Just about everyone, it seems, has tattoos today.

� Who here does not have at least one tattoo?

� Are tattoos a passing fad, or will they always be culturally ordinary?

folks have been getting tats for ever. No reason for it to stop. I have two. Might get another.

Yep.

But not nearly everybody.

Never in the numbers and extent that we see today.

No tats here.

I think they are here to stay. Judging by the number of tattoo studios I see, they must do enough business to support lots of folks.

my brother and I both served an enlistment in the Navy and neither of us has a tattoo to this day.

None here. Most of my Army buddies serving in Vietnam had tattoos, but I never had any desire. My oldest daughter got a tiny tattoo on her lower back while away in college. She regrets it now that she's in her thirties. I suppose tattoos go back to ancient man since some American Indians, Eskimos, Africans, & others were tattooed. I teach & work in armed security in the DC area & any visible tattoo will result in not being hired. I look at tattoos as a personal choice like having a beard, which I do, & could care less what others do.

No tats here. No problem with them either. To each his own.

We are in the construction business, so pretty much anything goes in the workplace. One of our best sub-contractors (painter) has tats and jewelry everywhere. There are jobs where we can't use him because of customer discretion. "I don't want that pos in my house". He is honest and hard working, but can't escape the stereotypes.

I can't help but wonder about the youngsters getting all tatted up early in life. It seems to me they are spending money to reduce their income earning potential later in life, especially with the face and neck tats. JMHO

Don't have one and have no intention of getting one.

The current tattoo fad has passed its zenith based upon the amount of business Dermatologists are doing in tattoo removal. Many employers decline to hire tattooed candidates as well as the military.

Agreed!


maddog

No tats here.

It seems that it is prevalent amoung the young people in their 20's. I am 40 and when I was very young, tattoos were looked at like a sign of low class. It will be interesting to see if the children of these young people continue to do as their parents or if they swing back the other direction.

All set with a few buddies to go get a Tat this was about 1977 my buddies dad asked us to have a beer with him 1st, we did he was a big Harley rideing Ex Marine, he had the cor Tat. He was going from Island to Island, world war II Cleaning up so to speak looking for Japs and any Amercian POWS he told us of finding skined Pows, there tats made into small Lamp shades, wall hangings stuff like that! that was enough to stop me that day. and still tat free.

No tattoos in my family.

They make a bad impression.

Of course some like them.

I worked with a guy back in the 50's who had been in the Navy and had one on his forearm. That seemed ok at the time for him.

We saw a kit of temporary tattoos for sale in a store.

None here and few in my circle of friends and family have any.

I look at it like jewelry or wearing excessive makeup. If that's what you like and makes you feel attractive, then that's great.

Kent

No tattoos here.

I hope they are a passing fad. I have nothing against anyone who has them in fact some of my closest friends have many. I have fought the urge to get one myself at times. I see so many that just look like complete dog$hit and I see beautiful girls that have ruined themselves with lots of tattoos all over their bodies. Its a damn shame that one day at least 75% of them will be wishing that they never had gotten one.

I don't have any for several reasons.

1. Idon't want any distinguishing marks on my body cause in these days and times there's no telling what a man might have to do to keep his family safe and with our goverments ideas where bad is good and good is bad I don't want to be identifiable by a tattoo. Just cause I'm paranoid doesn't mean theyaaren't out to get me! lol

2. I know god doesn't shun someone if they have tattoos its man's heart he is concerned about but it speaks against it in the bible so I had rather not have them,,, ok call me a bible thumper I don't g.a.s..

3. The only thing I would want is Jesus on the cross but I don't care about being targeted by a muslim because they see a tattoo of my saviour on me.

4. Once its done its done.

5. What if the artist messes up?

NO THANKS, I'll just live in my pale Scottish skin and red beard.

No tats here. Saw one I wanted, the little guy pushing a lawn mower, on my bald spot. Mawsquaw wouldn't let me.

Nothing against those that do, but I have none. I lean towards the live and let live mindset, but I'm an observer of people and surroundings. Tattoos sometimes give me a little more insight.

I thought about getting a small one on my upper arm when I was about 18 or 20 years old, 30 years ago. Now I'm sort of enjoying my uniqueness.

Edited to add: I'm thinking the, "Hey everybody, look at how cool and unique I am, I got one too!" thing is probably a passing fad. Of course tattoos have been around a long time, and will always be, but probably in much smaller numbers.

Don't have one. Kick around getting one. Don't mind them at all on others.

I don't have any. Wouldn't get one where it couldn't be covered for a job interview.

I have one and would like to get more. If you know where to look, there are some truly amazing artists out there. The other day I saw a full sleeve that had a very detailed old tallship, with crashing waves and a kraken rising up from the sea. Real sweet.

As a professional though, I'm limited as to what I can do.

Eric

Don't have one and have no plans to get one. None of my grandsons have tattoos (so far) but all three of my wife's grand-daughters do. The oldest girl (who is in the Navy) is pretty much covered with them. The girls tell me that the armed services have no prohibitions against tattoos--they just have to be placed so that they can't be seen when wearing a dress uniform.

Didn't that multi thousand year old guy that was found frozen in a glacier some years ago have tattoos?

I don't have any and never wanted any. Have some natural ones put on by various thorn bushes and tree stobs from the days when I was brush busting on a cow pony.

None here, but to each their own.
Artists like Niki Norberg make me appreciate the skills involved. Amazing.

None here.
I've read that one of the fastest growing and highly lucrative business out there is tattoo removal.

I don't have them, and consider them symbolic of low class. Now as with a lot of young girls, some of the granddaughters have them, and in quite a few places.
I particularly laugh at what is called a "tramp stamp." Which means a billboard tattoo on the butt right above the butt crack. I am sure that is going to be visually stimulating when they get to be about 50. I was on a facebook association page recently and a sweet young thing was complaining about underemployment, not having enough money to make the rent payment, and beggin for money. Which led me to her personal page, quite distinctive with that bull ring through her nose, the gothic makeup, and african markings on her. Absolutely brainless.
My brother in law had tats, one on an arm, the other on his leg, both his I.D. service numbers. The idea being in the pacific during WWII if he got blown up, maybe they could identify him from the numbers. As to removal, I know another sweet young thing that had a big bill board tattoo on her chest right above the boob line. She is paying to get it removed now.
I hear this "personal expression" stuff quite a bit. Okay, and it's my right to say you don't need a job if you want to emulate a watusi.

I got one when I was in the second grade, a small dot the size of a pencil lead in my right thigh. I placed a really sharp #2 pencil in my pocket point first, then sometime later sat down at my desk and got my first tattoo.

I didn't really like tattoos after that and decided not to get any more.

Thought about it once, but then I asked myself if I'd still want it when I was 70 and it wasn't quite the same shape as it was when I got it. decided against it. IMHO, it's a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling. However, I have no issue if someone wants one, though, to each their own. That said, I tend to view tattoos on attractive women in the same light I would spray can art on a Ferrari.

I try not to judge people ,but when I see some one with a tattoo on their face,on neck,I can't help but wonder if they have a screw loose.

No tattoo's on me.
My dad had a small faded tattoo of a heart on his left forearm. He always said that he regretted getting it and if he could go back and change some things in his past not getting that tattoo would be up at the top of the list. For some reason this stuck in my mind.

My own personal observation is that while tattoo's have always been around, their acceptance and popularity over the last 2-3 decades began within the entertainment industry, same as so many other styles and trends.

I have none. I plan to never have any. I do not understand this whole tattoo infatuation thing. miles

None here.

Not for me, but have no problem with them on others. Except for the occasional "stranded need money guy" that's covered.

None here. It seems like in the younger crowd, more women than men get them. As far as "tramp stamps" go, they've been called that for years so any woman who has gotten one lately is telling everyone all they need to know about her.

If I ever have a tattoo it'll be a bar code and expiration date before they put me in the ovens... that's if they can take me alive.

Kent

I have none. The trend towards them is a sign of a civilization sliding towards barbarity. Same with piercings.

None and no plans to get one.

None here. My daughter and younger son have them, but nothing visible while wearing street clothes.

Whatever trips your trigger, I guess.

Ed

I don't have a tattoo. Neither do my wife and children except our youngest who got 4 tiny black tattoos that were used as alignment points during his radiation therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma over a dozen years ago.

None here.Just not my thing. Women appear kinda' skank with tats imho.

I don't have any and don't plan to get any. They have been around for a long time and will be around for a long time. No problem with other peoples tats.

Yeah, but I could be persuaded to overlook that in certain cases.

Especially piercings. Ugh!

No tats here. No desire for one.

They don't bother me on other folks either. Young son has beau coup tats.

So my 2 sis-in-laws who are no spring chickens, go out and get these tats that the one designed for some kinda solidarity thing with their older sis, my wife. When she went thru all her heart and cancer surgeries.

The boys and I playfully refer to it as the "Dangling Lily" brand. Kinda hideous looking considering where they got them. To me it looks like some of the artwork off Monty Python. Always waiting for that big foot to stomp it out!

Leviticus 19:28 talks about tattoo's. I got one years ago. Ink is run together so bad you can't tell what it is. Hasbeen

It's interesting how something that's portrayed as symbolizing independence and individualism ends up being a mark of conformity to identity group norms.

That was the psychology behind a lot of cigarette advertising. Show the world that you're a rugged individualist by becoming addicted to our product. Yeah, right.

Fads come and go, but some hang on longer than they should. Backward ball caps come to mind.

Facial hair is a fashion that comes and goes, but at least it can be grown or shaved without permanent consequences. It, too, has changed in its cultural relevance. It used to be that cowboy types adapted an almost military cleanly groomed style, and looked down on the hairy hippies. That was certainly true at the ag university I attended in the '70s. Maybe that shift started with the country musicians.

No tattoos or facial hair on this old man, though I wore a beard for a couple of years back in my younger days. At the time the ladies in my (single) life seemed to like it. My wife doesn't care for it, so end of that story.

Paul

So did I.

Nor do I.

Some of the guys in boot camp got 'em on their first liberty � then suffered for a week or so when they got infected. (Tat parlors in San Diego weren't all clean in 1949.)

Most of the fellows didn't get tats.

Several of the fellows had me draw stuff on their arms with indelible ink � they got tired of 'em after a while, and washed 'em off.

None for me

No tats.

Never saw one I liked so much I wanted to have it forever.

None here. I wouldn't know what to get even if I was forced, because I can't think of anything except possibly the names of my kids that I would want penned into my skin permanently...
What I thought was cool at 18, isn't even on my list of important things in my life now.

A metal fabrication instructor I know had a student in his class show up with a new tattoo that covered about 50% of his neck. He asked the kid how it felt to have reduced his employment opportunities by 80%.

No way I have a niece looks like a member of the Yakuza. The funniest part is she can't figure out why she can't find a decent job.

None here and never unless I get a number at the reeducation camp. Tattoos are permanent verification that the wearer was once young and dumb- or old and dumb as the case may be. Tats are confirmation of the lemming/sheeple phenomenon imo. Narcs like them to deflect attention from their black hole persona. Well I reckon I have offended all tattees now and that's a hanging offense in today's pc world. But I will admit that some are real art-just misplaced.

They are here to stay, and ai have no problem with them. However the places one had them drawn on tells me alot about your common sense and forethought.


I have two. One on each shoulder

The left shoulder is a team tattoo that everyone of our starting defense in College got done in the same place. The right. Is a drawing of my duck/goose call lanyard looping over my shoulder from front to back and then wrapping down my bicept with the calls laying front and back on my bicept/tricept. With a picture of my labs face in the center on my bicept


Both pieces have a lot of meaning to me

no tats here, don't need one to be me , rather spend a grand or so on a rifle or two or on a trip.
Mind you tats are about the only thing you can take with you when you die, i'll leave my inheritance to my wife and kids to enjoy.
Yes some tats on certain people in certain places intrege me but I don't have to live with them. and people that cover their bodys with them are sad

norm

I have none. But done tastefully they look okay. Small ones, well done, of significant events are fine.

One of the worst ones I've heard of would be a goth chick who had a bunch of them, and was bummed she could not get a good job. Doubling down, she had a large sword done on her back, pointing downward. So depending on the position, her partners would see a large sword pointed at their privates. She complained about her love life, too...

Came home from my 14th Summer at sea with a VERY small "Fouled Anchor" on my left forearm. I'd paid $20 for it in Colon, Panama.

.......My Dad , the Master Mariner, was NOT impressed, and the Company Doctor was responsible for it's demise. I can barely make out the scar, that arms seen a few other scrapes and a lot of Sun.

GTC

none and wouldn't waste time and money for one.

No tattoos on my body, with no intention of ever getting any....

Told my son if he ever gets any, please wait until I am dead...
he's real conservative, so I doubt if he'll ever join in in the passing fancy of them...

personally, I just don't get it....

I see 60 and 70 year olds get them for the first time around here... I see young kids cover their bodies with them, as soon as they turn 18....

will never ever see the appeal of them...

I survived 24 years or navy and came out unmarked. Never had a desire for one and was to busy raising a large family to waste my money on one.

I do see a lot more people tattooed up than ever before. I see some young teens all marked up, kids young enough they had to get their parents approval.

They are not to my personal taste but it does not bother me if others do it.

Guess most of the folks with lots of tats could always get on a New Bedford whaler as the principle harpoon thrower! Top hat and tomahawk pipe optional!

after reading a few pages of this thread...it brought another thought to mind... the cost of these things...

just for the hell of it, one day I was a block up the street from the local welfare office, so I thought I'd stop in and just "look around"....

Thursday afternoon and the place is packed...some woman was walking around with applications to sign up for food stamps, asking people if they wanted one, and telling them if they needed it they could get assistance filling it out to maximize their benefit potential...

most of the women in there were overweight, regardless of age...
and the guys were either skinny little runts, or overweight as hell.... common theme was they all looked like Beavis and Butthead wannabes...

the lady handing out the food stamp applications, came up to me and asked did I want an application, and would I like assistance filling it out... I told her no, I had just stopped in looking for someone....

Then I told her, " I think you and I are the only two people in here without a tattoo..." even tho she was conservative looking, she looked at me and then pulled down her top revealing the top of her boobs and showed me the tattoos on top of them, that went further down her bra.... telling me... " NO sir, I guess you are the only one with no tattoos..."

She just gave me a dirty look when I told her, that if most of these people in here, DIDN'T have a tattoo.... considering the money invested on how many they had.. they probably wouldn't NEED to be down here, expecting citizens like me to pay for their monthly food bill....

and of course nothing to do with the tattoos they were wearing... but you could also smell the subtle smell of 'burnt rope' and the little kids were running all over the place just like recess for the monkeys down at the zoo....

It was pretty disgusting in my book as I walked out...

ARGGggghhh Matey !

I don't have any and likely never will. My wife has a couple, and both step-daughters have several and seem to keep adding more (to the point of being too much). I don't mind them in moderation - just not for me...

I don't have any, neither of my two brothers has any, neither sister has any and my parents don't have any. We are all over 30 years of age. Just raised right.

Dont really give a rat's rancid rump if folks have them, to each their own..

However, the cheap ones often look like schit and the really good ones are expensive! Makes me wonder how much bread some have dropped on their skin...might as well superglue C-notes all over yourself like the GEICO dude...

I did 25 years of active duty in the Navy and like most sailors, I've got a couple. However, you can't see them when I wear a short sleeved shirt. None of the ones I have depict anything obscene, grotesque or questionable. I got them for myself and I don't see any reason to have them on public display.

Some people seem to get them for the shock value. I got mine to honor shipmates and the nation they swore to protect.

My thoughts exactly. Who has them and how many makes a difference. We are watching an unfolding horror show. Kind of like the rise of the new Democratic Party.

When a kid I was infatuated and scared at the same time of Queequeg!

NO tats here and will never have any.

Just never could see marking your body on purpose.

Do NOT like nose rings or other such crap either. Just don't understand the mentality of the people that get them.

Virgil B.

None for me.

Crap - forgot about that one. I have the same one in blue ink from a ball point pen

Personally I think the young kids are getting them, due to having the need to satisfy an identity crisis...

talked the young kids I know personally that have gotten them, and their response is usually something along the lines of it makes them an "individual"....hey look at me!!!

as my son sarcastically notes... they have to be an "individual".. just like everybody else..

also know that each one of these kids, has gone down and gotten on food stamps as soon as they turned 18.. and then spend it on beef jerky, Monster Sodas etc....but hey, that's another story...

I don't have any; never would. Feel sorry for all the ignorant kids getting them.

Two tours in Nam (65-67), some of my buddies got them while there, but I never thought much of paying to have someone stick needles in my body. In any case the tats my buddies got were small in comparison to what I'm seeing on folks today.

I don't think all that much of the idiots that have them all over the body. Seems to me anyone who does up their face, arms, & neck, is saying "Look at me, I'm so different"!

You know most will never get a high paying job, and will always be viewed as kind of clueless.

Don't even ask about piercing.

Okay, so I'm opinionated on this subject!

Respects,
Richard

+1

That was the point of my post. Pretty obvious when you think about it. You just described a typical convenience store shopping list. Gotta have their "smokes" too.

Funny, in a sad sort of way.

Paul

and let's not forget that in places like Berkeley, people on 'assistance' can go down and get "medical" marijuana for free...

locally they are selling radio ads for Medical MaryJane clinics..

" live pain free... stop into one of our convenient locations and let us show you how to get your medical marijuana card... and live the pain free life style you deserve..."

makes me friggin barf.....

I'm in the mid 20's and tattoo free but it's simply because I'd rather spend money on things I can use.

None here, I just remember my father telling me that as long as I live under his roof there will be no tatoo's or ear rings.That was 30yrs ago and I thank him for that.

Never got drunk enough to get a Tattoo when I was in the Navy, and as far as I know my brother who spent 27 years in the Canoe Club never got one.

Kind of expected 'flave to show up and admit that he "won't defile himself" or some-such.

Had thought about getting a small one -on my foot where it would nearly always be covered by sock and shoe - but never convinced myself that it was needed.


I keep waiting to see one of the street corner imposters with a sign saying: "Got Change? Have Tats; can't work"

How many years did you serve in that Canoe Club?

Congratulations on your service.

I'm not getting one but if I did it would be a giant bluegill on my back rising to take a popping bug. Either that or I would shave my head and have a octopus on my head and the tentacles would run down my back and shoulders like long hair. grin

NONE! And never will unless the Obama tribe tattoos me as I'm going into the concentration camp.

Nary a one on this body.

Nope, nada, none.
I don't put bones in my noise, or wear grass skirts, or wear a ear ring, or chuck spears, or live in a thatched or mud hut or jump around like some idiot dancing either.
If that is what you want to do, go for it, I could care less, its just not for me.

im gonna call wrong on that, there was just a lull, before a couple hundred years ago they were extremely common in people even in Europe....Christians just did their best to stamp out the practice....they were common even in northern Europeans 500 years ago....know my ancestors fancied them fairly heavily....

Really, all you have to do is walk through Walmart these days and get your fill of ink - if you think you need it

None here. Thought about it a couple times, just never found a reason to need one. I dont need anything other than myself to prove who I am, and im not about to brand myself to advertise for someone/something else.

Im pretty much anti tattoo. I wont date a woman that has publicly visible tattoo's, and if their chest or back is covered in them, its a complete turn off. I know its not true in most cases, but it instantly triggers slut status in my mind, and barring the occasional BJ in the Walmart parking lot, they are of little use for me.

I dont associate with men who have tattoo's either, for the most part. One of my friends has full sleeves on both arms, one of his military career, the other automotive related. Eyes tattoo'd on the back of his head, angels wings on his back(because he made it through life threatening injuries in the military)....hes about the only one.

I do not have any tatts. Getting one has never even crossed my mind. If others want them, okay, it's just not my style.

L.W.

I have none, and never will. I've been the unlucky (dumb is a better term in many of the injuries that caused the need for tying me back together again, admittedly) recipient of more than 500 sutures/staples to date and wear a host of other scars on my body. As such,I feel I have plenty of 'markings' on my carcass without feeling any need to mark it up any more. Plus, I just don't care for the way the vast majority of ink looks on people. Maybe one out of a thousand will appeal to my eye.

Barring tribal or indigenous peoples through history, I don't think tattoos have ever really been 'culturally ordinary', despite their now being fairly common, especially in the last 20 years.

One of these days someone will develop a hi-tech tattoo ink that degrades very slowly under all normal circumstances, except when the ink is exposed to a particular substance that breaks it down and makes the color disappear or allows same to be absorbed and dissipated in the body. So, for 20 days, 20 months or 20 years the 'owner' could keep it, but if they ever decided they were done with the tattoo, they could get a few injections and the tattoo would disappear. That person will become very, very rich.

Great story, Jefe.

I never had the desire to get one.
The scars i got growing up are mine.
Proud of them as well,i worked hard for them.

From the classic Papillon, with Steve McQueen: "It seemed like a good idea at the time..."

Don't have one, and don't want one.

None here, either.

I had a tatoo from the kick-back on a
table saw once. It didn't last too long
but it sure was pretty.

No tats for me at 63 and I don't see any reason to start now. Got behind a guy in the grocery store a couple of days ago with both arms full of tats, using his EBT card.

Never appealed to me.

come to think of it, my brother in law, a retired navy cpo has a tattoo of a chicken on his ankle. When he was in the service in a bar he would bet other guys his cock hung closer to the ground then anybody else. As he wasn't a very big guy, bets were often taken as he took easy money by raising his pant leg a little bit.

My wife of 26 years has literaly 300 sg inches on her back and shoulder....damn skank!!!

Fits right in with you Ted.

I remember a young man I worked with back in the early 90's talking about wanting to get a tattoo on his next weekend off. At the break-room table the following Monday while showing his buddies his new barbed wire tattoo encircling his bicep he says, "Only XX more payments and it'll be all mine!".

Medical professional of 22 years with tattoos......unemployable barbarian and a skank

I can't think about tattoos without thinking about "The Star-bellied Sneeches" by Dr Seuss.

The chicken on the ankle is an old sailor thing it was supposed to protect the wearer from drowning as chickens don't like water. My dad was a Marine Engineer and he had ropes and chains as well as several other sea related tattoos on his wrist, ankles and feet.

He told both my brother and me if we ever got a tattoo he would come back from the grave to haunt us.

Me, I look at myself at the most once a day to shave so I wouldn't be able to admire one. I don't like to bring attention to myself either so others wouldn't be able to admire one on my person also. Therefore ,I never felt the need for a tattoo.

My uncle came home from serving on a destroyer right after the Korean War, with a huge eagle tattooed across his chest. I swore I was gonna get one like that "when I grow up." Thank god I never grew up!

Ink used to mean you were part of a group.

MOST of the time now it means they had extra money to waste and the only people impressed are others with ink.

That's deep

Don't have any and not interested. Tastefully done ones on guys don't bother me as long as the are not visible in business atire. Tattoos on a woman are an immediate turn-off to me.

Laffin!

None here, I'm overly qualified in other forms of expression.

But your getting one as soon as you move out, right? :-)

I have enough regrets that the ink really doesn't hold a prominent position on the list.

I don't like 'em.
Make a man look like a bum, and make a girl look like a slut.

No tags. Never understood neck tattoos. Saw a guy recently with a la dodgers la tattoo behind his ear. This is Mississippi. Wtf?

I made it thru college and 20 years in the Army without a single tattoo or piercing.

Thank you sir for your service. A military tattoo I could understand and appreciate.

I am an older guy and have no tats. Scared of needles I guess.

My son, a product of the times, has one that circles around his upper left arm and a Denver Bronco logo on his right shoulder.

I do not have any and no desire for one anywhere of anything. They look trashy to me, especially on women. Major turn off, I don't care how "tastefully" done they are. If someone wants to get one, so be it. What these characters project to me when they show off their tatts in public by men not wearing shirts or men or women dressing so the tatts are displayed says to me "look at me, I am trash".

About as deep as I can get about tattoos.

How sweet it is!

Over a hundred responses, and no one trying to take anyone apart!

Give it time, Dr. Howell

Marking, cutting, defacing the human body is an ancient practice of pagan ungodly and idolatrous cultures.

The recent surge in tatoos, body piercings, 45-caliber ear holes etc is a symptom and sign of our general population drifting further and further from tradition Christian morality in the public arena.

AND... if you did not get your tatoo on a pirate ship or in Subic Bay it just isn't legit.

Hmmm. Interesting to see what some think about tattoos and those with them. Especially given that a number of folks I consider good friends have responded with such negative views.
I have several tattoos. Both visible and covered, and they have special meaning to me. I have college degrees. I work for a very large company in a skilled position. I have been there for over 10 years. I've been happily married to my wife who also has tattoos for 11 years. Our children are healthy, happy, respectful, well behaved, and they are both on the honor roll at their school. Neither of us have ever depended on others or taken a handout.

Of course to read some folks views we must be real chitty people because we have tattoos.

I don't have any either. No desire for one.

I beleive Tatas are going to be a passing fad in the next 10 years.ink shops will be replaced by ink removal shops.

Don't have one. Never wanted one. To each his own, though.

To say that all zebras have stripes is not to say that all animals with stripes are zebras. That's my way of saying that you needlessly took offense.

I believe 'most' with tats are trying to express a message no one gives a fu-k about seeing.

Lots of kids in high school, who in the old days would be telling their teachers they want to be artists of one type or another (i.e., the kids never without their sketch pads), are now telling their teachers they want to be tattooists.

No tattoos here, and can't really see getting any.

What other people spend their money on is none of my business.

Gotta have a Tiger to feed.

I'm guessing that's just an interesting auto correct, but I believe tatas are here to stay.

Let's hope tatas never go out of style.

A fat chick once told me that she was going to get a tattoo after she lost some weight. She didn't think it was funny when I asked her if it would cost less because it wouldn't have to be as big.

TRH you have a way of needlessly saying a lot of things, and this just adds to the pile.
I am not offended at all really. I find it interesting that people who know me in real life(I know real life is scary to you) said some negative things about tattoos, and people who have them.

I would hope they see me differently than the opinions they shared here of tattoos and tattooed people.

On the ride into the office I heard a stat on the radio that said that one in four Australians in the 21-35 age range now sports at least one tattoo. The report also indicated that the business of tattoo removal has had a fairly serious increase in the past few years as well...

No Tatt's here

No tats or piercings for me. I can't think of any of my close friends who have any either. Just not the crowd I hang with.
You sure see plenty of hideous ink and piercings though.

No, not me, nor my wife, nor either of our parents or grand parent, nor any of our combined seven siblings, nor any of our children, nor any of our grandkids.

Our daughters are both married to men whom are sporting ink.
(He says, with his head bowed in shame.)

That was funny. Thanks for the smile.

no,none here

So what crowd do you hang with? Do you have them disrobe for a "Tat Inspection", before they get to hang with you?

I love these tatoo threads!

Both of my folks have tatoos. They're in their late 70's now.

The trailer trash got them in grade school, Gary, Indiana in the early 50's, and shows their blood type.

The local government thought this would help treat the godless heathens after the soviet bombers attacked the Gary Works.

Just a little known part of the bizarre history of the cold war, good thing bar codes and micro chips hadn't been invented yet.

I think part of my issue with tat's is a couple of now adult granddaughters that are walking billboards, you see it's part of their artistic expression. We are talking arms and most of the back. I don't have anything to say about it in the sense they are adults, but I don't have to like it.
Seeing them as babies, and now walking billboards.

Almost 60 years old, I have scars and hard used hide. Hard enuf to keep it in one piece without destroying it on purpose. No tats ,no piercings or other "hey look at me sh*t". On my body just trying to keep it all healthy till I'm done with it. The Nazis tattooed the jews in WW2, somebody is going to die trying to do that sh*t to me. I don't care what others do or what's popular. Magnum Man

I don't know anyone, including relatives, who has any visible ones. All they do is advertise that you are stupid enough to deliberately reduce your lifetime earning capacity. People will not hire you or buy things from you.

They look like you have leprosy to me, especially as they fade and blur. I knew one moron who had "Julie" tatooed in large gothic letters on his forearm. What happens when Julie ditches him?

Forget about piercings and forget about earrings on men.

My dad went through WWII without getting one but a lot of those guys did get 'em. Growing up in the 50's & 60's I saw a lot of those tattoos on arms in short sleeve weather. In 1970; as a 20 yr. old Marine I ALMOST got one.... Until I recalled some of the tattoo regrets I heard from some of those guys. Especially one of my dad's pals named "Bud". One summer day circa 1960 I asked Bud to lift up his shirt sleeve so I could see the whole tattoo. When I exclaimed, "wow, that's neat!"; Bud told me: "YEAH, I thought it was neat too, back in 1943, but now I'm so damn sick of looking at it that I can't stand it anymore"... Now I'm glad I never got one; I think Bud was right.

Ron, that is much the way I see it.

My oldest daughter was married to a young man who got full multicolored sleeves, wrist to shoulder, on both arms. This while my daughter was waitressing to make the house payments.

He was in an HVAC apprenticeship at the time. He now finds employment at a call center. At least it pays the child support.

My grand daughters sometimes speak of how cool they think such things look, and sometimes come around showing off temporary tats.

Pa Pa is quite vocal with his disapproval of such graffiti on his lovely girls.

I don't have any. I don't need any help when it comes to ugly.

one of them has this nakkid indian princess thing crawling up her arm and half her back. The love of her life was a "tatoo artist" who practiced on her. I was with her about two minutes after she entered this world, and it does make me growl. They are divorced now.

About as disturbing as a woman I work with. Her neck, arms, hands, and visible portions of her chest are covered with blue outline drawings or script.............put there by her eleven to twelve year old son.

But hey, her wife thinks they are cool.

None here

just one

Did you get that in Deer Lodge?

nope....

Yeah, those boys are better than that.. (grin)

lol actually my hide is the reason it aint perfect....years of walking crick bottoms in shorts as a kid through wild roses and bullberry have the skin on my lower legs as tough as leather.....the fact i was on alot of NSAID's at the time cause it was between the time i bulged the disk and my back and had surgery didnt help either cause i was bleeding like a stuck pig when he did get the needle through so the saturation of the ink aint what it could be.....

Don't currently have one, but seriously considering one (or two).

Here's a fun number I'd like to suggest that my ex-biker buddy got in the joint a few decades ago. He can make her 'dance' by flexing his arm and twisting a bit. A real treat for the parents of his early GFs, no doubt...

None on me.

Passing fad? No. There will always be those with weak minds and spirits who have to follow something. Tats, smokes, weed, or whatever. Same weakness.

not even close.....no more the sure sign of a week mind than anything else....didnt get it to "fit in" or follow someone thoug my brother has the same thing ive got though his is on his upper arm....hell i didnt get it until i was 28, sure wasnt looking to be some part of a crowd at that point in my life.....got it cause it means something to me and ive got nothing against them.....

the sign of a weak mind is those that think something like a tat or having a smoke or enjoying the occasional drink is always a sign of the same thing cause you obviously cant be bothered to do any thinking so you need one thing to tell you everything about a person cause you cant be bothered to figure out a damn thing for yourself....

Spoken like someone too weak be his own person, and now making excuses about it.

lol yeah im to weak to be my own person......sure.....

As Grandma said, "Tattoos, a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling."



Casey

not always, but generally bad idea to get one cause of a relationship with someone just cause you been sleeping with them.....blood family is a bit different.....

Don't have one, and don't get the attraction. Absolutely don't like ink on women. Jarhead or Swabby gets a pass from me.

You're tellin' me that an anchor tattoo or some Latin slogan is OK but a blonde gripping a horn in each fist and wiggling on Satan's tongue is bad? Stop hatin' and start keepin' it real, yo!

Might as well get 'em started early...

My little buddy...

Wow! They've come a long way from the ones we used to get in bubblegum!

No tats. Every woman I'v ever been around that had tats was crazy. Is it in the ink or are the crazy predisposed to get tats?

No, excessive texting while driving causes them to fall under the 'ink' woodpecker.

Tats rank right up there with varicose veins as far as mood killers...,

But a good "GFY" could be one of those "forever" tats.

Psst. They're ALL fuggin' crazy dude. The DEGREE of nuts is the key...

Damn, bro'. Vericose veins? I take it you're GILFin? Like a BOSS! Gotta' respect a man that draws the line at the circulatory system. "Ay yo, you see that one? Not a single vein poppin' on her legs. A few gin blossoms on her nose but I can live with that!

Really,

....if it's got tires , tracks, or t$ts, sooner or later you're going to have trouble with it.

GTC

No doubt. Can't truss nem bastards.

Just the one. It's rarely seen because I don't have many sleeveless shirts. But she knows it's there and that arm is wrapped around her every night helping her believe she's cured.

The best is the piece of garbage that is covered in them and has nothing put back for their kids. Custom painted gas tank on the motorcycle, custom painted helmet, lots of tattoos, and nothing in the bank for the kids. Sounds like a p.o.s. to me.

No tattoo's here. I think I am the only powerlifter in the world that does not have one.

The way things are going in America these days pay per view gladiator fights will probably be legal shortly. Along with real human sacrifice at the burning man, tossing virgins into volcano's and lawful marriage to under age beagles.

Yeah, the niece had her baby last month. Not married, no job, and not a clue. I gave her a C note as a gift for the baby. The next week she showed me her new tat that was the baby's name and birth date that I funded. I wanted to get my knife and fillet it off her.

Heard a story that Travis wanted to have a black tux and tie put on his unit, but none of the inkmeisters had enough ink.

I'm somewhat skeptical, but undecided if that's true.

Penguin d!ck?

No, no tats here and no plan to get any. I do have some "color" on my foot from a toe I broke over the weekend. It's a nice purple color today.

Like many have said, tats are not my thing and I don't see the attraction, but I'm live and let live about such things so long as the roof doesn't leak, the bills are paid, the baby is fed and I'm not footing the bill for any of it.

We see quite a few these days.

Someone should invent a method to put it on but be able to remove it but it looks 'real'.

No tattoos, nor has any of my immediate family.

Why bump this after nearly a year?

Because no one has said this:


There's a local tattoo parlor called "Hard Luck Tattoos." It looks like a dive and it's hard to believe anyone would go in there and willingly get poked with needles. Every time I drive by I think, "People who go there have hard luck, because they spend their money on tattoos."

Steve.

I've got a single blue dot in the middle of my chest and another blue dot on each rib cage that were used for alignment during my radiation treatments at MD Anderson in Houston. No Tat's on me or my wife or our adult children. No grandkids yet so I guess we will see. Elk

I'm clean.

None here either.

But, if I make it ot the Isle of Man TT rally with my son next year we each might get a small one.

Don't understand anyone wanting to undergo the discomfort of getting a tattoo while knowing that some of the inks have been linked to the possibility of developing skin cancer.

No tattoos on me.

In the era of my youth and as a former prosecutor the only people I saw with tattoos were ex-cons, fair/circus workers, bikers, strippers or military vets. I didn't want to be like the first four.



Perry

Always and culturally ordinary are mutually exclusive!

Never had any interest in a tat for myself.

Time for some more suicide girls?

yup

It's been a while I guess.
My wife has 2, got them at 50.
My son has one on his left bicep. He also has a lip piercing and is in a hard rock band. One of the nicest people I know and everyone likes him. A really hard worker and is keeping them off his lower arms in consideration of the future when the music thing ends.
I and my other two sons have no tats. Not our bag but you never know.

Met a guy some years back who picked up tattooing as a bartering skill while he was in prison.

He continued to freelance tattoo young folks he worked with for extra cash after he was released on parole. Several would usually crash at his house on the weekends and get drunk and/or get high, and wind up getting a new tattoo on the cheap. From the looks of the tatts he did on himself and a few I saw he did on others, he was a fair artist but not what I would call good.

He said other than ink he didn't have the money to buy professional equipment so he just whipped together another makeshift tattoo gun like he used in prison from a ball point pen case, cassette tape player motor and guitar string and ordinary rubbing alcohol to sterilize his gun between customers.

Had to wonder about the likelihood of blood-borne diseases being transmitted between his customers.

Yes!

Anybody else wondering what sort of hardware and what kind of tattoos lie under that fabric?

In any case, I'm sure it is very tasteful...

John

none not interested for myself.

norm

She has a nice snitch.

I have none. I would get one but I can't think of anything I really want to say that there's no chance I'd change my mind about.

They already have always been culturally ordinary ... just not in our particular culture. They'll always be with us though the frequency will vary up and down over time.

Tom

12 years in the Navy - there wasn't enough booze to make me want a tattoo.

40 years later I know I was right.

All those pictures are fugly as all get out.

Seems all the youngsters are getting them here and many have large areas covered too..

In fact its got to the point where I notice youngsters who don't have them!

None for me though..

Looks like she rolled on the Sunday funny pages before they were dry.

you got that much ink, all over, why are you hiding it.....

And he's out of the closet..

No tats for me ............

Looks like she'd be a fun roll, alright...

None and don't care for them. Especially unappealing on women. I guess I can understand a small one to commemorate some special life event but large visible tats just scream out "I have a pitiful need for attention".

+1 regarding the pitiful need for attention, most are too dumb to figure out that attention comes with having done something worthwhile with their lives. Getting a tattoo and/or piercing isn't an accomplishment.

Don't have any ink and no plans for any.

I don't have a problem with tats and there are quite a few I like. My favorites are the traditional Pacific Island patterns, but it is beyond stupid for someone not of that culture to get one which is why I don't have one.

OK, go for it. Report back!

Seeing that, I have to ask myself: What sort of madness causes a vandal to destroy a work of art?

No tats for me, never wanted any. Have never seen any that I thought were tastefull.

I don't care for them myself but I have to admit some tattoos I've seen were quite beautiful, well done works of art when they tie together to tell a story or related theme. Run-of-the-mill tatts of cartoon characters, hearts, skulls, snakes, and whatever else copied from stock patterns or dreamed up, scattered all over a persons skin just look like total chaos to me.

So a female boxing fan goes to get a tattoo. She tells the guy she wants Ali on the inside of one thigh, and Frazier on the inside of the the other thigh. When done, she's really upset because neither one looks like Ali or Frazier.

A guy on the other side of the shop comes to look. He looks at "Ali" and says he doesn't know who that is. Looks at Frazier and doesn't recognize who it is. She tells him it's supposed to be Ali and Frazier.

Then he says, "All I know is, the guy in the middle looks just like Don King".

you won't find a chick under 30 who does not have tattoos now a days, if you cant get any from them, then don't worry. I enjoy the art work.

?? People must be different here than where you live.

I have two daughters under the age of 30. One is an M.D., the other an RN, BSN. Neither has a tattoo.

Some tattoos are pretty impressive as art work, but I prefer art on canvass. A beautiful woman doesn't need a tattoo. An ugly woman is ugly....with or without.

Just one small letter B inside left arm couple inches above the elbow.

do not have one

sometimes think of getting one

Tattoo's are like wearing the same shirt for the rest of your life, some people are Ok with that.

Tats like that look like she is dressed, I guess you never get to see a woman like that naked.....shame. Are they ashamed of their bodies?

Yep, not that I could care much, its your body, but there are lots around here that don't and likely won't ever have one or more even over 30.

The fishing tackle thru her face irritates me more than the ink does on this one...

I'm partial to the crossed eyes and the quiditch snitch (imaginary game and ball from the Harry Potter series) that she has on the inside of her right knee.

Don't have one now, but considering this

thought about getting my sons footprint from his birth certificate tatooed over my heart.
but havent.

None for me

I just dont dig them If I were a Marine that would be the only one for me

I was at the Ogemaw county Fair Saturday the Chicks are out of control
I thought to myself not one looks better because of that tat

Hank

Never appealed to me at all, and never will...

Just don't see the appeal...

who are you kidding?

Like any of those Trailer Trash Bar Flies would give YOU the time of day...

I don't have any but after ending up with some "scars" I thought I may cover them up with a tattoo if I could ever find one worth putting on?

I was thinking my Family's Coat of Arms with some other things but have yet to do it.

Ain't got one. Don't want one. Women with tats are a turn off. Same as women who smoke. No thanks.

Don't have any and never will. Tats on women strike me as self mutilation. Every morning while having coffee at a local mall I see lots of females with tattoos. Have yet to see one that is improved by them. Since I don't have to live with them, however, they can do as they please.

Jim

I've scarred myself enough, unintentionally.

No tattoos for me!