By The Pleasant Times Resident Etiquette ExpertI was out and about doing errands today, and was waited upon at a sandwich shop by a young man and a young lady with the oddest ear-rings in their ears. They looked like large plastic buttons. By the time I had my sandwich and was up at the cash register, I could see plainly that what these young people were doing was forming holes in their ears. Not the little pin-prick holes that come from earrings, but actual large holes.
As you can imagine, I was appalled.
Some compassionate person needs to talk to the poor misguided souls about what they are doing to themselves. I wanted to ask the young man if he was working at the sandwich shop to save money for the future when he would need cosmetic surgery to fix all the things he was doing to himself now? Not rudely, of course, but just out of concern (It is rather funny, but one does not want to bring up a subject that would embarrass another person, yet here is that person embarrassing themselves voluntarily).
And yes, I know that in other world cultures people have done such things for centuries. Some things were considered a sign of beauty. But that does not make it right. Certainly people of other cultures were beautiful, but they were beautiful because of how God made them, not because of what they did to themselves. What will come into fashion next, flattening heads? I'm sorry, but even if the whole world thinks that something is beautiful or fashionable, if it is not right, it should not be done. God made us with our ears just the shape they are. And they are beautiful that way. If he had wanted to, he could have made it to where our earlobes developed large round holes as soon as we became adolescents. But he didn't. So we shouldn't. Re-forming our bodies in ways that God did not intend is not right.
Anyway, I wonder why these young folk are not thinking about the future. They may not always have the same friends, the same tastes, want to follow the same styles, or lifestyles. Ten years from now, will a pretty, decent, well-behaved girl be attracted to a fellow with large ear-lobes with holes in them, or even with large plastic earrings? I doubt it. Since they do not know how their life will change, would it not be safer to leave their bodies alone so as not to suffer embarrassment or expense in the future?
How many people have regretted the tattoo that they felt so proud of! And what a lot of expense and anxiety it caused later on in life. Perhaps young people feel that they know what they want for sure, but they do not realize how their tastes will change someday. I would suggest that they stay away from anything that would alter them from what they naturally look like--from tattoos to holes in their bodies to hair colors.
Just the other day a companion of mine was asking me when I thought that body-piercing would go out of style. It does seem to hang on, disgusting as it is. Young people who pierce their noses and tongues certainly show that they can be dedicated and loyal to some things-- it must take a lot of patience for the wounds to heal from trying to eat with a pierced tongue, or sticking sharp things up your nose. It is too bad that they cannot steer that dedication and loyalty to making their world better, instead of injuring themselves and turning people off.
And, yes, it does turn people off. If I went to the store with a piece of spaghetti hanging from my mouth, as I certainly have the right to do, people would think that I was a loony and would steer clear of me. It would alienate people from me. I could say that everyone was rude for giving me looks or not wanting to talk to me. I could complain that people had no right to say anything about the way I chose to walk around with spaghetti hanging from my mouth, and should just accept me for who I am. And that is what most polite people are trying to do, difficult as it is. However, it would be a purely selfish way to behave. It would be most impolite.
Let me repeat, in case someone missed it, that to appear in public in such a way as to make others ill, is impolite. If people absolutely must wear rings on their tongues and other parts of their body, why don't they do it in the privacy of your own home, and not wear them to work?Though, in my opinion, it should not be done at all...why would anyone want to put holes in their heads?
