Rant #1: Piercings.

Piercings. In your ear, nose, eyebrow, lip, belly, and other places that I cannot say. They have become the new fad. Both kids and adults are joining this fad, but it has become an issue when minors are dire to have a piercing or two. An increasing percentage of kids these days want extra holes in their body, but are unable to do so. I am one of those kids.

I like piercings. I think they look cool. They're a way we can express ourselves. We can be whoever we want to be with the new self-confidence that seems to accompany those that get a piercing. But along with the new found confidence, is the prejudice. Yes, when most people see or hear about another getting a piercing, they imagine some good-for-nothing rebellious misfit that's going to hurt them in one way or another. But we aren't all like that. Some of us just want to make ourselves different than the masses that surround us every day.

I understand the fear of most parents about infections. It's a valid worry. But this can be avoided. As long as the soon-to-be pierced minor goes to a proper, legit piercing parlor, their chance of getting infected is lowered than if they do it in their unsterilized bathroom with a shaky, unprofessional hand, most likely without any supervision. It’s best if the piercee researches where they can go to get said piercings.

Another problem is the underage kids who oh-so desperately want a piercing. The legal age to get a piercing is 18, but according to the California state law, minors with a parent or guardian present during the piercing, or have written consent by said parent or guardian, may receive a piercing, no specific age cited. It is said that a minor has to be 16 years of age to get a piercing with written consent by a parent/guardian or they have to be at least present, and all those below the 16 cannot get them, but that differs for each parlor. Professional piercers can lose their license and even be filed for sexual assault if they pierce minors without any sort of consent.

But the battle isn't always in the piercing parlor. It's between the kid who says "pleaaaaaaase??" and the parent who says "no!!” Now, there is no way I can convince a parent who insists on their child never getting a piercing because of a religious reason, and I shall respect that. So should the minor who wants to get a piercing just because their friends have them, or because they want to spite their parents, or any other lame excuse. A piercing isn't something one decides to do out of the blue. It's a commitment one should make when one is mature enough to commit to. That's why we have an age limit on most things (piercings, tattoos, voting, drinking, etc), so that when we can do such things, we are mature enough to evaluate the consequences of our decisions and take responsibility.

Now that I ratted out on the kids who want to get a piercing, I turn my attention to the parents. Like I said, religious issues I won't address. But if a parent is saying no just because they don't want their child to do it, or just because they have the power to say no, that's not a good enough reason. The whole infection issue that I explained, it’s not a valid enough reason to have piercings sworn off completely, but should be addressed. If you don't want your child to be mistaken as a misfit or be misinterpreted in any sort of way, that is an issue your child must deal with, not you. It's not your problem, so stop worrying about it. Hell, a fair amount of kids get piercings so they CAN be seen as rebellious little misfits. That's just part of the fad, I'm sorry to say.