I won't say I agree with everything in his article, but a few points:
...the essence of being human is to be able to alter one's environment by externalizing one's mind. We were doing that long before we ever had the spare time necessary to even think about covering needles with plant dyes and shoving them under our skins, or poking sharp awls through dangling flaps of skin and hanging bits of pretty stuff from the holes.
Probably not so long between one and the next. In a spiritual sense, the body is part of our "environment" as a house for the soul, and people have been altering it for thousands upon thousands of years. Think of all the "primitive tribes" that still do it as passed down from their ancestors. Early tattoos were of protection symbols. A Native American tribe used suspension in their religious ceremony. Tattooing and piercing used as a rite of passage. Et cetera.
"I don’t believe that people without body modifications are really even fully birthed and evolved humans"
Sounds like a religious statement to me, and one of the tenets of the Church of Body Modification is, to quote from their website, "It is our belief that by practicing body modification and by engaging in rituals of body manipulation we strengthen the bond between mind, body, and soul and ensure that we live as spiritually complete and healthy individuals." I am guessing he is a member. I won't argue about his being a bigot.
Or what about the recent appropriation -- yet again -- by the popular culture of everything punk? Some people have been doing that as a lifestyle for a generation now. Is that bothersome, because it's fashionable, and not a "commitment" (oh, please!) or a "lifestyle"?
Yes, there are a lot of the "old school" crowd who laugh at the kids who shop at Hot Topic using their daddy's credit cards. The saying is, "I remember when I had to rip and pin my own clothes! They can buy theirs already made for them!" There are people who won't shop there just because they feel "their scene" is becoming too mainstream. How alternative/counter-culture can it be if they offer it at the mall? On the other hand, hair dye, piercings and even tattoos these days aren't necessarily so permanent.
Look at how other people view "the armchair quarterback" or "the weekend warrior". What Larratt is saying is that this is something he takes seriously (to the extreme of a religion) and that other people should too.
If you're entitled to your opinions, he's entitled to his. Me, I think anyone who's religious is touched in the head.
Re: Woah, freaky.
...the essence of being human is to be able to alter one's environment by externalizing one's mind. We were doing that long before we ever had the spare time necessary to even think about covering needles with plant dyes and shoving them under our skins, or poking sharp awls through dangling flaps of skin and hanging bits of pretty stuff from the holes.
Probably not so long between one and the next. In a spiritual sense, the body is part of our "environment" as a house for the soul, and people have been altering it for thousands upon thousands of years. Think of all the "primitive tribes" that still do it as passed down from their ancestors. Early tattoos were of protection symbols. A Native American tribe used suspension in their religious ceremony. Tattooing and piercing used as a rite of passage. Et cetera.
"I don’t believe that people without body modifications are really even fully birthed and evolved humans"
Sounds like a religious statement to me, and one of the tenets of the Church of Body Modification is, to quote from their website, "It is our belief that by practicing body modification and by engaging in rituals of body manipulation we strengthen the bond between mind, body, and soul and ensure that we live as spiritually complete and healthy individuals." I am guessing he is a member. I won't argue about his being a bigot.
Or what about the recent appropriation -- yet again -- by the popular culture of everything punk? Some people have been doing that as a lifestyle for a generation now. Is that bothersome, because it's fashionable, and not a "commitment" (oh, please!) or a "lifestyle"?
Yes, there are a lot of the "old school" crowd who laugh at the kids who shop at Hot Topic using their daddy's credit cards. The saying is, "I remember when I had to rip and pin my own clothes! They can buy theirs already made for them!" There are people who won't shop there just because they feel "their scene" is becoming too mainstream. How alternative/counter-culture can it be if they offer it at the mall? On the other hand, hair dye, piercings and even tattoos these days aren't necessarily so permanent.
Look at how other people view "the armchair quarterback" or "the weekend warrior". What Larratt is saying is that this is something he takes seriously (to the extreme of a religion) and that other people should too.
If you're entitled to your opinions, he's entitled to his.
Me, I think anyone who's religious is touched in the head.