After reading Shannon's recent article about an editorial in an online newspaper, written by a lady named Erin Simovic, I decided to read the article for myself to see exactly what this lady had been saying. I've read some pretty biased and stupid editorials by different people online on the subject of body piercing, and this one fit into that category perfectly. I decided that I wanted to email this Eric person to clear a few things up. So, here it is; a letter to a bigot from a concerned 16 year old Canadian:
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact [email protected] When N/A To Erin Simovic,
I read your article entitled "How to win at the game that is America", and found it to be completely biased, uninformed, and, ultimately a pathetic attempt to parade your bigoted opinions to a broader spectrum of listeners. While I completely respect your right to your opinion, no matter how crude and off-kilter it might be, I do not respect your publicizing your opinions when they do nothing but bash a culture you know little to nothing about. I would advise you to get to know some of the people that you criticize before you go on a crusade against them.
Your baffling misconceptions about the people, and the culture, that you are talking about are, well, appalling. You lump kids with dyed hair into the same group as pierced individuals, and then throw in Marilyn Manson, and your only common link is that they all stand out. Did it ever occur to you that they are that; individuals? They all have completely different motives for their appearances, whether it be shock value, peer pressure, self enlightenment, convenience *in the case of wallet chains, which you for some reason brought up*, cultural reasons, or even religious reasons. Yet you seem to judge them completely upon their appearances, for which I shake my head at you, and wonder what the world has come to when a journalist can be so close minded.
You then go on to question why any individual would "want to alienate themselves from society in such a way". Not intending to bust your bubble here, but often the intent is not alienation. It has become normal. Alienation is an unfortunate outcome, brought about by inconsiderate uninformed people such as yourself. You immediately conclude that either the individuals who look different are OBVIOUSLY either trying to rebel, or they are not right in the mind. And you being an expert on the subject, knowing so much about their cultures, and communicating with so many of them would definately be one to conclude these statements. Am I correct? Well, I can safely say that I neither rebel through my piercings and tattoos, and that I am completely right in the head. I simply do them for self gratification. I, unlike yourself, am not a social whore. I do not care what society thinks of me, so long as I am happy. Yes, I will suffer the consequences, but those are out of my control. I do not alienate society; society alienates me. And for that, they will suffer also.
Moving right along, LETS assume that all these outward appearances are completely a form of rebellion. How silly it is for these individuals to waste time trying to make a statement with their non-conforming makeup and clothing? Well, hate to break it to you, but no matter WHAT you do with your appearance, you are making a statement. IF it was the case that they were doing it to rebel, and are expressing it through their clothing, it is exactly the same as the effort you put into wearing a shirt that says "I like geeks" to express your liking of geeks. They, like you, are choosing to make a statement, and they, like you are putting effort into it to get a point across. Its just that theirs is sometimes a more compelling, thought provoking, offensive message.
Your connections about makeup, clothing, and rebellion are completely general and horribly wrong, so we're going to disregard all the misconceptions you have there. Now, moving along to the part where you state that they should be focusing their efforts to change what they dont like about society. I must ask you, have you ever been to a demonstration, a protest, or anything that follows along those lines? If you have, have you ever noticed the vast amoung of individuals that posess all the things you state?; the hair, the piercings, the tattoos, and all the rest of it? If they stand for something, most likely they're going to stand up for it. It's not THEIR fault that you make no effort to show up to rallies to verify their presence.
You state that they should be volunteering at nature camps to teach kids about the environment. Well, I'm sure if thats their thing, thats where they will be. But I, for one, will not be there, because I have no interest in teaching kids about that. I would rather go about my activism in my own way. The ones who want to be there will be, and the ones who want to be elsewhere will be. Just because they all look different than societys norms doesnt mean that they all like the environment and small children.
Also, you make the assumption, subliminally, that all rebellion is in favour of the environment. To correct you, I know just as many "freaks" that don't give a shit about the environment as I know that do.
"Unfortunately, we live in a judgemental society." You mourn the fruits of your labour. I am confused.
And for your information, we, the "freaks", have plenty of productive outlets for our time. Many of us have jobs, families, children, and are getting along rather fine. Our enjoyment that we get from piercings, tattoos, dying our hair, and the like is the same that you might get from writing an article based entirely upon idiocy. You like what you do, we like what we do. It is in our spare time. I do not know any "freak" who spends the vast majority of his time doing absolutely nothing, solely because he looks different. However, that is what you infer.
On a closing note, you might find that these "Freaks", as you have dubbed them, do make a societal difference, and contribute more than even yourself. However, as you stated in the beginning, you make no effort to go into their territory and observe them. So how can you possibly know their going-ons when you won't go near them?
Finally, if losing the spikes will make bigoted close-minded individuals like yourself happy, I would greatly recommend that every kid out there with a mohawk keep it. You'll get a taste of your own medicine.
Sincerely,
******* *******
I invited her to reply to my email, to which I have not recieved any word or reply. I hope that at least something in here hit home with her.