Tattoos.

[Tommydean]

my take on tattoo's... well I was in the navy from 1981 to 1985 and the only
people that got "tats" were the guys in the service. at the time they were not popular outside the military. my observation is they got more popular in the mid to late 1990's at least thats when i started to see them more often.
the gal that cuts my hair had them allover her arms and her back. she is very
pretty and a very nice gal but the tatoo's detrack from her looks imho. I have seen some art work that is stunning but i think it would look better on canvas
than on skin. i have no tattoo's on me and will never get any. saw a few ship mates get real sick from getting them.

 

[Maguire]

As a man from way back once said, "i remember a time when the only people who had tattoos were sailors, drug addicts and criminals".

I view tattoos and body mutilations as something not for civilized man or a virtuous lady and generally would reject offhand the advances of any girl with tattoos or any body piercings/piercings with the common exceptions. I don't have any myself. While i can commend a well done tattoo, it still seems foolish to me, and certainly the permanence of it. who wants something on their body like that when they are 70?

My apologies to those who find this seemingly a little harsh, but its something i've stuck with, i tend to be rigid (infact i've been told i've got the mind of a 90 year old.. which i take as a great compliment to be honest)

 

[i_am_the_scruff]

I view tattoos and body mutilations as something not for civilized man or a virtuous lady and generally would reject offhand the advances of any girl with tattoos or any body piercings/piercings with the common exceptions. I don't have any myself. While i can commend a well done tattoo, it still seems foolish to me, and certainly the permanence of it. who wants something on their body like that when they are 70?

At the end of the day you're not a 90 year old man. If people aren't used to tattoos by now, and still think like this then how is the world going to move on?
If you don't think someone can be civilised just because they have a tattoo or piercing then that's really not good. Having that attitude is worse than anyone with a tattoo.
I'm nice and polite and I work hard, but I have tattoos. So for you, does that cancel out all the good things about me?

and like I said once on this board.. if, when i'm 70 (or 80 or 90), and all I have to worry about is a wrinkly tattoo then i'll be a happy old woman!

 

[dollydaydream]

At the end of the day you're not a 90 year old man. If people aren't used to tattoos by now, and still think like this then how is the world going to move on?
If you don't think someone can be civilised just because they have a tattoo or piercing then that's really not good. Having that attitude is worse than anyone with a tattoo.
I'm nice and polite and I work hard, but I have tattoos. So for you, does that cancel out all the good things about me?

and like I said once on this board.. if, when i'm 70 (or 80 or 90), and all I have to worry about is a wrinkly tattoo then i'll be a happy old woman!

Bravo!! :eusa_clap

I too work hard, and extremely polite to the people that I serve, work with and meet in my day to day life. What you said Maguire is just totally offensive. I agree, if when I am x years old and all I have to regret is some tattoos, I don't think I will have lived my life to its fullest to be quite honest.

Turning your nose up at someone because of how they look is quite possibly the rudest thing that you could do. Who are you to judge? You're quite possibly missing out on knowing some of the best people you will ever meet because of your closed mindedness.

Being someone who was bullied formany years because I looked different I feel quite strongly about this, and quite frankly I'm disgusted by your comments. What would you class as 'civilized man'? Are we all neanderthals here? I don't find your comments harsh, just offensive. If that's how a 90 year old thinks, it ain't no compliment.

 

[Smuterella]

As a man from way back once said, "i remember a time when the only people who had tattoos were sailors, drug addicts and criminals".

I view tattoos and body mutilations as something not for civilized man or a virtuous lady and generally would reject offhand the advances of any girl with tattoos or any body piercings/piercings with the common exceptions. I don't have any myself. While i can commend a well done tattoo, it still seems foolish to me, and certainly the permanence of it. who wants something on their body like that when they are 70?

My apologies to those who find this seemingly a little harsh, but its something i've stuck with, i tend to be rigid (infact i've been told i've got the mind of a 90 year old.. which i take as a great compliment to be honest)

hmmm, I've known 90 year olds who sound a lot more down to earth than you...

 

[Smuterella]

According to the government we've got nada. According to our family, church, and credit card bills (that wedding was expensive!) we're 100% married.

well said! my girlfriend and I keep talking about civil partnerships but we can't decide if its worth it.

 

[magnolia76]

On Maguire's defense, my father sounds exactly like him. I have an enormous tattoo myself, and being daddy's little (and only) girl, he was pretty horrified to see it forever on my back. I'm sure a lot of you have parents who had the same reaction. It's just an older way of thinking. This whole lounge is designed to get together and talk about a different way of life, because just like Maguire's reaction to tattoos, many other beliefs and ideas are going to fade out as well.

 

[jake431]

On Maguire's defense, my father sounds exactly like him. I have an enormous tattoo myself, and being daddy's little (and only) girl, he was pretty horrified to see it forever on my back. I'm sure a lot of you have parents who had the same reaction. It's just an older way of thinking. This whole lounge is designed to get together and talk about a different way of life, because just like Maguire's reaction to tattoos, many other beliefs and ideas are going to fade out as well.

Well said, well spoken.

I agree. Neither of my parents were terribly understanding at first about my tattoos. My Father has come around to see they have a real meaning for me, and he respects that I chose to make a commitment to something I believe in so visible a manner. It's not what his generation (at large) did, but he respects that I did. Which I think is cool.

Another anecdote, a friend of my Mother's is an English professor and she says every heavily pierced and tattooed student she's had in her classes have been, on average, more polite, and done better in her class than the rather straight laced looking people, so she's just decided that based on behavior, tattoos mean bupkis.

-Jake

 

[TheKitschGoth]

I found that when I worked in retail (at that time I had quite a few facial piercings, visible tattoos and multicoloured hair) I'd find myself acting far far more polite and friendly than the other staff, in an attempt to compensate for poeple's preconceptions about my appearance. Talking to my friends, most of them did the same. I understand that people have preconceptions based on body mods, what I don't understand is how people can continue to hold onto these ideas no matter how often they encounter people who don't fit those streotypes.

I figure though in a few generations tattoos and piercings will be the norm. I look forward to being an old lady with tattoos.

 

[jake431]

I found that when I worked in retail (at that time I had quite a few facial piercings, visible tattoos and multicoloured hair) I'd find myself acting far far more polite and friendly than the other staff, in an attempt to compensate for poeple's preconceptions about my appearance. Talking to my friends, most of them did the same. I understand that people have preconceptions based on body mods, what I don't understand is how people can continue to hold onto these ideas no matter how often they encounter people who don't fit those streotypes.

I've always felt that politeness is what I owe the world at large. My tattoos don't change that. If people are unable to be polite to me due to my having some ink, that is their, not my, shortcoming. There are plenty of people I interact with on a daily basis whom, for a variety of reasons, I would not choose as a friend or a comrade. But that doesn't mean I don't owe them politeness. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same in return.

As far as a stereotype goes, well, if people choose to be prejudicial, they are also choosing, perhaps subconsciously, to edit what they remember and experience. If someone is committed to holding say, a racist attitude, it will not be the accomplishments or interactions of said race that will stick, but the actions and interactions which confirm their belief. I think all stereotypes are, in the end, maintained thusly.

-Jake

 

[Maguire]

I can only imagine how my father would react to tattoos but i doubt it would be good. While i'm certainly not saying one can't be a "good" person if they have a tattoo, it still is a telling of how they are, much the way how someone dresses or speaks says something about them.

And the fact that people today are more accepting of things that are oddities does not mean that we should all have to accept them. The World may have gone insane but i don't have to!

either way if being arrogant or turning my nose on people isn't going to make me lose out, i've already quite content with the few folks i know and i don't need to meet other people for the sake of it. Just as you find this offensive, i find all that offensive. And i certainly would never do this at work and tend to be courteous to nearly everyone, but in my private life i am entitled to do just that. And i'm not judging because i see myself as special. I always hated that line, that "don't judge me!" While here its not being used in a really serious way, I hear it all the time when someone makes a serious error and it is pointed out. It doesn't change the error, its simply a way to turn accuse the accusor i guess. Its not a real argument.

Also i'd say: some of my closest friends have unfortunately done gone tattoos. I naturally spoke against it as best i could but i'll just let them feel like fools eventually on their own. Some others had tattoos but realized how silly they were and is currently getting rid of all of them


and dolly: you were bullied for tattoos or piercings or whatnot?? Well that begs the question, why make yourself stand out so much with that reaction? I'm sorry but i can't be sympathetic. I can be sympathetic to people bullied for things they can't help but you can help that. I'm curious as to why you'd go out of your way for something that would lead to being bullied?

 

[jake431]

I always hated that line, that "don't judge me!" While here its not being used in a really serious way, I hear it all the time when someone makes a serious error and it is pointed out. It doesn't change the error, its simply a way to turn accuse the accusor i guess. Its not a real argument.

Your logic is flawed, no one here is saying their tattoos are a serious error. As you are (seemingly) judging them for getting tattoos, it is perfectly valid to say "don't judge me". You may just to anyway, but that doesn't invalidate their sentiment.

-Jake

 

[Rufus]

maguire... People only a generation or two ago used that very same argument to justify their racism. It's a pity you feel unable and/or unwilling to look past appearances, but that truly is yours loss.

I've met people from all walks of life with tattoos and piercings, and like anyone else I meet I judge them on how they act and interact with myself and others.

I've just got back from a Comics convention in Derry (Northern ireland), and was complimented by kiddies, grannies, and even the passport controller about my tattoos. I sat and drew sketches for people all weekend and many came up to ask about my comic tattoos.

Nobody sts out to be bullied, I fear you're putting your misconceptions onto others.

As for regrets, yes, I've met people who regret their tattoos.... I've also met people who regretted their relationships... that's their business! personally i don't, and feel they've led to many conversations with people who may otherwise have not stopped to chat.

I had the good luck to meet Joe Sinnott, co-creator of the silver surfer at the New York comic Con, he was so thrilled I had his art tattooed on me ( And Joe is 80+ years old!) that he's put a photo of us on his website... I felt so honoured!

Try and take people as you find them, Your life will be so much richer for it.

Kind regards, rufus

 

[Miss Neecerie]

ahhh the joys...

we are right back to pages....4....8 ....7....and 11 (or about that equally spaced) of this same thread..

Mulberry bush to go around anyone?

 

[Maguire]

maguire... People only a generation or two ago used that very same argument to justify their racism. It's a pity you feel unable and/or unwilling to look past appearances, but that truly is yours loss.

I've met people from all walks of life with tattoos and piercings, and like anyone else I meet I judge them on how they act and interact with myself and others.

I've just got back from a Comics convention in Derry (Northern ireland), and was complimented by kiddies, grannies, and even the passport controller about my tattoos. I sat and drew sketches for people all weekend and many came up to ask about my comic tattoos.

Nobody sts out to be bullied, I fear you're putting your misconceptions onto others.

As for regrets, yes, I've met people who regret their tattoos.... I've also met people who regretted their relationships... that's their business! personally i don't, and feel they've led to many conversations with people who may otherwise have not stopped to chat.

I had the good luck to meet Joe Sinnott, co-creator of the silver surfer at the New York comic Con, he was so thrilled I had his art tattooed on me ( And Joe is 80+ years old!) that he's put a photo of us on his website... I felt so honoured!

Try and take people as you find them, Your life will be so much richer for it.

Kind regards, rufus

Well its more than just the tattoo itself as well but the context. If you had a tattoo of my face across your chest i'd probably be pleased too. But as for a job, for example, if i was looking to hire employees and one was clean cut and the other had tattooos and piercings and otherwise they had the same qualifications i'd choose the former and i think we all know that most bosses in the real world would do this as well.


Oh yeah and i'm not trying to derail this thread. discuss away!

 

[alexandra]

maguire... People only a generation or two ago used that very same argument to justify their racism. It's a pity you feel unable and/or unwilling to look past appearances, but that truly is yours loss.

There's a big difference between racism and tattooism.

The way you are born is one thing, the way you choose to represent yourself is entirely another. What you put on your body, whether it be clothes, hair dye, makeup, tattoos or piercings is a personal choice. It's what you want people to look at, not look past.

People aren't born with tattoos. They get them by choice and in doing so accept the good and the bad with it. Show me someone who got a tatto and say they didn't know there were negative stereotypes attached to tattoos and I will show you a liar. So, in getting a tattoo you should be prepared for people to have both positive and negative opinions of it.

Being of a certain race is not a decision. You don't have a birthday and say "Hey I'm going to go pay 100 dollars to get some Japanese ancestry!"

 

[scotrace]

Maguire - that's about enough.

Let me remind everyone of Miss Neecerie's sobering and wise admonishment that folks who go out and about in 50 year old clothes and hairstyles and hats and dead people's shoes might not have much room to make judgement calls about anyone else's appearance.

 

[RIOT]

I want to be just like Maguire when I grow up. A real caped crusader.

So when's square night?

 

[sixsexsix]

Scotrace is right, lets try to keep things positive. Reading the last couple pages of this thread has been pretty brutal, as I had forgotten attitudes like this still exist. Whatever your feelings are, we should try to stick with "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"

 

[RIOT]

Oh mine was really really really watered down. I refrained.

But yeah, I will stay away from posting in here again.