tattoo or tattoo removal

[Moz]

I'm the unluckiest chap in the world with my tattoos.

At the end of last year I was getting my Jimmy Savile tattoo removed, now I'll have to go back for my Pistorius one.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by Moz

I'm the unluckiest chap in the world with my tattoos.

At the end of last year I was getting my Jimmy Savile tattoo removed, now I'll have to go back for my Pistorius one.

Wait, what? You had a tattoo of the Blade Runner?

Overdrive is confused..

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by iradical18

Well of course I didn't NEED it, all I NEED is food and water. But just like I enjoy tennis, I enjoy tattoos.

Okay, getting tattoos is different from getting food and water. Two of these you need to survive, one of them you don't.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by Moz

I'm the unluckiest chap in the world with my tattoos.

At the end of last year I was getting my Jimmy Savile tattoo removed, now I'll have to go back for my Pistorius one.

I think the former may have some of our US cousins confused, but that made me laugh Mozz, how are you doing?

[iradical18]

Originally Posted by norbac

No he had no reason at all.

Well in that case he's just as bad as the thousands of people walking around with tribal tattoos that mean nothing!

[iradical18]

Originally Posted by OHBH

Not really the same thing.

Perhaps. What it really comes down to is difference of opinion, tattoos are one of those things that either you understand/agree with or you don't. I love everyone, bare skinned or decorated like myself

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by iradical18

Well in that case he's just as bad as the thousands of people walking around with tribal tattoos that mean nothing!

He is just as bad!

[Hood_Man]

If you can make more money from removing tattoo's I'd say go for Tattoo removal. Or do both.

Personally I could never have a tattoo, I hate them. I have no problem with other people having them though, some people look cool with them. Much the same way I looked cool with long hair years ago (or so I probably thought...).

[Moz]

Incidentally this thread really reminded me of Dr. Seuss's "The Sneetches". An excellent book with a valuable lesson.

Originally Posted by Dave M

I think the former may have some of our US cousins confused, but that made me laugh Mozz, how are you doing?

Not bad thanks Dave. How are you doing?

[navorski_o9]

Originally Posted by iradical18

Well in that case he's just as bad as the thousands of people walking around with tribal tattoos that mean nothing!

yeah we have a term for that kind of tribal, but it might be racially offensive...but i like my kind of tattoo from my own culture, and everyone elses culture...its meaningful....but i do appreciate modern tattoos as an art too

[navorski_o9]

Originally Posted by iradical18

Speak for yourselves! I dig girls with tattoos, but then again, I also have many many tattoos.

i have a tattoo...i never used to like girls with tattoos but now, its ok i guess...but i think id still be more attracted to girls without.

[diredesire]

Originally Posted by iradical18

Man I'm the only one defending tattoos here! I don't think anyone gets a tattoo with the purpose of showing off how stupid the idea is. Some people may think an idea is a good one and then regret it later though, happens all the time. Did he have a reason for the toy story tat? I have a tattoo of a zebra head, why? Because zebra was my son's first word. I've learned to not always judge right off the bat when it comes to tattoos. I've got tons of stuff that I've drawn up to represent certain things that are important to me, in passing i'm sure it seems to make no sense to the person that doesn't know the underlying meaning.

It's hard to be the one defending things that are unpopular, especially with the older crowd I think people are quick to judge things they don't understand, and the understanding portion of the argument is subjective, so there's no right way to approach these discussions. There are many anecdotal cases of good/bad tattoo stories, it's easy to judge. IMHO there are so many things that are more concerning in society than the act of getting a tattoo/piercing/etc, but we like to have things to talk about, I guess. In the end, if someone disagrees with you, it's simple to dismiss your reasoning if you're already "just wrong."

Originally Posted by Overdrive

That's true... to an extent.

But in your case, did you need permanent ink as a constant reminder of that word your son first said?
You could've easily remembered it.

Maybe he gets to see it in the mirror on a daily basis as a reminder of what he's living his life for? It doesn't HAVE to make sense to you. I personally think it's the exact same thing as someone having self-destructive spending habits and racking up thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Why is it OK to criticize someone because they got a mark on their body, but it seems acceptable/accepted that someone smokes cigarettes, etc? IMHO, that's an equally visual indication of someone unable to reason/follow a logical train of thought, no? Is the counter argument that they can quit? Is it/is it not still a character flaw? Is being pre-disposed to addiction and/or fallacious images of 'cool' not at all comparable to having a "permanent" mark on your body? Is it the (opportunity) cost?

I'm all for people having their own opinions regarding body modifications, but there's interesting (double) standards when it comes to calling these decisions out, I find.

[iradical18]

Originally Posted by diredesire

Maybe he gets to see it in the mirror on a daily basis as a reminder of what he's living his life for? It doesn't HAVE to make sense to you. I personally think it's the exact same thing as someone having self-destructive spending habits and racking up thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Why is it OK to criticize someone because they got a mark on their body, but it seems acceptable/accepted that someone smokes cigarettes, etc? IMHO, that's an equally visual indication of someone unable to reason/follow a logical train of thought, no? Is the counter argument that they can quit? Is it/is it not still a character flaw? Is being pre-disposed to addiction and/or fallacious images of 'cool' not at all comparable to having a "permanent" mark on your body? Is it the (opportunity) cost?

I'm all for people having their own opinions regarding body modifications, but there's interesting (double) standards when it comes to calling these decisions out, I find.

Couldn't have said it better myself, tattoos are definitely one of those really subjective areas. I've encountered quite a bit of judgement so I'm used to it but people are stuck in their ways.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by diredesire

It's hard to be the one defending things that are unpopular, especially with the older crowd I think people are quick to judge things they don't understand, and the understanding portion of the argument is subjective, so there's no right way to approach these discussions. There are many anecdotal cases of good/bad tattoo stories, it's easy to judge. IMHO there are so many things that are more concerning in society than the act of getting a tattoo/piercing/etc, but we like to have things to talk about, I guess. In the end, if someone disagrees with you, it's simple to dismiss your reasoning if you're already "just wrong."



Maybe he gets to see it in the mirror on a daily basis as a reminder of what he's living his life for? It doesn't HAVE to make sense to you. I personally think it's the exact same thing as someone having self-destructive spending habits and racking up thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Why is it OK to criticize someone because they got a mark on their body, but it seems acceptable/accepted that someone smokes cigarettes, etc? IMHO, that's an equally visual indication of someone unable to reason/follow a logical train of thought, no? Is the counter argument that they can quit? Is it/is it not still a character flaw? Is being pre-disposed to addiction and/or fallacious images of 'cool' not at all comparable to having a "permanent" mark on your body? Is it the (opportunity) cost?

I'm all for people having their own opinions regarding body modifications, but there's interesting (double) standards when it comes to calling these decisions out, I find.

DD, I did not question his character. You took that post way too close to heart or over-looked it. I simply asked him a question regarding the actual purpose and the reason of it. So far, he hasn't answered it. I asked another person with a tattoo and they answered it with complete nonsense. And I should've change 'permanent' to 'semi-permanent' (as they can be removed, but can cost a pretty petty).

I didn't say it HAS to make sense to me. Objectively, it doesn't make sense.

I didn't say that I accepted smoking either. I don't go into areas where smoking is allowed and I'm usually not around smokers because produces second-hand smoking. However, I'm not saying anything about their character either; it's just a preference on my health and what is best for me.

[Moz]

Originally Posted by diredesire

I personally think it's the exact same thing as someone having self-destructive spending habits and racking up thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Why is it OK to criticize someone because they got a mark on their body, but it seems acceptable/accepted that someone smokes cigarettes, etc? ?

I'm all for people having their own opinions regarding body modifications, but there's interesting (double) standards when it comes to calling these decisions out, I find.

So you equate tattooing as being no worse than self-destructive spending habits and thousands dollars of bets?

That sounds like calling out someone for their decisions for having a tattoo!

Bizarre argument or very poorly framed.

[diredesire]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

DD, I did not question his character. You took that post way too close to heart or over-looked it. I simply asked him a question regarding the actual purpose and the reason of it. So far, he hasn't answered it. I asked another person with a tattoo and they answered it with complete nonsense. And I should've change 'permanent' to 'semi-permanent' (as they can be removed, but can cost a pretty petty).

I didn't say it HAS to make sense to me. Objectively, it doesn't make sense.

I didn't say that I accepted smoking either. I don't go into areas where smoking is allowed and I'm usually not around smokers because produces second-hand smoking. However, I'm not saying anything about their character either; it's just a preference on my health and what is best for me.

Why should it have to be explained? That's my point. Do you go around asking people why they smoke? In that vein -- are you even curious? Assuming an individual smokes w/ no tattoos, and does not smoke w/ tattoos, I'd say the lifetime cost of smoking trumps a tattoo PLUS removal (strict out of pocket cost, not even including health). Objectively, to me (read as: subjectively), smoking doesn't make sense either, but there's not the same stigma attached to it. My question is why? You also quickly jumped to the conclusion of "lame," AND made the bold claim of all females ruining their attractiveness from having tattoos, pardon the knee jerk reaction (to your knee jerk reaction), but that is pretty close to a dismissal if I had to label it. Also, I was asking whether or not it was a character flaw, I think you interpolated that hypothetical a little far... I'm not attacking you, I'm trying to gather some reasoning here, as you've made the bold claim of objective sense above. My prodding point here is that there are a lot of things in life that don't make 'objective' sense, why should tattoos be sensible? I should also point out that you are projecting your bias on to everyone on the planet if you're claiming "objective" sense. Obviously it makes sense to SOMEONE (or, at the very least, it made sense to someone at some point). I'll have to question the objective claim, apologies if this rubs you the wrong way.

Originally Posted by Moz

So you equate tattooing as being no worse than self-destructive spending habits and thousands dollars of bets?

That sounds like calling out someone for their decisions for having a tattoo!

Bizarre argument or very poorly framed.

Yeah, my OP was poorly worded, reading it again. The previous sentence is actually very important from a contextual standpoint, though. The thought was a continuation of things that do or do not make sense. I'm not equating the act of getting a tattoo with self-destructive spending/smoking. I'm saying it's NOT equated when it comes to judging (making sense of things), assuming all behavior is less-than-ideal. It should be apparent why spending yourself frivolously into debt, OR increasing your own chances of lung cancer is a bad thing, right? Why aren't these behaviors questioned, but it's completely acceptable (read the thread) to make snarky remarks (resnarkies?). I'm trying (with little success) to point out that there's a stigma attached specifically to tattoos, and the stigma is one of 'self destruction' and/or irresponsibility and/or temporary lack of judgement. While this may or may not be true in many, many, many cases, it's not a fact. My question is: why the stigma? I'm also not referring to gambling above, although I guess that could make sense.

Edit: Reading your Sneetches comment above, I'd actually say we're arguing the same point, although my OP was worded pretty terribly.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by diredesire

Why should it have to be explained? That's my point. Do you go around asking people why they smoke? In that vein -- are you even curious? Assuming an individual smokes w/ no tattoos, and does not smoke w/ tattoos, I'd say the lifetime cost of smoking trumps a tattoo PLUS removal (strict out of pocket cost, not even including health). Objectively, to me (read as: subjectively), smoking doesn't make sense either, but there's not the same stigma attached to it. My question is why? You also quickly jumped to the conclusion of "lame," AND made the bold claim of all females ruining their attractiveness from having tattoos, pardon the knee jerk reaction (to your knee jerk reaction), but that is pretty close to a dismissal if I had to label it. Also, I was asking whether or not it was a character flaw, I think you interpolated that hypothetical a little far... I'm not attacking you, I'm trying to gather some reasoning here, as you've made the bold claim of objective sense above. My prodding point here is that there are a lot of things in life that don't make 'objective' sense, why should tattoos be sensible? I should also point out that you are projecting your bias on to everyone on the planet if you're claiming "objective" sense. Obviously it makes sense to SOMEONE (or, at the very least, it made sense to someone at some point). I'll have to question the objective claim, apologies if this rubs you the wrong way.

Everything has an explanation. Everything. And the things that we don't know are because we do not have the resources or data to find the truth about it.

Well, It doesn't even matter about the tattoos because the people who remove tattoos for a living have to make ends meet somehow. So, the more nonsensical tattoos people get and later regret, the better the tattoo removing business will be.

Yeah, I did say that. I was raised in a conservative environment; however, I will make the judgement whether to pursue any relationships with a woman who bears a tattoo. I used the word 'Lame' as reference to a television reference.

I'm not taking it as personal, I understand your points.

[Doubles]

I don't see the need for all the hate about tattoos. If they mean something to YOU then that's all that matters. All the prejudiced responses by people without them just seems unnecessary. Whether or not you understand the meaning or lack thereof is not really important, as in the end, the person with the tattoo is the one who has to deal with it.

[Overdrive]

I knew someone here was going to say that. That's the equivalent to a "get out of jail free card" to any conversation about subjective topics.

Like I said before, most people get tattoos just because of the more popular 'trend' of it and don't understand the meaning of it.

In the earlier tribes, tattoos can symbolize social status, accomplishments and specific tribe.

Sure they can deal with it, but it doesn't make sense for people to persuade others on getting a "love" or a "dolphin" tattoo or some crap like that for no other reason.

[iradical18]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

DD, I did not question his character. You took that post way too close to heart or over-looked it. I simply asked him a question regarding the actual purpose and the reason of it. So far, he hasn't answered it.

I thought I did answer it, I said that of course I didn't NEED it. I simply get tattoos of things that mean something to me because I'm interested in tattoos, I don't know what else there is to say. I think I'm as normal as the next guy, I just have ink.