Have We Gone "Tat Crazy?"

[Long Jon]

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

I prefer the days when only pirates and criminals sported tattoos.

Speaking as a former pirate and still-active criminal, I have to protest at this pejorative stereotyping.

Tat free and proudly breaking the law for 40 odd years.

[HHP]

I'm neutral, but, please, always, and I mean always, consult the dictionary before getting that defining lifestyle image applied,

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by Long Jon

Speaking as a former pirate and still-active criminal, I have to protest at this pejorative stereotyping.

Tat free and proudly breaking the law for 40 odd years.

"Mr. Long Jon, sir, did you want this tat spelled 'Aaaarrhh' or 'Aaaarrgh'? And with or without 'matey'?"

[posternutbag]

I have no statistics, but anecdotally, I have several friends (actually 4) who had tattoos in college but are now paying thousands of dollars for tattoo removal. 3 of my friends believe that their tattoos have hurt them in the job market. My wife is an attorney. Her law firm has a policy against visible tattoos and piercings.

The fourth friend is a new mother who has a somewhat inappropriate tattoo that she does not ever want to have to explain to her daughter.

[Bluepoet]

I remember once, at band camp--

I was on the bus, drawing an S on my arm, near the wrist, with some indelible ink. It was 7th grade...I felt a compulsion, even though no one else in my school was even thinking about doing such a thing.

It lasted about as long as my next bath....(both the compulsion, and the ink!) Most things did last that long, back then...

I, too, wonder at the sheer numbers of people who wish to do this...some of it is rather beautiful, but, it would look just as good, on a medium other than skin, to my way of thinking...

And then, there's the lot who wish to undergo the pain of piercing metal into themselves, in some very delicate places...risking infection, and even more pain, for what? The knowledge that they could endure it?

Still, it would be interesting to see what the next generation comes up with, as a "statement of individuality, while really not being a statement, or individual"...(shrugs)

[Dru Edwards]

I know what you mean. Lots of teenage girls and women in their early 20s are getting a tattoo on their lower back. I didn't see that when I was that age.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Scootch

One day, one teenager is going to say, "Tattoos are on all these old people. I don't want to look like all these old people." The next thing you know no kids will be getting tattoos.

Believe me, it will happen. It happened to white belts and shoes.

Oh, NO! Are you telling that white belts and shoes are passé?! You're kidding!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

When I was in about the 4th grade we were all drawing pictures of Moby Dick on our arms. My parents gave me a good lecture about that, so no more Moby Dick. I can still draw a good picture of Moby Dick -- he was a very cool shaped whale!

- Glenn

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

When I was in about the 4th grade we were all drawing pictures of Moby Dick on our arms. My parents gave me a good lecture about that, so no more Moby Dick. I can still draw a good picture of Moby Dick -- he was a very cool shaped whale!

- Glenn

Hey Glenn, your post made me think of when I was a kid and you could buy fake stick on tattoos. I was probably 7 years old or so. Good times. I wonder if you can still buy them.

[Fatstrat]

I have ONE tattoo. But recently on a river float trip I noticed the same thing the OP mentions. So many very pretty young girls that were literally COVERED in Tattoos. To the extent that I personally found it unattractive and a shame.

[battlegraduate]

I agree completely with pointless tattoos. It's ignorant to get a bunch of meaningless crap permanently on your body for reasons already mentioned.

That being said, I have 3 tattoos. None visible with a t shirt on, and all have deep meaning to me (and they make sense) but I won't go through the explanations unless somebody is just interested

[fazool]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

I have no statistics, but anecdotally, I have several friends (actually 4) who had tattoos in college but are now paying thousands of dollars for tattoo removal. 3 of my friends believe that their tattoos have hurt them in the job market. My wife is an attorney. Her law firm has a policy against visible tattoos and piercings. ....

I do a lot of interviewing and hiring and career counseling. I've lectured a career program for twenty years to graduating university students.


I can absolutely affirm that those type of tattoos are completely devastating to a candidate's chances in the professional business job market.

[flaggerphil]

I don't worry whether people have tattoos or not. I have one and it's not visible while I'm clothed. In another 20 years or so the number of people getting tattoos will start to drop and we'll go into another cycle.

[harmonics101]

Tattoos are such a West Coast thing, I think they started right here in Spokane, or maybe Seattle,

H

When I say started, I mean started to become a FAD - just like wearing your pants around your ankles

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey Glenn, your post made me think of when I was a kid and you could buy fake stick on tattoos. I was probably 7 years old or so. Good times. I wonder if you can still buy them.

At one of our family reunions last year all the aunts had fake tatoos that the adults and kids put on their wrists or angles. I got a nice guitar put on by one of my grand nieces. It lasted about 3 days with all the going in and out of swimming pools. The kids all thought it was a lot of fun, but nobody was serious about wanting anything permanent. One of my grown nephews has an earing. ... Could be worse...

There were no Moby Dick tatoos, though. Everybody would have wanted one of those, I'm sure...

- Glenn