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SpecialEd
+ one
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 6,220
Loc: : Gringo
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I made the world a better place!
#2224142 - 01/06/04 07:43 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Earlier this fall, I went to a coffee shop with my grandfather in my small hick town. My grandfather frequents this place and has a lot of friends that congregate there. This was my first time in the place and upon meeting my grandfathers friends, they began teasing me about my appearance.
(I have quite a few significant body modifications. My ears are heavily pierced, I have two stretched lobe piercings in each ear (one piercing is 4 gauge, and the other is 5/8's of an inch), I wear a four gauge circular barbell through the conch of my left ear, and in my right ear I have a twelve gauge industrial piercing.)
Instead of getting upset, I was a good sport and answered their questions. (why do you do that? stuff like that)
I recently heard a story where a man was there who rents property. He said he rents to a man with stretched lobes who has turned out to be his best renter. He said before meeting me, he never would have considered renting to this man because he would have made negative assumptions about him, but after meeting me, and seeing how I was polite and did not anger or get mad when being made fun of, he realized that you cannot judge a book by its cover.
It got me thinking how you can be a diplomat of sorts by making it a point to be a good example in your everyday life.
-------------------- "Plus one upvote +1..." --- // -- /l_l\/ --\-/----
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trendal
J♠
Registered: 04/17/01
Posts: 20,815
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2224182 - 01/06/04 08:01 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Well done
We are all diplomats in life! We should all try to act as such
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Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.
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Frog
Warrior
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: trendal]
#2224194 - 01/06/04 08:05 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I agree with trendal. Nice story, Ed.
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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chodamunky
Cheers!
Registered: 02/28/02
Posts: 2,030
Loc: sailing the seas of chees...
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2224280 - 01/06/04 08:38 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Instead of getting upset, I was a good sport and answered their questions. (why do you do that? stuff like that)
so why do you do that (your bodily modifications)?
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SpecialEd
+ one
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 6,220
Loc: : Gringo
Last seen: 8 years, 11 months
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: chodamunky]
#2224426 - 01/06/04 09:56 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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When I get pics up, I plan on doing a post explaining why I do it and what they signify to me.
-------------------- "Plus one upvote +1..." --- // -- /l_l\/ --\-/----
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djd586
Underpants Gnome
Registered: 02/03/03
Posts: 1,655
Last seen: 14 years, 1 month
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2224592 - 01/06/04 11:05 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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One of the nicest guys I ever met was into body piercings and tatoos. Many people went out of their way to avod him because they thought he was trouble. But when someone took time to get to know this guy, he touched their heart. I wish I would have taken more time to get to know him better and hang out with him more. He moved away to Las Vegas last spring.
Anyhow... good story SpecialEd
-------------------- Phase 1... collect underpants... phase 2...??? ... Phase 3 - PROFIT!
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Yarry
Old Timer
Registered: 01/04/04
Posts: 23,762
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: djd586]
#2224597 - 01/06/04 11:08 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Im into piercings and stuff, and you know what im not a worse person for it. I just wish people would realize that a few holes in my skin doesnt make me foreign and doesnt make me a punk or whatever (altho i dig punk music lol). They need to look beyond piercings and find the person
<\rant> lol
-------------------- Grumpy Old Man.
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Frog
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: djd586]
#2224621 - 01/06/04 11:14 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have to tell this story, because it's funny. (To me, anyways.)
Before some of my kids became teen-agers, I would see teen-agers in the various stages of dress, for that time, which was sort of gothic. Gothic is still around, but not as much.
I was intimidated to walk by these kids, who looked like something out of a Vincent Price film.
Then, my oldest daughter became a teen-ager. She was wearing lots of earrings in her ears, and other jewelry, close to gothic, and so were her friends. This was before the tattoo generation arrived. Oh, and before nose, eye, lip and tongue piercings. But for their generation, it was intimidating.
But they were good kids! My daughter was a good kid for the most part, and so were her friends. If I looked at them for how they dressed, they could appear intimidating. But if I talked to them, they were just kids. The were just dressing "funny" to me, but making a statement for themselves.
So, like the guy in your story, Ed, I'm not intimidated by people who dress differently from me any more.
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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daba
Stranger
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2224680 - 01/06/04 11:31 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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It is sad how some belligerent people with certain tastes (body modification) ruin it for all those who have similar tastes.
Some people who dress and look "normal" are bad people. Does that make all normal people bad?
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fredthetree
Stranger
Registered: 09/29/02
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Loc: Canada
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2225164 - 01/07/04 05:54 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Good stuff
Why do you think people are intimidated, or offended by body modification? I have a pierced septum, and when I was in the mall just after christmas, people would look at me, and immediatly turn away, often looking down.. or give me a really weird look, for just a second, then turn away.. and they aren't subtle about it either. Why should (would) a piece of metal make people so uncomfortable? I don't understand at all =P
Fortunately, not all people are like that though
Sadly, it seems the generation made up of my parents, that are the most bothered by it.. *shrug* Oh, and, employers.
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Alan Stone
Corpus
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Re: I made the world a better place! [Re: SpecialEd]
#2225684 - 01/07/04 10:50 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I myself wouldn't want any piercings, something rubs me the wrong way about it, but to my experience most pierced people I know are more open-minded and social than many unpierced people. Great story, man.
-------------------- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
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