# Conservative Dopers- would this bother you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938 "2011-06-10T02:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/61 "2011-06-10T13:43:22Z")
Christian and conservative here. My kids went to a non-denominational Christian school for several years. My daughter has a nose piercing now, but she didn’t (it wasn’t allowed, and she didn’t want it then) while attending the school. I have an earring, and have had it for the last eighteen years or so. Sometimes when I went to school functions, people noticed it, but nobody said anything or treated me any differently. And nobody treated my kids any differently because their father wore an earring. At least that I know of - both my kids are/were socially adept and quite popular. (Consider the eight paragraphs of shameless bragging about my son and daughter as posted - cites available on request.) As mentioned, there are piercings and piercings. A little stud on one nostril, like my daughter has, is one thing. Looking like you stuck the entire contents of your uncle’s tackle box into your face or you were just initiated into the Ubangi tribe is quite another. My sister-in-law has a pink Mohawk and is about 80% covered in tattoos, and is a lovely person. I have other relatives without a single tattoo or piercings who are jerks. Go figure. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/62 "2011-06-10T14:02:31Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > My sister-in-law has a pink Mohawk and is about 80% covered in tattoos, and is a lovely person. I have other relatives without a single tattoo or piercings who are jerks. Go figure. > > Regards, > Shodan I’d be willing to bet if you took ALL the ‘bad’ people in the world (or in our culture) the majority of them would be tattoo and nose piercing free just based on the fact that nose piercing and tattoos are still in the minority. Similarly, I’d bet that if you gathered everyone up that had tattoos or nose piercings, the ones that fit the descriptions mentioned in this thread would be in the overwhelming minority. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/63 "2011-06-10T14:26:30Z")
Is it just the other parents who may be judgemental that concerns your husband or does he have other issues with you getting a stud? And what repercussions might befall your family because of a choice you made about modifying your own body? I think nose studs especially the tiny little jeweled ones, can add a little sophistication. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/64 "2011-06-10T14:38:34Z")
> [@YaraMateo](#): > > Where I live (on the East coast), you can’t get a professional job with facial body art. Even high end retail jobs will not hire you. Maybe in other parts of the country it’s different, but not here. I don’t consider bank teller to be a great job, but you can’t do that either here. :dubious: I’m on the east coast with a proper, corporate job in the insurance industry and there are people in my office with all sorts of body art. One woman with a nose stud, several women with wrist tattoos, one guy with full sleeves up each arm, etc. Now all of this is stuff that is small or can be covered up completely and there isn’t anyone here with a septum piercing or anything, but I don’t think a small stud in the nose would even garner a second look. ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e95f7d/32.png) [@AnnaLucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLucretia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/65 "2011-06-10T14:41:48Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > A lot of people at the corporate office where I work have their noses pierced. Fortune 500 Retailer in the Chicago area. A lot of people in my extremely large International Development office have them too - and I have substantial (and visible) tattoos on my chest and back. I live on Capitol Hill, which is pretty conservative over all - I have a very challenging professional career in which I work daily with a large range of companies and individuals from all over the world - and my piercings and tattoos have never been a barrier to anything, even when the cultural context is not “east coast US”. I used to have a nose ring as well, but took it out when it became as common as pierced ears (and when a bad allergy season hit, yuck). I asked my teenage son how he feels about them and he was “meh” (almost verbatim) - doesn’t even register on his radar. AL ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/66 "2011-06-10T14:50:25Z")
Reading this thread has made me decide to get my nose pierced. It should be a real time-saver, given that people’s reactions to it seem to be a pretty good indicator of intelligence, and an excellent barometer of who I’d prefer to hang with. ETA that I live on the east coast, and I don’t know where the hell Yara lives (is Mayberry on the east coast?), but my last job was at a very conservative investment management company, and no one would have looked askance at a tiny nose ring. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/67 "2011-06-10T14:51:59Z")
East Coast, here, too, and yes, lots of people have small piercings or body art. Mayhap it’s YOU who need to change your perception. Rebellious? Who are we rebelling against? That says more to me about you, that anything out of yout little box means we are rebellious. I don’t ask you to like my piercing, or my tattoo. I only ask that you open your mind a little. Neither of them are rebellious. Both of them are culturally significant to me. I live in a country that is predominantly white and Christian and sometimes I feel as though I am being drowned in it, changed every day. I don’t mind this and accept it, but I still bear a nose ring and an Om tattoo to remind me of where I came from. I will be forever foreign no matter what I do, so what does it matter that I looke a little foreign? It has nothing to do with you. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/68 "2011-06-10T15:21:13Z")
Honest opinion: It would tend to give me a slightly negative opinion of you from the offset. However if you are a friendly reasonable person it would quickly make up for your fashion mistake. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/69 "2011-06-10T15:29:22Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > ETA that I live on the east coast, and I don’t know where the hell Yara lives (is Mayberry on the east coast?) North Carolina, but I have to think the people of Mayberry would have been accepting of a nose ring. Maybe they would have found it a bit odd at first, but within a half an hour they would have learned who the person is and that there’s more to them then what you see on their face. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/70 "2011-06-10T15:34:27Z")
> [@Moirai](#): > > Long story short- I am planning to get my nose pierced. My kids go to a “Christian with a small c” private school, and my husband is worried that other parents might be freaked out. > > If you are Christian or otherwise conservative, would it bother you if the mom of a nice kid at school had a pierced nose? Would you let your kid be friends with him? > > Understand, for myself I don’t really give a damn what people who aren’t my friends will think about it, but it’s not just my life that I have an effect on- my kids are part of this too. So I’m hoping to get a “feel for the room” if I can. > > Thanks! 🙂 My daughter goes to a Catholic school and to answer your questions in the second paragraph: 1. No 2. Yes (however, the question presumes that I would even know what the mom looks like, which is unlikely). However, we’re in San Antonio, where things tend towards slovenliness and casual. Your mileage may vary… ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/71 "2011-06-10T15:42:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I have an earring Hippie! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/72 "2011-06-10T15:56:04Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I wouldn’t care personally but I’d think it very hideous and unbecoming of a civilized human being considering we are not some obscure tribe in the Amazons. I can respect Clothahump’s post: he doesn’t like it and he says so. But what is your post supposed to indicate? You say you don’t care personally but then say you think it’s “very hideous and unbecoming of a civilized human being”. Are you saying you’re capable of having that negative an opinion on something you don’t care about? (And if so, what’s your opinion on things you think are important?) Or are you trying to separate yourself from what you’re saying? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/73 "2011-06-10T15:57:23Z")
In my view, nose piercings are ugly. If I were single, I wouldn’t ask you out if you had a nose piercing. But as the mom of a kid my kid goes to school with, it wouldn’t cause me any particular worries, no – either about you or about your child. And my son attends Catholic school. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/74 "2011-06-10T15:59:49Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > I’m leaning towards the European Far Right ™ and I really wouldn’t give a damn at all. But then again, I’m myself multiply tattooed, so whatever. > > ETA : " psychological problems" :rolleyes: ? I’d say that believing in ‘God’ is a far, far greater psychological problem. I’m not sure I agree that a condition shared by the majority of humankind can be fairly characterized as a problem, no matter what it is. A problem implies a deviation from the norm. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/75 "2011-06-10T16:04:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m not sure I agree that a condition shared by the majority of humankind can be fairly characterized as a problem, no matter what it is. A problem implies a deviation from the norm. If everyone only ate 3000 calories of fried chicken every day it would be a problem. The world would be better if they had better diets. Something can be the norm and still be highly self-destructive. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/76 "2011-06-10T16:06:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > A problem implies a deviation from the norm. I wanna live in Bricker’s world, where problems aren’t normal. 🙂 A problem indicates a deviation from the _good_, not the normal. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/77 "2011-06-10T16:28:04Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > If everyone only ate 3000 calories of fried chicken every day it would be a problem. > > The world would be better if they had better diets. Something can be the norm and still be highly self-destructive. > [@DianaG](#): > > I wanna live in Bricker’s world, where problems aren’t normal. 🙂 > > A problem indicates a deviation from the _good_, not the normal. Fair enough. You’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/78 "2011-06-10T16:33:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You do realize you contradicted yourself there? > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’ve known educated & civilized Indian ladies with pierced noses. But thanks for illustrating the small-minded attitudes the OP is dealing with! > > She probably ought to hold off with the nose piercing & work to get her kids out of such a stifling environment. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I can respect Clothahump’s post: he doesn’t like it and he says so. > > But what is your post supposed to indicate? You say you don’t care personally but then say you think it’s “very hideous and unbecoming of a civilized human being”. > > Are you saying you’re capable of having that negative an opinion on something you don’t care about? (And if so, what’s your opinion on things you think are important?) Or are you trying to separate yourself from what you’re saying? Ah, the SDMB! Where the hippest, smartest people on the internet hang out and allow themselves to be played like a fiddle by a fourteen year old with emotional problems. For eight hours, the turd of a post that engendering all this handwringing was given the reception it deserved: it was roundly ignored by everyone. Good thing you went ahead and gave him the satisfaction he clearly craved after all. He was probably getting worried that we had wised up to his act! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/79 "2011-06-10T18:09:47Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Ah, the SDMB! Where the hippest, smartest people on the internet hang out and allow themselves to be played like a fiddle by a fourteen year old with emotional problems. > > For eight hours, the turd of a post that engendering all this handwringing was given the reception it deserved: it was roundly ignored by everyone. Good thing you went ahead and gave him the satisfaction he clearly craved after all. He was probably getting worried that we had wised up to his act! I have enough respect for Qin as a fellow poster that I don’t dismiss him for being a teenager. If he says something I disagree with, I’ll call him on it and give him the opportunity to defend what he said. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938/80 "2011-06-10T18:25:54Z")
Even if his post is so stupid that if it were a person it would have drool on its chin? This is emphatically not about his age. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-dopers-would-this-bother-you/584938.md?page=5)