A buddy of mine has talked about getting a scar for a while now. I have many dozens of hours worth of tattoos and some piercings, so I’ve tried to maintain a neutral/positive point of view. But, ouch!
Today was his appointment. He sent me a picture and it looks like he got mugged (he is bandaged pretty well). I’ll be meeting him to buy him a beer in a few hours.
Thoughts? Experiences? Anyone here been branded or scarred? What was healing like?
I have scars but from accidents vs on purpose. I would love to get rid of the one on the back of my calf because it looks like a run in stocking.
I’ve seen a few fake ones (tv shows) that looked cool for the “savages” that were wearing them. I’ve never seen one that was as tasteful as a tattoo, though.
maybe if it said rebew
He sent me some pics!
Ouch, ouch, ouch. He said it really hurt. It’s a line that rins an inch or two down his forehead, through his eyebrow, then continuing down his cheek. Very nice placement.
But wow.
Why did he want to scar his face? Did it have a particular meaning for him?
He wanted to look like a duellist?
It is hardcore, so it commands my respect. A little more serious than having Tweety Bird tattooed on your ass, you know?
The dude’s cutting edge.
Only until people are having their genitals re-mounted on their foreheads. Then, scarification will be something children do. Wastling, crybaby children.
I’m about to get a white tattoo that they say will look like a scar over time, but that’s as close as I’ll ever come. Eek!
It’s not uncommon for black men who join traditionally black fraternities to get the fraternity’s Greek letters branded on their upper arms. :eek: Because blacks are more likely to develop keloid scars, it’s hard to miss them which appears to be the point.
Like with tattoos, I understand most of them regret it later. (OUCH!)
We’ve spoken at length about this. To greatly condense hours of talk, he’s had a pretty rough life. His family was the stuff of nightmares. He’s gotten his shit together, handling all that life’s thrown at him. Yet to look at him you’d never know it. The scar externalizes some inner angst, maybe?
Hardcore is right. He took a selfie midstream, and the look of terror in his eyes was intense.
A woman I know has a long, drawn out crescent shape on a bicep in white ink. It is very cool looking. It’s hard to believe it’s a tattoo, it looks so natural.
It does look like a dueling scar. Like this, yet very different.
His description of the process made me shudder. Two parallel incisions, then the skin between them peeled away. Very bloody. There were a bunch of people at the tattoo shop, but while the scar was being made there was total silence.
That is so awesome to hear. This will be a memorial for my husband, so I want it to be outstanding. Thanks for a little insight on how it may look afterwards.
When I first heard this, I figured it would be some sort of pattern or design, like a tattoo. While I’m not personally interested in any sort of body art, I can get the concept. And I can also get the concept of proudly wearing and displaying a scar gained in a fight, accident, or act of heroism. But deliberately getting a scar in a controlled situation, that’s designed to look like an act-of-bravery scar, feels sort of dishonest to me.
That’s my feeling. I’ve earned my scars, thru stupidity or mischance or even bravery. To me they’re lessons learned (or not).
But that’s just me, others obviously feel differently. Body mutilation is a long and storied tradition in human society.
I don’t know if I’d call it dishonest, but it does seem strange to me. Some sort of pattern or something like a tattoo would make sense, but a deliberate scar on the face to show angst sounds like cutting.
Is your friend going to tell people about where the scar is from, or just not say anything knowing most people would assume he was in some fight?
Those of us who know him will know the background. Once it’s healed, do you really think strangers will approach him and ask? If you see a stranger who is missing an eye do you ask, “hey, what’s up with the eye?”
And I think he “earned” the scar. He sat still in a chair while someone carefully cut out a piece of skin. No anesthesia. Slow and precise. He told me it was (especially the cheek section) ten times worse than any tattoo work he has had done.
Indeed.
