Hangin' Around On Meat Hooks

Straight from MSNBC.com:

Strange new pastime for Florida youth baffles authorities MIAMI - Police in the Florida Keys are mystified by a bizarre new pastime — young dangling themselves from meat hooks on a popular sandbar people. The Key West Citizen newspaper reported on Sunday that the Monroe County sheriff’s office and U.S. Coast Guard were called on July 12 to the sandbar off Whale Harbor in Islamorada where locals say wild behavior is becoming a tradition.

They found that five young people had erected a bamboo tripod and hung meat hooks from it. A young woman, her feet brushing the surface of the shallow water, dangled from the frame, hooks embedded firmly in her shoulders.
According to a Coast Guard video, she did not seem to mind the hooks.
Lt. Tom Brazil of the Coast Guard said a young man, who also had hooks embedded in his heavily pierced and tattooed skin, told him the group was “just enjoying the afternoon.”

There were no laws against sticking meat hooks into yourself and hanging from a tripod on a sandbar, Brazil added, according to the newspaper.
The Coast Guard passed the video on to federal justice authorities to decide if action ought to be taken.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed the report but could provide no further details. No one was available for comment at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Ok, now those who know me (and now those who don't) know that I have a few piercings and a couple of Tattoos. Like many with tattoos I see them as an expression of art and self. I believe that they should reflect something important in your life. I also understand the soothing feeling that comes with getting new ink, the buzz of the gun, the sting on the skin. For me it is oddly relaxing.

As for piercing, they are clearly ornamental at least for me.

Now meat hooks, here is a different idea. This is nothing new, it is just new to mainstream media. Click here for more information on this unique (and disgusting to some) "art form". I am honestly not sure why anyone would want to do this, but I do believe it is the individuals right to do what they wish as long as it is not a threat to anyone else. Search the web for supsension+people+hooks and you will surely find additional pictures of people who have suspended themselves in this fashion. While, this is not my cup of tea, I will strongly defend the right of others to do it if they wish.

SlagleRock Out

Posted by SlagleRock at July 19, 2004 05:13 PM