Tattoos and Body Piercing

Since Julie has graciously planned out many activities on my birthday today, I will afford her the courtesy of me getting a (somewhat) proper night's sleep. So this posting will be much shorter than the others. I don't really want to spent the whole night blogging (since I am recovering from a nasty sinus infection), but here's a topic near and dear to my heart...and it's not what you may think, with me being a staunch conservative.

Most guys working in the IT industry or are card carrying conservative (I will use big-C or small-c here, whatever tickles your fancy) or church elders generally do not have a past like mine. Without generalizing too much, but also stating this based on conversations with many other IT professionals, conservatives and church elders, I can probably say I do not represent the norm when it comes to past experiences with body piercing or tattoos, and am surprisingly moderately neutral on this topic with a few caveats.

First, my own experiences. I have had most body parts pierced at one point in my life. And no, my parents and siblings do not know this - and I'm pretty sure they won't read this blog since they don't even know I have a blog). I had (at the most) 14 concurrent piercings in my ears (combined) - some of them were um...self-performed, a navel piercing that caused too much pain, a nipple piercing that got too itchy and was irriated by clothing, and a nose piercing that was never really completed (stud came out after it went in - due to the sensitivities in my nose - I sneeze countless times if I get nasal pain). I also have several tattoos that many people don't know about, most of them were again...self-performed via instructions from a friend whose Dad was in the slammer and relayed to him how to ink yourself.

These days, the tattoos are obviously there, but I tend to wear oversized t-shirts and baggy clothing to cover them in the summertime. Why? They look terrible. I've seen worse on other people, but do I really want people to see this big black sperm image on my arm (I was once nicknamed Jerm the Sperm). The piercings have, for the most part, closed up and I say for the most part, because I know for a fact that some have not since I tried to put in studs a few years back and of course, it was before bed, and I forget to take them out and when I woke up, my wife had a freakshow on me for foolishly trying to do something which just did not look good anymore (she was probably right).

Anyway, some advice from a guy who's been there, if you want to get a body piercing or tattoo.

1) Think long-term. Mike Tyson probably screwed himself out of a corporate white-collar desk job when he got ink on his face (and it looks pretty dumb too). For myself, I thought it was pretty cool when I was a kid, but now, particularly in the summertime, I really regret getting some of the tattoos.

2) Some things are not worth the health risk. Personally, a labaret or tongue ring never appealed to me - there is so much bacteria in the mouth and particularly with the labaret, it never quite heals over, so you're looking at possible frequent infection. Ear piercings are generally pretty safe, at least the lower-risk parts of your ear (I have heard that protruding cartlidge bit does have higher risk because infections in that area are much closer to the brain. Also, I've never had a Prince Albert, but not sure what the appeal is - I have heard it can get pretty uncomfortable.

3) Despite what you may think about what should and should not be the ideal, people will and do judge you by how you look - I took out all my piercings (for good) when I got my first full time job - I just know you don't wear 14 piercings to an IT office job - that is, if I want to remain gainfully employed.

4) For the Christian, consider what tattoos are saying about you before you get them. Are the tattoos giving a positive view of Christ and your walk with Him? Or is it bringing shame to Christ's name. While I am not 100% certain that the Bible has a 100% definitive stand on tattoos - yes, it says it pretty clearly in Leviticus but it also says that you should not wear clothing made of two different materials either, or you should not trim your beard or the hair on the sides of your head - since Christians are no longer bound by the law, I am not sure it applies - however, I think that the New Testament has several guidelines about holy living - I think before you get a tattoo (or do anything else for that matter), consult the Bible to find out whether what you are doing is bringing glory to God. While I am neither here nor there on tattoos or piercings, I also don't take a lassez-fair attitude on it either. Particularly with tattoos and their permanency, it's definitely a decision that should be thought through before getting one. Last summer, we went to Edmonton and while I don't swim, I took videos and photos of my wife and son at the massive West Edmonton Mall waterpark. Of course, in a waterpark, there are many people who show off their tattoos (unfortunately, there are other things that people show that probably shouldn't be shown, but that's another story for another post). There was one girl who had Matthew 7 tattooed on her upper back (like, the whole chapter) - it was pretty cool. There's one way to share the gospel, I suppose.