At A Glance
Author	Brad Porter
Contact	[email protected]
IAM	issueskid
When	N/A

I am Brad or issueskid, a 19 year old into tattoos, piercings and alternative fashions. I have a Mohawk which is currently bleached with pink blocks of colour, as you can see I stand out in the street like most visitors of BME and iam. My question to you all is why are we treated as outcasts?

Many of you may think this is just a rant and that maybe I am just moaning and basing this on my own experiences, but the truth is I am happy with the way I look and although I accept I will be treated differently when I walk down the road, I still think it is stupid that people can not understand I am not lower than them or less of a person, I have nothing wrong with my head! Here are a few examples:

1) Once I was sitting on a bus, minding my own business, I was playing on my gameboy advance so I did not even look around at anybody or say anything. A drunken man got on the bus and decided to sit right next to me. I could hear this man calling me a "twat"; he then spotted my t-shirt "masturbating is not a crime", and this quite clearly was yet another reason to single me out, so he began, "masturbating is not a crime? You fucking sick twat, oi, twat" etc... I kept ignoring him until he moved even closer to me and went to prod me in the face, instantly spotting him out the corner of my eye my first reaction was to block his hand, he then decided to swing a punch at me, I move and his fist just clipped the side of my head. There was nothing I could do but get up and move, as I moved he kicked me.

Explanation

I am assuming that if I looked pretty much average like he did, I would have got no trouble. Drunken people seem to react differently but again this was no excuse for what he did. I think if this man was sober he still would of caused me shit, just maybe no punching. People are out of order, if I want to look a certain way why did that offend this man so much? My answer is that this person is scared of life itself, he thinks you must look average to fit in, I am guessing he is a very troubled person who is probably confused deep down and maybe in an un-judgemental world he would express himself and look how he wants to look rather than how society deems us to look.

2) What about this? When I am out in the street wearing my normal clothes, with my piercings in, tattoos on my legs and wrist and a fairly big Mohawk I get people actually shouting at me from across the road. I get people come over and brush my hair and call me a dick. I had people laugh at me and try to start on me purely because of my looks.

I know my looks are the cause of this because on my way to work I take out my main facial piercings, I cover my tattoos, I cover my hair with a cap and I wear a shirt, tie, trousers and shoes. I never get any bother or verbal abuse. People treat me as a normal member of the public and are civil to me. My manager once said to me that if I looked how I do now she would have been put off by me when I cam for the job, but now she knows me she said that I am great and she gets on with me really well and she is glad she never had the chance to judge me on looks.

Explanation

What classic evidence of people judging you on appearance only, luckily when I go for a job I take my piercings out, either cut or hide my hair and try to wear something that looks reasonably smart. People get on with me when I am at work, they are nice to me and people who walk past me do not give me a second look. If I look how I usually do, they take one glance, realise I am different and decide that they should outcaste me. Judgement on appearance does not work so lets all try to find out about somebody first before we make presumptions right?

3) People in groups like to make trouble. Normally if I pass one person in the street they do not say a word, maybe they might look round or even say "alright". If said person is with a group of friends I normally get trouble from them because they like to show off to their friends.

Explanation

Well this is a simple one. As stated above people like to show off, they like to have a laugh and prove themselves to a group of friends. They are probably in my situation but are to weak to go with how they feel, instead they try to fit into a group and this group will only accept them if they show off, try and fit in and generally take the piss out of anybody not like them who does not want to fit into their group

4) Why do people all want to look the same? Why do they have their own opinion but an individual who does not dress the way they do is wrong? Have you ever noticed how some "normal" people take the piss out of you yet they have a tattoo, minor piercing or a "push-together Mohawk" because it is in fashion?

Explanation

Fashion victims! They can not go the whole way and have a full on Mohawk, lots of piercings or big tattoos but they can follow fashion and if a fake Mohawk or an eyebrow piercing is in fashion that week then it is ok to do so but nothing more because that would make you too different! These people generally follow famous people, for example, if somebody out of a pop group has a lip piercing you find that many people who are not into piercings will go and get a lip piercing!

Conclusion

I guess the only answers I can offer is deep down these people are insecure and scared of life itself. They only know how to make as many friends as possible by fitting in, normally these so called friends would "shit on" their mate given a chance but alternative groups seem to stick together.

A while ago I went to a punk gig at a pub, I could not believe how friendly everybody was in the pub, and a random bloke offered to by me and my friend a drink and told us how we were welcome to sit down next to him, "yeah I don't mind a few more punks sitting next to me".

Now imagine being in a night club. How often to you get a group of kids offering to buy you a drink, there more likely to rob you then beat you up after the club closes. Alternative people stick together and in more cases than not will happily welcome an outsider. Other people hate alternative groups and generally hate anybody else in their group.

I guess the reason why I have not changed my hair, piercings or covered my tattoos is because I know I am a better person than they are, I can deal with this bullshit I get, the physical and verbal abuse because I know I am being true to myself and look how I want to look, while they would rather look how society deems us to look.

Do not think this is me moaning because I accept the shit I get, it comes with the territory, you look different you have to deal with this shit; all I am saying is why? Why do people give you this shit in the first place? Am I less of a person because I express myself? Decide for yourself...

I have been Brad, telling it how it is, hope I have opened your mind a little.