<p>Fwiw, there was a clinical study you can find on PubMed from around 2005 where they surveyed individuals with tatoos, looking at various attitudes and behaviors. Their conclusion was that tatoos are associated with risk-taking behavior.<br>
You can put whatever spin you want on that.</p>
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<p>Heck, somedays I think being a CC member can be associated with risk-taking behavior!</p>
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Lots of things are permanent, or nearly so. That doesn’t mean that they are to be feared, just approached with consideration. And yes, it will limit your choices… but you can have a LOT of tattoos without ANY of them being business in casual work dress.</p>
<p>"So when I see an old, ugly generic roses-and-snakes kind of a tattoo, I do not think of the person’s current values or character, but my mind always wonders: was it done at a place that adhered to strict sterility procedures or did the person acquire more than the tattoo?’</p>
<p>Funny you should mention roses. I have a rose tattoo, though it’s not old or ugly. And it was chosen carefully and later embellished, also after careful consideration. Both times it was done at reputable places and I did not “acquire more than the tattoo”. It had meaning for me 25 and 20 years ago and it still does, even if some might think it’s ugly and generic.</p>
<p>That’s the problem with blanket statements and assignment of values and motives the viewer knows nothing about.</p>
<p>"Heck, somedays I think being a CC member can be associated with risk-taking behavior! "</p>
<p>LOL! Driving my D to and from school is risk-taking behavior around here-there were roll-over accidents on two major arteries this morning!</p>
<p>Eh, if people want to think this 50 something mom of three with a respectable job and a spot on the PTO board is untrustworthy, associates with drugs or crime, risk-taking, etc. have at it. Someone that judgmental probably isn’t my cup of tea, anyway.</p>
<p>sseamom, you should have also read the sentence that followed the one you quoted ;)</p>
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<p>Problem for whom? That’s what a parent whose kid embarks on decorating their arms with dark symbols and words, asks. Problem for whom.</p>
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Many do! Apparently, tattooing is representative of character flaws!</p>
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Don’t overinterpret my statement. Tattoos generally have an audience that may be as small as one people or as large as half the population… but that audience does not necessarily have any cohesion. I am not friends with anyone due to their tattoos (or lack thereof), I don’t hang out at tattoo clubs or throw tattoo parties. There is nothing inherently to which I have an allegiance.</snip></p>
<p>Now SOME tattoos ARE meant for a specific group. The “fellowship” cast of the LOTR series got matching tattoos - there is allegiance there. I have a tattoo referencing a friend who died - there is allegiance there. But while I doubt many people will get my mathematical tattoos, there is nothing more insular about the tattoo than there already was about my career.</p>
<p>And this is my point - your allegiances are your allegiances, tattoos or not. You don’t need tats to be in a motorcycle gang, and getting a tat does not mean that I am giving up boardgame night.</p>
<p>"sseamom, you should have also read the sentence that followed the one you quoted "</p>
<p>I did-that was my point-no one would KNOW that my “generic” rose had special meaning. A casual observer might think “generic” and “unsafe” tattoo shop. They wouldn’t know unless they even knew about it to ask. </p>
<p>Do I think skinheads with tattoos on their skulls and certain “dark symbols” and words are specifically intended to intimidate and frighten as well as show affiliation with criminals? Yes, some of them certainly are. If I had to guess, they’re very pleased when anyone sees them and thinks so. But you can send those same messages with clothes, words and behavior-no tattoos needed. I don’t think though, that all tattooed people ever need be put in the same basket.</p>
<p>And my point is-- I get that tats are more mainstream that they were ten years ago. But that doesn’t automatically negate the connotation that has been around for the 30 years before.<br>
People will do what they want, but it makes sense to understand the history of the behavior if you want to understand how they may be perceived. If you truly don’t care how they’re perceived, don’t bother.</p>
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When someone tells me that my tattoo is ugly, I say “OK” and I move on. Perhaps I think that their hair is ugly, or their house, or their face. Mostly I think it is rude that they felt a need to say so. But I do not expect ANY aesthetic to be pleasing to everyone, so as long as no one makes a big deal of it, I do not see the problem.</p>
<p>When I find out that someone thinks that my tattoo represents bad judgment… well, then I lose respect for that person. Pretty straightforward. And that means that I care less about what they think. Why? Because I am a professional, well-educated, solvent (just bought a new car!) father of two beautiful and high-performing daughters. If someone looks at all that and thinks that I have judgment problems, then I think the real problem is with what they consider important. And if they don’t care enough to see all the rest, why should I care what they think at all?</p>
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It also has associations with the military, and with non-criminal counter-culture, and with athletics, and music, and art, and indigenous people going back for tens of thousands of years (no joke - my wife is planning on getting a tattoo first seen on a mummified body from before recorded history).</p>
<p>When you say “crime and drug use” it shows that you have the same ignorance of which you are accusing others of having. We know about that history - it is not THAT history which we are necessarily celebrating or participating in.</p>
<p>It’s not ignorant to say that in my area of the country, tatoos were associated with gangs, crime and drugs. Welcome to LA in the 70s, 80s and 90s.<br>
That is what was prevalent in my lifetime. I’m aware of the rich history of the indigenous people around the world, but we’re not them.<br>
And good for you. I’m glad you have the freedom to decorate your body as you choose. Truly. I’d defend your right to do so. But don’t act so offended if someone has a different reaction based on a different, perfectly valid, experience. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
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I can’t imagine any building that would look better with graffiti. Even one that started out ugly. It just looks trashy. I’m also not a fan of bumper stickers on cars although many others don’t mind. </p>
<p>But then there’s lots of things I don’t like that others seem to enjoy. Like purple streaks in hair, or big, loud costume jewelry. Or garish makeup. That doesn’t make it wrong. It just means I don’t like it.</p>
<p>I could see all kinds of pictures of tattoos and I imagine one or two would be semi acceptable. Like some hoop earrings, hair highlights or purple eyeliner. But mostly I prefer the natural look. But I will never be convinced that Miss Kansas’ tattoos are anything but graffiti. I certainly don’t expect her to remove them for me though.</p>
<p>I love Momofwildchild’s post, whom we all know sports some pretty tatoos.</p>
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<p>Yes, don’t be surprised when people form opinions about you based on your appearance. This is not news.</p>
<p>" Isn’t there anybody who thinks some tattoos are attractive and others are ugly? "</p>
<p>Me, I have seen a lot of tattoos, and quite frankly, a lot of them to me are ugly, I don’t like the skulls and the one I saw that looked like a snake burrowing under the person’s skin, and a lot of those tribal bands that frat boys get to me show they have little in the way of originality. With Tattoos it is like anything else, there is well thought out ones, and one someone gets done on a spur of the moment at some crappy place and then wonder why it looks like crap. </p>
<p>Even with Tattoos, there is such things as taste and aesthetics no matter what we do, and while it is subjective, still it exists with all things. Some people love big SUV’s, I think personally they are idiotic…but that is their choice. </p>
<p>There was a show called 'NY Ink", and the guy who runs that shop (Chris somebody), won’t do tats that can’t be covered, he is a wise person. I don’t disagree that people will judge you for them, find them unappealing, and if getting one you should keep that in mind, not that it is wrong, but rather it is something to think about. Sadly, discrimination exists about a lot of things, legal or illegal, a good looking woman comes in for an interview, and some idiot assumes she is a barbie doll who got to whatever her current level is because of the way she looks; an unattractive woman might face the opposite, men face something different but in some ways the same (I have never heard someone say a good looking guy got ahead by sleeping his way up the top, but I know that in certain fields, the ex jock/tall kind of guy has a distinct advantage).</p>
<p>There are always plusses and minuses to doing anything and it is part of the decisions we make as adults. There are places that if you are a guy, you have to wear suits and ties and you better have short hair, no facial hair, and you better be of a certain type politically and whatnot, and I wouldn’t work in a place like that, but that is me. </p>
<p>I respect that people don’t like tattoos, don’t want them for themselves, but what bothers me is people are saying things like “people with tattoos have no impulse control’ or ‘people with tattoos lack judgement’ or 'people with tattoos are either bikers or rock stars”…really? The girl in the miss america contest appears to be a bright, hard working girl whose tattoos mean something to her, the one is the serenity prayer, that helped her get through some rough times, and the other is the emblem of the dental corps she is part of…as far as being risk takers, guess what, that isn’t a bad thing, the people who create new companies, the people who challenge existing ideas, are risk takers, people who test pilot aircraft, the first person to eat raw oysters in history (bravest person in the world, but man did they lead the way to something yummy), all were risk takers…is that such a bad thing? Should everyone be the CPA type who says “Don’t do that, it isn’t prudent?”. </p>
<p>As Hunt said, I might support people’s right to have Tattoos, but I don’t necessarily think every one is well chosen or done for the right reasons, but that is true of a lot of things. Women get plastic surgery that I think looks like crap, men get crappy hair transplants that don’t quite work right, or you have someone like Craig Sager on ESPN that all you can look at him and say “what the hell is he thinking?”…some older women dress like Miley Cyrus or a cast member of “Married to the Mob”, but it doesn’t mean they are bad people. I can question someone’s taste in tattoos, seen a lot of foul ones, but I also don’t think like they are anything in particular until I get to know them.</p>
<p>Put it this way, the traders and bankers that brought the world economy to its knees often wear three piece suits, went to ivy league colleges, and perpetuated IMO one of the biggest frauds in history, some have tattoos, most probably don’t, and the one thing they have in common, besides the fact they didn’t go to jail, is that as people they all have the morals of an alley cat with extra family jewels, yet because they wear suits, went to ivy league schools, play golf, people think they are special because of all that, it is just as telling about judging a book by its cover.</p>
<p>Sure, we CAN form opinions based on outward appearances, but we can also choose to get to know a person despite those things and discover our opinions are wrong. It’s something I try hard to do.</p>
<p>I’m actually glad to have met my H online-my opinion about him was based on what he said, what he’d told me about his life, his actual values, etc. The first time I SAW him, I already HAD an opinion of him. Seeing him just completed the package. </p>
<p>Last week a smooth young man told my D that she was the most beautiful girl on the planet. Really, that’s what he said. He asked her out without knowing a thing about her. Turns out they are nothing alike and aren’t ever going to be more than distant classmates. Sure, people make snap judgements all the time-but that doesn’t mean they’re accurate.</p>
<p>What is interesting is that there was another significant group with tattoos, people who served in the military. A lot of service members, especially marines and special forces types, tend to have them, would some of you who don’t like them judge an ex marine for having the marine emblem as a tattoo? Here is someone who risks their lives to serve their country, are they animals, trash, whatever? This was true even going back in the day, and it is interesting how tattoos had such a bad image even though some really good people had them…</p>
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Your lifetime is still ongoing, and tattoos are not even remotely limited to those criminal cultures. You might want to consider the possibility that you need to suppress some of those ingrained reactions and look at the way the world is now.</p>
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Some of us are. And some of us are in the military, or in music, or athletics, or any of the other subcultures that show strong use of tattoos AND are still respected and valued parts of our society.</p>
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I am not surprised that they form opinions. I am surprised when (as some have proposed on here) it is people who know more than my appearance. I am surprised when someone judges me based on their own interpretation of one aspect of my appearance, and then considers it valid.</p>
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Let me ask you this: what if she was wearing a tight shirt with the same pattern on it, would you consider that graffiti as well? What about if it was a temporary marking?</p>
<p>I am curious as to whether it is truly the aesthetic you object to, or the permanence.</p>