BME Pain Olympics and the Duality of Pain

For those (like myself) not familiar with the term BME Pain Olympics: BME refers to the online magazine "Body Modification Ezine".

The Pain Olympics is one of the events that occasionally occurs at BME BBQs, especially BMEFest. It is not endorsed in any way by the IOC but merely a contest to see who has the highest pain tolerance and stamina where the contestants come from a group of familiar people. Much like drinking games, these are performed at the contestant's own risk as a rite of passage, but unlike drinking games, it is often done by totally sober people.

The duality of man, both sides of pain.

The interesting thing about humanity is our willingness to inflict and to endure pain despite our natural aversion to it. The ability of man to inflict pain doesn't really impress me all that much. I don't think that it is one of our most admirable traits... more and more I am becoming incredibly ashamed of it. Fights between children, co-workers, spouses, strangers, groups, even nations... sure we can beat up this person group or country, but can we restrain ourselves?

There is the other side of pain, of course. A couple get married with the expectation of parting only at death, till death do us part, a parting of the most traumatic nature. I knew a man who lost his wife and only daughter in a car accident. He refused to ride in a car after that, getting from place to place on a bicycle. As much as he was hurt by the loss of the two people that he loved more than anyone else, he said that he would do it all again because it was worth it to love them. With every joy there is the expectation of pain.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this since yesterday morning, when I was called out to the home of a firefighter who came home and found his wife dead in their bed. The expectation of the parting was there, but the timing was unexpected. "I knew it would happen someday, but why today?" The eyes of a man who was strong enough to run into a burning building were filled with despair. "I don't know what to do."

What I don't think Ill ever understand is our ability to love so intensely but to hate so violently. How do we not become consumed with one or the other? The hinge of both love and hate is pain. Do we accept the pain of others or do we inflict it upon them? for all of us, the hinge swings both ways.

Then we have the sadomasochistic pain from events like BME Pain Olympics, that just doesn't fit with human nature, self preservation.

We are a very strange species.