Some thoughts on Tattoos...

From time to time, I need to rant...  to vent...  this is one of those times.


Tattoos...  Sometimes, I get it.
...a name
...a symbol
...just something that's cool & you like.
I get that.

My friend Tim has an alien on his shoulder.  It's awesome.  I don't think it represents anything, but it's well done, very simple, and looks good.  You're not left wondering, "What's that blob on Tim's shoulder."  Too many tattoos just look like a blob from more than 5 feet away.

With some other people's tattoos, I'm like, "It looks like someone just randomly started scribbling on you."  I have some pretty good perspective on that since my 5 year old scribbles on himself regularly.

I often browse music on Youtube. That's where I find music now, since Atlanta Radio is generally
horrendous.  It's no secret that I love female vocalists, so when I found Christina Perri, I instantly loved her voice.  Sadly, as physically beautiful as she is, her multiple tattoos look like a combination of a 5 year old's scribbling and how a 5 year old likes to randomly put stickers all over their bodies.

Horrendous...  I like that word, today.

Then, I stumbled across her video "Human," where she has all her tats covered up with make-up.  Wow!  She goes from 5 year old to beautiful classy looking lady instantly (aside from not wearing enough clothes.)

Now, I'm not anti-tattoo, but I am anti-trashy/stupid/ugly-tattoo (not meaning to pick on Perri.)  Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but finding beauty in a 5 year old's scribbling on himself takes a special kind of love.  It's even harder when it's not your kid & they're not 5.

The tattoo lovers out there will be quick to tell me that they didn't get their tattoos to please me.  Duh.  With that understanding in mind, don't feign offense when people look at your ugly tattoos and instantly make judgments about you.  Tattoos aren't birth marks.  They're things people do intentionally and spend good money on. They're permanent.  So, if your tattoo is visible to me, I can assume - barring some extreme circumstances - you chose to have that done to you.  It reflects your decision making abilities and in many cases, your values.

So, as a message to people with tattoos who get offended when they hear about companies not hiring folks with visible tattoos, quit fooling yourself. You know what you did.  Be an adult.

To those of you with tattoos that you can cover up and understand why you have to cover them up, please explain this to some of your less enlightened compatriots.

To those of you without tattoos, but considering them, take your time.  Find a good artist, spend the appropriate money, and be willing to bear the consequences of your decision...  specifically if that decision includes putting anything on your neck.