Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 276 – Earrings & Piercings and Tats, Oh, my!

Mahler · 10-12-2009, 09:09 AM

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 276 – Earrings & Piercings & Tats, Oh, my!

Earrings & Peircings & Tats, Oh, my! (10-12-09)

Let’s face it. I’m getting old. But, aren’t we all. Like Pollyanna, I am trying to find the good in the situation and one thing I can say is that age gives you a perspective on change that is often lacking in the here and now world of youth. For some reason, over the weekend, I took note of a number of guys, young and old, that had earrings or piercings of one sort or another. It brought back a memory from my first foray into corporate America. One of the younger guys in my office came to work one day sporting an ear stud. Pfft! Today that would be no big deal, but back in the “old days” that was news, especially in the finance division of a fortune 500 company. He got a few sidelong glances, but surprisingly no call to the supervisor’s office, which, believe me, at that time would not have been unusual. These were the pre-business casual days and office decorum was observed with religious fervor.

Now this was just a regular guy, and in talking to him later in the day, the subject of his new adornment did come up. He was pretty troubled, not by the acceptance or lack of it at work, but being young and just out of school in his first job, he lived at home. He told me that his father had made it very clear to him that he would not be allowed in the house with “that thing” in his ear. Sad to say, back in the day, closed minds thought this way. They still do, by the way. There was something wrong with you if you stepped out of the box or strayed too far away from the norm. This man, who had raised and reared his son for two decades, and should have known him better than anyone, had let a small diamond stud come between them. And, what is more, this man had voiced his innermost fears. Horror of horrors, this might mean his son was gay.

Over the years, that has gradually changed and today, there are plenty of sons (and daughters, too) out there with earrings, piercings, tats, you name it. And you know what? There are plenty of parents out there with them, as well, and what is more, the world has not come to an end because of it. For my money, even today, I would rather see a guy with a nice stud in his ear than a blue tooth device giving him that automaton-like look and disconnecting him from the world around him. But, let’s face it, in a few years that may be the norm and nobody will even take notice, except a few old farts like me. There is one difference, as I see it. Those terrible and evil earrings and piercings and tats, were a means of self-expression and didn’t really change who these people were. In fact, in most cases they give us a further glimpse into the character of the person sporting them.

While the jury is still out on this one, disconnecting oneself from the outside world, as we are seeing with the rampant explosion of electronic devices, may not be the same and may, indeed have serious consequences on the ways in which we socialize and interact face to face. A recent example of this presented itself while I was attending a wedding reception. During the course of the evening, one of the bridesmaids sat at a nearby table and was feverishly texting. (Ha, so strange that the word “texting” itself comes up on my spell check). A few minutes later I was to find out that the person she was texting was in that very room and only a few tables away. To me, how strange, and even somewhat sad. Almost, I would say, as sad as the way that young man was rejected by his father. But, like the earrings and piercings and tats, does that really change who this person is? As I have said, I think the jury is still out. But, what do I know. I am one of those holdouts who is used to sitting down with someone, whenever possible, looking them in the eye, and talking face to face. I think I’ll hang on to that one for a while and try not to give into the trend. Hell, I have better uses for my thumbs, anyway and I can guarantee you that I am a hell of a lot better at spelling. (now this is where everyone is going to scan this MMMM for errors, I am sure)

Our perceptions of a person should be based on who they are and not how they appear to be. The old idea of not judging a book by its cover is still a good maxim to live by. But, by the same token, if I would not judge a book by its cover, I would not want to make my own book unapproachable by placing it high up on the shelf of self-absorption and isolation.

Approach everything you do, as far as possible, head on and face to face, but judge what you see by what is in the head and behind the face.

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Copyright 2004-2009 John R. Gesselberty. Mahler's Monday Morning Motivators (MMMM) may not be copied or used without permission of the author. All rights reserved.

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Have a Great Week!

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tattooed phat man · 10-12-2009, 09:49 AM

in the early 80's i was in a bar with tv screens all around the perimeter of a large dance floor. mtv was new and everybody was standing with their backs to the center of the room looking at the screens. nobody dancing, a few people at 45 degree angles to eachother and i thought communication as we knew was coming to an end. i was, in a sense, right about that, but not in the way i was picturing. with us or without us, life goes on and old orders "changeth yielding place to the new".

kingkop182 · 10-12-2009, 12:21 PM

Thanks John

Katydid77 · 10-13-2009, 12:01 AM

That is a good read.

I do agree with you on the pre-judging thing, 'not judging a book by it's cover'. Although, I do see the side of the argument that says, people tend to present themselves in the way they want to be viewed . . .

*random tattoo story* My ex-bf had several tattoos and wanted a few more. I never really liked them that much and he was always trying to get me interested. Well, when he decided he wanted to get his next tattoo, he asked me to pick it out (I guess to get me involved). His only criteria was that it could be done in black ink, and be religious (Christian) in nature.

I selected a mustard seed.

Mahler · 10-13-2009, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katydid77

I selected a mustard seed.

That is priceless.

RobLL · 10-13-2009, 11:31 AM

"For my money, even today, I would rather see a guy with a nice stud in his ear than a blue tooth device giving him that automaton-like look and disconnecting him from the world around him"

John - I shall work at being more tolerant of 'blue tooths'.

ditto on the "mustard seed"