Franko-Punk

The ideas of biohacking, diverging from nature, and the unknown result.  It is a controversial area.  It is a human topic dealing with human nature itself.  But the metaphors I found most interesting was the punk rock idea of a genre.  Living as outcasts from the mainstream.  It is a form of expression that not everyone understands.

My teenage years were filled with a wandering sense of identity.  Not truly knowing which group to belong to, what friends are really my friends, should I act "white" or "asian", and what I should be pursuing in life.  I felt like I was mimicking other people's ideas and aspirations because I was not secure with what I wanted.

What I became attracted to were the punk kids in high-school.  They were intimidating to others so no one bothered them, they didn't care what others thought so nobody got the satisfaction of picking on them, and they fell prey to bad habits but were honest about their issues.   That honesty prevailed even with the everyday troubles they also lived though.

They welcomed you –whoever you were.  You didn't have to wear the same clothes or act a certain way to be a part of the group.  It felt safer than any other high school cliques.  We used to hang out before homeroom at the end of the hallway, looking like a bunch of delinquents sitting on the floor against the wall.  It was a casual meeting place to meet and say hi each day.  One day, one of the girls came around and grabbed my butt, saying "you have such a nice butt."  It became her way of saying hey what's up.  The raging hormones never opposed.  Another day, a guy wanted to split a couple painkillers with me (I was too scared too so he shrugged and took both then threw up a few classes later).

Anyway, where I digress is where I see this social connection between these people expressing themselves in biology.  You share a bond that is positive, reassuring, and welcoming.  However, sometimes people vomit during 3rd period because they don't know the limits of their bodies.

I went to a ska-punk concert last week.  And ska punk is a genre that started and ended mostly in the 90's.  So the band was older.  The audience had kids.  Hell, even I felt old.  But the songs still drive the same energy, the beer is still being spilt on everyone, and the guitar riffs make you move the same way.  We crowd-surfed children on a giant pizza inflatable during the concert with the upmost care and precision.  Appearances can be deceiving, right?   If we can open peoples eyes like that, I believe biology can flourish like the giant pizza delivering a delicate human life above the crowd of sweaty, dancing/moshing/skanking, concertgoers.