at all convinced that the average drone will ever even want to do something like that…

So how can you succeed when you wear public marks that set you up to fail?

“Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect.”

– Leonardo Da Vinci

 

The answer is simple and found in old-fashioned common sense: work hard and educate yourself. If modified people need to be better than the mundanes just to get the same recognition, we should take it a step farther. Be the best. Win everything. No compromises. That’s really all there is to it. If you’re in school, work hard and get good grades. Excellent grades. If you need help, ask for a tutor, and instead of watching four hours of TV, study and read. Have fun doing it; learn to enjoy it. Go out and exercise. Get fit and build up every skill you possibly can. Learn to weld. Plant a garden. Take Judo. Anything. And do it as a proud tattooed person, and stand up for yourself when you’re challenged.

Take it a step farther and support other modified people who are willing to work hard as well. Seek them out if you’re in a position to hire people, and if you’re in a position to be hired, be so damn good at your job that no one can complain about the fact that you have customized yourself into a more ideal human, and are who you want to be. Be proud, but make sure you can back it up with something worth being proud of. Go out and actively change the world for the better.

If we all work hard to be successful and to break the preconceived notions people have about us, we can change the stereotypes. Maybe we can go even farther, and create a new stereotype. We need to wear our tattoos as war paint for victory, not as the brands of criminals and losers. But don’t forget Kennedy’s words — choose this path willingly because it is hard, not because it is easy. And it will be hard, and it will take a long time before you can reap the rewards of this adventure, but you have already won the first battle by choosing to break the bonds of conformity and becoming publicly modified. You can win the war as well.

Shannon Larratt
BME.com

 

Free Online Resources

 

Since one of the ways the mainstream seeks to quash uprisings by those outside both the mundane and outside their elite control castes is financial pressure, you may be saying to yourself “but I can’t afford to even buy books to read.” You may already read the science blogs online and have discovered that they, like television, leave you with nothing but a shallow comprehension of a broad array of subjects, but without any real depth — sure it’ll help you win at Trivial Pursuit, but what good is shallow knowledge if you’re trying to genuinely understand a subject?

One of my favorite online “self improvement” sites that many people may have overlooked is Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.net). When the copyright on a book expires, Project Gutenberg works to make that book available to the public. Think of it as a free online library where you can read the classics — the books that over time we’ve decided were significant cultural contributions. It’s not going to be the same chuckle-factory as getting stoned and watching people making fun of oddballs on the WB Superstar, but are you looking for temporary amusement in life, or are you looking for knowledge, strength, and success?

And what’s stopping you from visiting your local library?

“Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom. But reading is still the path.”

– Carl Sagan

 

“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

– Ecclesiastes 7:29

A long time ago I made the mistake of answering the question “is there anything that can’t be pierced” with “eyelids.” A few days later, Kelly from Yonge Street Tattoos in Toronto showed me a photo she’d taken while at a convention in Florida. She told me that he said the piercings didn’t bother him, but that she thought his eyes did look pretty irritated.

I pretty much wrote it off as a “stupid human trick” and so did most of the piercers I knew. Even though I later tracked down that person’s story — their red eyes were due to allergies, and that’s why they took the piercing out — I don’t think I ever took it seriously. They said they’d get it redone when allergy season was over. I never heard from them again so I assumed it didn’t happen, probably wasn’t viable, and it had become one of the many “tried it once, but never again” stories we seem to enjoy here.

However, more eyelid piercings have come out of the woodwork, and I’ve had a chance to talk to some of the clients and piercers doing this unusual procedure. First, meet Joe Amato of Tatts Taylors Tattoos in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1929 S Federal Hwy, 954-525-7910). On St. Patrick’s day this year he performed an eyelid piercing on his friend Kevin Magee.

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BME:	What was the procedure you used for this piercing? What steps did you take to minimize the risks?

JOE: When we did Kevin’s eyelid, we put serious thought into not just doing the piercing but into how he was going to take care of it afterwards to make sure that first, it did not damage his eye, and second, that it would heal quickly and comfortably. To approach actually piercing the eyelid I used a small set of sponge forceps that I polished the grips off of so I wouldn’t scratch or damage the inside of the lid. I handmade “shorty” needles about 3/8 of an inch long so I could pierce from the inside out and not have to cause any extra trauma to the eyelid itself by pulling out enough to get a 2” needle through it.

BME: What was the piercing like?

KEVIN: It was scary as hell, but there was very little pain. It was noticeably uncomfortable immediately afterwards and throughout the night. The next morning it was pretty swollen, uncomfortable, and slightly annoying. I had redness on my eye, and a little crusting and dry blood… but it was only slightly painful when my eye dried out.

BME: Did you take anything?

KEVIN: An Aleve, 50mg of zinc, and H2Ocean throughout the day.

JOE: The primary aftercare agent we used was H2Ocean, which really was the biggest reason this healed so well.

The salinity in this product is measured off of tears to be as close to the body’s natural level as possible; so spraying it in his eye every day never burned or caused any damage. In addition, we had him using a saline rinse three times a day to remove any debris inside the eyelid itself, and Renu eye drops to keep the eye as moist as possible so it wouldn’t hurt his eye, or the contacts he wears. Lastly, we had him take zinc daily throughout the healing to help it along and Aleve for the first couple days to help minimize any swelling, so there would be no extra pressure from the ring on his eye.

BME: What was the healing like?

KEVIN: The second night I had no trouble sleeping, but when I woke up in the morning there was a large amount of pus under my eyelid. It was easily cleaned out with H2Ocean and a Q-Tip, and didn’t happen again. My eye was swollen and felt bruised, and it was mildly painful to close my eye tightly or open it widely. The redness was starting to fade though, and it mostly just felt like an eyelash caught in my eye.

BME: Did you take any other steps to monitor the healing?

JOE: I checked his eye every day with a 10x jeweler’s loupe to make sure there was no damage to the white of his eye. And, to this day, it has never scratched one of his contacts — which anyone who wears contacts knows is unbearable and impossible not to notice! I had Kevin make a journal of his experience with healing it, and made sure he paid great detail to writing down everything he used.

KEVIN: By the third day of healing, the redness was gone and there wasn’t any crust. It still felt bruised and it was still a little swollen… I was beginning to get used to the eyelash feeling, but it was still irritating. The day after that the swelling went down some more, and it didn’t hurt any more except when I closed my eye really tight.

Over the next few days I got more and more used to the feeling of having something this close to my eye. By the end of the first week of healing I was used to it, and at two weeks in it was totally comfortable.

BME: Do you still have to do anything to take care of it?

KEVIN: I still use H2Ocean several times a day to stave off infection, and Renu eye drops when necessary. I have had no problems with my vision, and all in all it has been a good experience. It’s been two months since I got it pierced and I’ve still got it and I don’t even feel it.

…The only problem I’ve had is people shrinking away from me in horror in the elevator!

BME: No doubt! Thanks for talking to us.

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We also had the opportunity to chat with our old friend Nick Anzalole at Under the Needle in Seattle, Washington (2511 6th Ave, 206-448-6613). Like nearly every piercer I know, he wasn’t able to shake the idea after seeing that first blurry picture from the tattoo convention. His friend Ty, also fascinated by the piercing, volunteered.

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BME:	So, what made you think this was a good idea?
NICK:	Ty already had extensive mod work, including a split tongue, so I told him we would try it, but that it would probably be very uncomfortable, and might have to be removed very soon after being pierced. He said that was fine and we went ahead with it. This was back in June of 2002. He was lucky enough to have sort of a little free space in the corner of his eye.
BME:	What do you mean by that?
NICK:	As in his eyelid didn’t touch his actual eyeball in the corner — I thought this would be the best place to pierce it.
BME:	What was your procedure?
NICK:	I placed a small Pyrex glass receiving tube under his eyelid so as not to nick the actual eyeball — I warned him that if he jumped the needle might just go straight into his eyeball! Then, using a 14 gauge needle, I simply pierced into it, following through with a 14 gauge 5/16” captive bead ring. I held tight onto the eyelid to make sure the skin didn’t “roll” with the needle. It was over quickly, and only a single tear had left his eye. The ring itself appeared to not even touch the actual eyeball, and just kind of float in mid air.
BME:	How did the healing go?
NICK:	I kept in good contact with Ty for several days afterwards to monitor him. He said it didn’t really bother him all that much — only when he woke in the morning did it irritate him. He took care of it like you would any other piercing, and soaked it in warm saline solution several times a day. He still had it in about twenty days later, when, after a night of drinking, he stumbled and fell, and kind of caught it on a nail in a doorway! It was still in, but bleeding and had torn a little. I was there and told him it should probably come out. He wanted to try to leave it in, but after about three more days he took it out… I believe there was a very good chance it may have healed, but his was too damaged from the fall. I may do it again some day. I do still enjoy the fact though that as far as I know, I was the second piercer ever to pierce an eyelid.
BME:	Do you think people should be doing this piercing?
NICK:	Well, this is the kind of thing you really should never try, nor should you ever ask your piercer to do it for you. The man who I did this on, Ty, was a good friend of mine, and I did it only after he bugged me for a very long time, and I was sure he understood all the risks involved. If someone without the needed skills tried this they could easily blind their friend.
BME:	Thanks for talking to us about this!

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Now, I need to be very clear and upfront and say that this is not yet something I’d consider a viable piercing. It shows a lot of promise and it may well be possible to safely do these, but the jury is far from in. That said, until about 1980 people thought that tongue piercing was absolutely insane and that it would cripple a person… but as it’s turned out, it’s one of the safest and most common piercings out there.

Risks from eyelid piercing are largely centered around infection from the damage to the eyelid (risk to the scelra or white of the eye is minimal assuming proper jewelry is used). The main risk is bacterial conjunctivitis, better known as “pink eye”, a bacterial infection. If the eye becomes increasingly swollen and red, or the infection spreads to nasal or ear congestion accompanied by fever or cold and flu symptoms, this could be escalating into a serious problem. If yellow or green discharge is present you may need antibiotic treatment, and if it gets worse, surgical intervention is not unheard of. It is important to note that while this risk is most prominent in the first few days, it will never entirely go away.

I should also note that if you have any jewelry allergies, you’ll show the symptoms above for as long as you have the piercing. In my opinion anyone who suffers from allergies should not attempt this. Finally, styes, infections in the glands at the edge of the eyelid are also possible. If this happens you’ll note swelling, pain, and itching right in that area — warm compresses can help.

Modification of the eyelid and eye itself is on the verge of erupting. Eyelid tattooing is a common cosmetic procedure these days. Even eyeball tattooing (where the white of the eye is tattooed) is considered a “safe” procedure, as is the implantation of metal designs under the white of the eye. It makes sense though — the eyes are the focal point for all of our social interactions. We can sense where someone is looking from across the room, and we can express some of the most subtle emotions through our eyes alone. “You have beautiful eyes,” is a compliment that crosses all cultures and is one of the few universal truths in aesthetics.

So for those of us who think piercing is beautiful, maybe a pierced eyelid makes sense?

Shannon Larratt
BMEzine.com

“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,

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 850-469-6131 voice, 850-469-6479 fax Norm Ross told me that feedback could be faxed to this number and it would be passed on to the appropriate committee. Dr. Allen Scott, Director of Secondary Education [email protected] Scott is currently chairing the committee that is setting the dress codes for secondary students.

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?