Very extreme human behaviors …
It is often very startling these days to see someone who has made the choice to alter their physical appearance in an extreme way. Or at least what I might have thought was extreme. I want to be clear that I am not against this, or for this … just sometimes caught off guard by what people do. Tatoos and body piercing are now being seen everywhere, with much of it very interesting and subtle. But every now and then I see someone and think “Wow, I wonder why they chose to tatoo their entire face?”, or “Man, having that many piercings on your face must have hurt!” The extremes that we are seeing in society only continue to grow and get … well … more extreme.

A number of years ago, a friend and I were following many of the Idea Futures claims years ago, and there was one that we found interesting. The specific claim was written in February of 1995 and stated that “By the year 2010 cosmetic surgery to alter the “natural” appearance of human beings will become fashionable.” and this is looking like incredible foresight. (No pun intended!)

The article that is linked below will be extremely disturbing to some people, and I recommend reading the warning below and understanding that he is very serious. I spent some time last night looking through these links and reading some of the articles … and seeing pictures that left me stunned. I had no idea the extent that people are pursuing “Extreme Body Modification”. It goes well beyond anything that I would have imagined. What is interesting to me is that the prediction was made in 1995 … less than 10 years ago … and we are – in my opinion – well beyond what the original claim was based on.

We live in a very wild world …

Extreme Body Modification. Warning: this story contains disturbing, graphical and un-worksafe links. Click them with caution. Superficial body modification has become, to a certain extent, acceptable and mainstream. While tattoos and body piercings were once markings of outsiders and special subcultures, celebrities and the public now display them as the latest fashion accessory (although they can still damage your employment prospects). It is clear that such modifications have become commodified and are no longer regarded as deviant, but merely as another consumer item. However many subcultures still exist that take the idea of body modification to extremes. Genital removal and limb amputation are examples of the hardcore, permanent body modification that members of these subcultures aspire to. These practices go far beyond the bounds of what society deems as acceptable body modification. While the mainstream may view this behaviour with revulsion and bafflement, it raises the interesting question of what is and what is not acceptable body modification in today’s liberal society. [kuro5hin.org]

Good intentions with bad results …
I was listening to NPR yesterday and they were covering the recent events in Bolivia. The specific segment was about Indians that live up in the mountains, and their current situation. The reporter talked about the various recent events that have further damaged the economic conditions of the Indians.

The one comment that really hit me was that a large number of local textile plants have closed down recently, limiting the opportunities for work. And why did these plants close down? The reporter indicated that it was due to the tremendous influx of “used clothing” being donated from the United States!

So with all of the “good intentions” that we have as Americans by giving away our “used” possessions, it seems that we are creating some very bad results … putting companies in these countries out of business. I would have never thought about this as a possibility … and obviously the people donating their clothing and other possessions have not thought about this either.

The world is often far more complex than than people think … and we often over look the possible consequences of our actions.