# Branding onesself an act of stunningly senseless violence?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 27, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453 "2005-03-27T12:19:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453/1 "2005-03-27T12:19:30Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050325.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050325.html)

Granted, PCP doesn’t sound like a good choice for most folks, and the brief list of atrocities commmitted while high on “love boat” is sickening. I disagree with the inclusion of self-branding on the list for two reasons:

1. Plenty of people self-mutilate for reasons related to feelings of control over self, and I believe these cases are mostly unrelated to drug use.

2. A smaller group self-modifies for aesthetic reasons. While self-branding is an extreme example, I suspect it exists.

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**Author:** ![Warrior\_Slashclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e79b87/32.png) [@Warrior\_Slashclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warrior_Slashclaw)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453/2 "2005-03-29T14:14:19Z")

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I guess it depends on how you feel about it when you wake up/come down. Personally as an athiest I would be pretty horrified if I realized I had branded myself with a giant cross. I would certainly call it a stunningly senseless act of, maybe not violence, but painful stupidity at least.

But then, if it was something I was planning to get around to someday, (note to self: brand giant cross on chest) I might be glad to have it over and done with.

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**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453/3 "2005-03-30T22:26:44Z")

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> [@11811](#):
>
> 1. A smaller group self-modifies for aesthetic reasons. While self-branding is an extreme example, I suspect it exists.

You can see self-branding on the upper arms of a lot of African-American football players, usually in the form of a Greek letter (representing their college fraternity).

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**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/branding-onesself-an-act-of-stunningly-senseless-violence/296453/4 "2005-04-04T10:38:29Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> You can see self-branding on the upper arms of a lot of African-American football players, usually in the form of a Greek letter (representing their college fraternity).

I can attest (from what I’ve seen, not anything I’ve been stupid enough to do) that self-branding by fraternity members isn’t limited to African Americans. I don’t know if it’s more prevalent in a particular demographic group.