classicdude
03-20-2005, 10:24 AM
What's next? Bullet scarification kids. Read on.
http://goliath.frostburg.edu/botline/defacing.htm
Defacing the Body
Brandon G. DeStefano
Body mutilation has existed in one form of another in every culture dating back to the ancient Mayans of Yucatan Peninsula and still remains a constant in our society today.
As a right of passage for young men, ropes soaked in alcohol and containing hundreds of tiny thorns were pulled through a small hole pierced in the tongue. By enduring the pain and slight intoxication from the pungent alcohol, the boy becomes a man in the eyes of the tribe
Tribes in West Africa insert rings and plates in their ears and lower lips (respectively) to stretch out the skin as a sign of status among the elite.
Masochism, which brings sexual desire from physical pain, has existed in Greek history and culture millennia. In addition, tattooing was developed and has been a practice of the Native Americans for over 400 years.
So, why all the hype surrounding body piercing, tattooing, and other forms of scarification? If it’s been around for centuries, why is there all of the sudden controversy surrounding new forms “self expression”?
Many lawmakers have expressed concern over new fads in body mutilation, especially in tongue splitting and self-inflicted bullet wounds from handguns. The legal and medical issue surrounding these particular aspects of “self expression” are among the main controversy being brought up in several states’ legislatures.
Medical professionals have said that the procedure involved with splitting a person’s tongue can cause excessive bleeding, permanent nerve damage, and irreversible speech impediments, among other unknown problems.
In California, one of the newest and most illegal forms of body mutilation is to receive a scar from a self-inflicted handgun wound. HBO’s American Undercover did a documentary on one underground establishment that provides gunshots, quick medical attention, and a ride to the emergency room for paying “customers”.
From a distance of six feet, the “customer’s” muscle in either the forearm or calf is isolated and shot clean through with the handgun of their choice. The result, different depending upon bullet caliber, is in effect an assault with a deadly weapon.
The dangers involved with taking a bullet just for the resultant scar greatly outweigh the benefits of having a unique body deformity.
In the state of West Virginia, the House Majority Leader of the House of Delegates, Rick Stanton has proposed a bill prohibiting the splitting of one’s tongue, except for medical reasons. Currently, there are no known medical purposes for the spiting of a tongue.
Although most people have the procedure done at a tattoo or piercing parlor, medical professionals feel that it should be preformed only by a physician or a dentist. As medical professionals, dentists and physicians have both the knowledge of anatomy and the expertise to see to complications.
In addition, this procedure in permanent, unlike many other body piercing, and cannot be reversed, repaired, or surgically corrected. So, I guess the real questions should be: Can you live with this for the rest of your life? How would you explain your gunshot wound, tattoo, or split tongue to your grandchildren? Is the impetuousness of youth really worth a lifelong condition?
Now available in California and New York. I may only be a midwestern hick to all the east and west coasters, but my question is why? Do the kids in the 'burbs feel that much of a need to impress their inner city gang banging school chums? I can just hear the dialog....."Yo, yo, yo! Check out this cold whack schizzle!!" while flashing his latest store-bought bullet wound..... :rolleyes:
http://goliath.frostburg.edu/botline/defacing.htm
Defacing the Body
Brandon G. DeStefano
Body mutilation has existed in one form of another in every culture dating back to the ancient Mayans of Yucatan Peninsula and still remains a constant in our society today.
As a right of passage for young men, ropes soaked in alcohol and containing hundreds of tiny thorns were pulled through a small hole pierced in the tongue. By enduring the pain and slight intoxication from the pungent alcohol, the boy becomes a man in the eyes of the tribe
Tribes in West Africa insert rings and plates in their ears and lower lips (respectively) to stretch out the skin as a sign of status among the elite.
Masochism, which brings sexual desire from physical pain, has existed in Greek history and culture millennia. In addition, tattooing was developed and has been a practice of the Native Americans for over 400 years.
So, why all the hype surrounding body piercing, tattooing, and other forms of scarification? If it’s been around for centuries, why is there all of the sudden controversy surrounding new forms “self expression”?
Many lawmakers have expressed concern over new fads in body mutilation, especially in tongue splitting and self-inflicted bullet wounds from handguns. The legal and medical issue surrounding these particular aspects of “self expression” are among the main controversy being brought up in several states’ legislatures.
Medical professionals have said that the procedure involved with splitting a person’s tongue can cause excessive bleeding, permanent nerve damage, and irreversible speech impediments, among other unknown problems.
In California, one of the newest and most illegal forms of body mutilation is to receive a scar from a self-inflicted handgun wound. HBO’s American Undercover did a documentary on one underground establishment that provides gunshots, quick medical attention, and a ride to the emergency room for paying “customers”.
From a distance of six feet, the “customer’s” muscle in either the forearm or calf is isolated and shot clean through with the handgun of their choice. The result, different depending upon bullet caliber, is in effect an assault with a deadly weapon.
The dangers involved with taking a bullet just for the resultant scar greatly outweigh the benefits of having a unique body deformity.
In the state of West Virginia, the House Majority Leader of the House of Delegates, Rick Stanton has proposed a bill prohibiting the splitting of one’s tongue, except for medical reasons. Currently, there are no known medical purposes for the spiting of a tongue.
Although most people have the procedure done at a tattoo or piercing parlor, medical professionals feel that it should be preformed only by a physician or a dentist. As medical professionals, dentists and physicians have both the knowledge of anatomy and the expertise to see to complications.
In addition, this procedure in permanent, unlike many other body piercing, and cannot be reversed, repaired, or surgically corrected. So, I guess the real questions should be: Can you live with this for the rest of your life? How would you explain your gunshot wound, tattoo, or split tongue to your grandchildren? Is the impetuousness of youth really worth a lifelong condition?
Now available in California and New York. I may only be a midwestern hick to all the east and west coasters, but my question is why? Do the kids in the 'burbs feel that much of a need to impress their inner city gang banging school chums? I can just hear the dialog....."Yo, yo, yo! Check out this cold whack schizzle!!" while flashing his latest store-bought bullet wound..... :rolleyes: