I was pretty pissed off to see how arrogant, ignorant and plain insulting people can get when I read this article (commentry made by Shannon - the link for the article is there). So since there was an email address I decided to write back.... I also decided that my reply will be as polite as possible, so as not to give the lady any bad first impressions and perhaps even get her to understand certain things without being blinded by her prejudice.... here goes....
At A Glance Author maz Contact [email protected] When N/A Dear Erin, (sorry, I hope you don't mind if I use your first name)
I just read your article "How to win at the game that is America" and would truely appreciate if you could take the time to read my views. If you have the desire to reply, please do, I would be delighted to find out what you think.
First of all, let me explain who I am. My name is Maz, I was born in france to Czech and Polish parents. We moved to England when I was 3years old, and remained there until 6years ago. During that time my parents divorced, my dad went back to Paris, and my mum remarried. My stepdad is also Polish, and I must say is a wonderful person. He decided to take us (my brother and I, with my mum too, of course) to Africa, Uganda to be precise. I spent 5great and enriching years there, before coming to France to study law at the Sorbonne in Paris.I apologise for writing a slightly long-winded personal history, but it may help for you at least to put me into context. So yes, I have very little to do with America. However, I think we can both agree that the 'developed' world (Europe, North America, Australia etc) are more or less the same "world "and we understand each other.
To get back to your article.... I would first like to look at your appproach to the modified community (that is, pierced, tattooed or otherwise "freakish" people) You are of the opinion that these people are not in their right minds. I think that that is a rather harsh judgement. Perhaps you are making reference to the pain involved in these procedures, and that they must be strange and sadistic. I noticed that you pluck your eyebrows. Perhaps you wax too - that's certainly a painful procedure to go through just to remove a little unwanted, natural body hair....
Otherwise you may be refering, rather than to the process itself, to the result attained, or the resulting outward appearance. certainly, these people do stand out of the crowd. Don't you when you wear a slightly sexier dress for a dinner party? To go a little deeper into this thought, you say these people might modify themselves and look freakish to make a stark political statement. Yes, i can agree with that for most cases. But you may find it interesting to see that at most meetings and actions taken by organisations involved in environmental, social and political issues, the majority of devoted members are modified. SO in fact these people do far more than just look ridiculous in favour of saving the environment and the such. They actually go out there and do something. I can confirm - I've seen many heavily modified people going out to Africa to work on educating the children who cannot afford to pay for school, educating people about AIDS, and saving lives of people dy ing from cholera.
My next comment is in regard to your Miss America reference. "Sure, world peace is one step closer after I paint on my gothic makeup. Why don't we have these folks as Miss America contestants?" Miss America is about beauty and (hopefully) personality. Different people have different conceptions of beauty. In Sudan, a woman with a 30cm diametre lip plate is very beautiful. (Just in case you're not sure, this is when the woman's lip is pierced, and the hole is stretched over time to allow a 'plate' to be inserted) You should perhaps allow for these different notions of beauty even within the American society. Maybe to a modified person spikey green hair, purple make-up, big tattoos and lots of piercings are actually beautiful. Who knows.
As for the "freakish" fashion being anti-social, I think that these people are seeking for piercings and tattoos to be recognised as something acceptable. Many women modify their bodies with plastic surgery, and yet there is no great prejudiece against them. Why should others not do the same, just in a slightly different style, and for probably far more profound and meaningful reasons. In the same way that an artist may express themselves through their art, the modified person might also be considered an artist, using their body as a living canvas.
I hope that my opinions are reasonably expressed, and that you may be able to understand my point - the society we live in is perhaps too narrow-minded and uniform, and modiefied people are getting a step closer to changing that. In order to fully discover life's wonders, we need to be open to seeing other people's points of view. I know that not everyone has the chance to travel and discover the world through their own eyes, but it is important to remain open just the same. I would surely dislike to live in a society where all people are of the same opinions, the same notions of beauty, success, happiness, and on the same narrow path.
I would also like to add that I am proud to be modified and dress "freakishly". Each of my piercings and tattoos has a profound meaning to it and my appearance refects the wonderful variety of cultures and 'beauties' that I have known.
Thankyou for reading my email, and I sincerely hope that you may have the time to reply. May I also suggest that you publish a brief apology to those who may have found your article offensive, as I am sure that you meant no wrong and to hurt no one in publishing it.
Best regards,
Maz
back to the bme community - i welcome any comments on this.... could this be the way to deal with ignorant and prejudiced people such as this young lady?? you tell me ;-)