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How to bring up Magnetic Implants
Hey, Ive been doing quite a lot of research on magnetic hand implants and have read everything from how to why to where. The only thing I havent found is how to bring it up to people you care about. I have a girlfriend and am very close with my parents and siblings, and I just dont know how to bring up the subject and tell them what Im going to be doing.
Should I tell them or should I just get it done and then just tell them i was wearing a bandage because of a work related injury or what?
Your stories on how you brought it up to people and their reactions would be awesome! Also how do I tell them this without sounding completely out of my mind?
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Having had my fair share of negative reactions, I'll share my experience and how I handle it now.
Nearly everyone I know thought I must be insane when I first brought up the idea of implanting magnets. In truth, only one person was really supportive of the idea at all, and that was likely out of some kind of morbid curiosity than anything else. With family, things were worse than with friends and co-workers. My father called me stupid. My brother expressed that it was a worthless risk (this coming from a heroine addict who absolutely refuses to get help). My mother actually wept and outright condemned the whole idea. Not at all what I'd been expecting.
Friends and co-workers, for the most part, declared it and/or me stupid. More than one insisted I would get an infection and die. Others insisted I wouldn't have the nerve to actually do it. Some insisted the whole thing was a hoax that I was falling for.
That was in September of 2014. Fast forward to today...
I have never mentioned implants to my mother or father again since the day after I implanted my first magnet. I've never actively hidden the bandages of a new implant from them, but I've not gone out of my way to make them visible either.
With real life friends and co-workers (which are the same thing in for me in most cases), things have improved. There's genuine interest now from most people I know. As time has gone on and the implants kept coming, comments about my untimely demise due to infection or blood loss have become almost non-existent. The comments that do come on that subject have become mostly playful in nature. I always have an audience when I implant and enough volunteer helpers to fill any role that I need filled. Except when in the company of my family, my implants are often a topic of conversation when I'm in the room. And those conversations, when I hear them, are rarely negative in nature. It is not at all uncommon for people I barely know to ask me about one implant or another because someone I know told them about my "hobby". I'm not really a very social person, though, so sometimes it kind of bothers me, but at the same time, it pleases me that the people I know and meet have become more accepting.
So...
You'll have to tell your girlfriend, I think. No way around it. As to the rest of your family, well, you'll have to weigh the pro's and con's, I guess. As to how to bring it up, I just started telling the people I wanted to tell. Straight to the point. When it became obvious that this wasn't something I was undertaking lightly, people became more accepting. I often wonder if I should have kept my family "in the loop". They might have grown to accept it if nothing else.
Oh, and as to sounding completely out of your mind? You can't help that, I think. Heck, maybe you are out of your mind. But so am I. And so are the rest of us. Despite everything else I said above, I know every single person that I mention implants to in the real world thinks I'm a little off my rocker. But that's okay. We're ahead of our time. We're what the kids of tomorrow will be. We were cyborgs before it was cool.
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If your girlfriend is the kind of partner who supports your hobbies and interests, no matter how weird they might sound, then you shouldn't have a problem. If she's ever said something like "Why would you want to do that?" to something you've been really into, then prepare what you're going to say to justify it.
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Thanks @aviin and @katzevonstich For your experiences, I think the course of action I'm going to take is to play it off as an accident at work until its healed up and then talk to members of my family one on one and answer any questions they might have.The only thing I'm nervous about having this done is if/when I need to take them out that Ill be blinded in a sense, Hopefully by the time that rolls around Ill be ready for another one or ready to deal with the loss.
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^^' I personally received a huge amount of criticism and frustration from my friends even just introducing the idea, one of whom thought I had snapped and decided I was going to sacrifice my blood to gain some unholy power... Because I had gone nuts... it took weeks of him stressing out before he finally said 'just don't talk to me about it, I think it's foolish but I can't stop you, and I won't help you. I never told my mother. My girlfriend is actually a novice grinder, too. We are going to get matching fireflies when the time comes. <3 More than anything, what has helped me deal with it in regards to who I have told has been knowing everything possible with the process. Be able to understand ANY question they have. It helps a ton if they can't get you to say 'I don't know', 'I didn't think of that', etc.
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Honestly, I think grinders like you guys are a little ahead of the times. Sure, magnetic implants and RFID and stuff have been around for a while, but only a few new members are drawn in every year. As more and more people become a part of the movement, it will become more mainstream.
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I'm pretty blunt when is comes to people and what I think. Most of my friends and family have come to accept that form of talking by me. My friends in general think I'm slightly tapped in general and know I have a love for electronics and technology. They didn't even bat an eye to finding out it was just a another thing crazy Paul did. I straight and out right said "I'm going to put a chip inside my hand". There wasn't much real talk about it with them since they kind of trust my own information when I have some on technology. My family was the only ones who asked the questions and now it's kind of a thing of topic with them and other people. I've never had any negative responses from people just confusion. I'm sure if a couple people I worked with found out they would be the "well now you can be tracked" sorta hippy group.
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As a side note speak about it with confidence and know your stuff and people will accept it (mostly).
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I have felt like this and now know that I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from others here.... I got extreme lengths to keep my progects secret(but not alone).... I have a cypher I can read and write in, made people think I was planing a school shooting but it kept me (pointless) secrets safe. So to me it only makes sense to not go and tell just anyone what I am working on when it comes to biohacking.... I know I am extremely paranoid.... My point ultimately is if you don't have faith in someone to react well, don't ask don't tell.... Granted I used the biohacking in a job interview.... (I was desperate) Still I have a thread about my mothers reaction.... Sincerely, John Doe
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@aviin holy shit dude ! that last paragraph was badass. i think we should include it as a quote as part of the site graphics on the main page."I know every single person that I mention implants to in the real world thinks I'm a little off my rocker. But that's okay. We're ahead of our time. We're what the kids of tomorrow will be. We were cyborgs before it was cool... "
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