Actually Bunge, I don't care. But I'm rather false, I disguise myself because it has advantages, and a disguise is better when it's easily changed to suit the situation.
Let's keep in mind how this thread got started -- someone wondering whether or not he should get a tattoo, simply to fit in better with the "brotherhood" of others in a fire department (denying that peer pressure has a thing to do with it while simulateously spelling out the peer pressure involved).
The actually tattoo design is practically besides the point -- it's clearly become a modern-day initiation rite, a way of establishing tribal/group identity.
My concern is that some people are saying unequivocally 'no', but that's a fairly ignorant answer. Should you get a tattoo because you think you'll be cooler? No.
I've had several major experiences in life that, since they are in the past, I can't change the fact that they've happened and what they've done to me. Some of these will be immortalized simply because I recognize the permanent effect they've had on me. I don't give a shit if anyone ever sees them or understands them.
DMBand006, how often do you feel the need to change your Desktop Background or buy a new jacket? What music did you love ten years ago and what music do you love now? etc etc Catch my drift...?
Hear hear. A very good point indeed.
Not being tattooed, I can't offer a completely valid opinion on this subject. However, I can say that I considered getting one a while back. I drew a pretty design for myself, and worked it over until I thought it was perfect. Once I was satisfied, I bought a henna kit, and hennaed it onto my skin.
24 hours later I was sick of it and saying "for the love of god, get this off my skin".
So, I would definitely advise experimenting with henna before you actually take the plunge. It could show you that you've got a bit shorter an attention span than you previously thought.
I haven't decided anything yet. I do want one, but I'm not sure if I'll end up getting one. You all make valid points, thanks a lot for your input.
If I do get one, it will be either fire service, or Christian themed. An old friend of mine (who is a youth pastor now) got a cross and crown of thorns tattooed on his left bicep. It's an awesome looking tattoo, I would really consider something like that, but on one of my shoulders or the middle of my upper back. I don't want one on my arms. I've also looked into a lot of fire service designs too. I'll scan some drawings and post them.
White ink because it's practically invisible, and fades in less than a dozen years. If you want to see it you'll pretty much have to be told where to look, and that's OK if you're getting it for you - and if it's going to be part of you then I suppose it has to be for you first.
I've got three tattoos, all done in white ink, and I still like them after over a decade. *shrug*
These types of markings need some sort of cultural reference. Assuming you're a 21st century westerner, there's no way you'll come by that cultural context honestly. You aren't a sailor, or a native, or a norse warrior, or a Maori. At best you'll make some lame reference to these. At worst, you'll identify with the only real cultural context that ink and piercings have in our culture -- the loser, trailer park, dope/crack-head, drop out, criminal, ignorant loser. Might as well tattoo a photorealistic vagina on your forehead for all the good a tattoo will do you.
Yes, you can put it somewhere where it's easy to cover-up, but what's the point of the that?
Tattoos are expensive. Wanna make an impression young man? Go buy yourself a nice suit. That's an investment that will repay itself. A tattoo is just an expensive diversion that closes more doors than it opens.
Expensive is relative. A tattoo is less expensive than a liposuction or penis or breast enlargement for sure. I assume a huge d*ck or large boobs have much more cultural reference or content?
Haircuts need some cultural reference too. Not just the whites who have the wannabeblack hair styles (afros, rastas, braids) but also white males who have short hair. Isn't that a bit old fashioned? Didn't the men use to have short hair in the past, when there weren't that mnay shampoos available and when the women used to impress men with the length of their hair or something? So isn't the long hair for women as passé as well?
Don't get me wrong, of course it's your body to do with what you will, but that doesn't make it wise, or particularly meaningful, even if you tell yourself that it has meaning to you.
That isn't just for tattoos. It is for facelifts, silicon implants, penis enlargements, liposuctions and a lot of other similar body modificiations as well.
Even if you want a bigger bust, smaller waist, less wrinkles, more inches somewhere and less in some other place, it does still not mean that you or your body has more meaning after.
but also white males who have short hair. Isn't that a bit old fashioned? Didn't the men use to have short hair in the past, when there weren't that mnay shampoos available and when the women used to impress men with the length of their hair or something? So isn't the long hair for women as passé as well?
The fashionable length of hair goes up and every 20-30 years o so... If you care that it's old fashioned or out of style you are simply fashion conscience.
Spoken by the wisdom of the follically challenged and head shaven.
I love a good tattoo, but I haven't come across anything I'd like permanently inked onto my skin. My best friend got one about 7 years ago, Yosemite Sam up on his back right behind his shoulder, about 3-4 inches high. I guess he thought that was cool that day... he literally walked into a tattoo parlour and just picked one out. He had no idea what he wanted before I went in there. Definitely NOT the way to do it.
He regrets it now, but he's stuck with it. He's not into surgery to try and remove the sucker.
It'll be funny when he's 60 and the grandkids are asking "Grandpa, how come you have a cartoon on your back?"
I had a fling with a girl who had Minnie Mouse inked on her lower back. She also had a thing for rear-entry, so I have this sexual association with Minnie Mouse that I will never be able to shake. Should've been looking at the wall... should've been looking at the wall...
and once again murbot wins the "too much ****ing information" prize
now all we need is a image of minnie mouse and the "i'd hit it" tagline
g
ps..i like tattoos...will get an image of mine up sometime...my brother and his wife got matching tattoos instead of rings...i like the girls with the tattoo in the smalls of their backs...it is getting a bit too common place i guess, but still nice to look at....i had a female friend who got the biohazard sign tattooed just above her vagina...i thought that was a nice commentary...i also had a friend who was very into tattoos and had hundreds of them...the ones that perplexed me the most was when he went on a "flesh colored" tattoo phase and had about 20 flesh colored tattoos put on that you couldn't see unless you got right up on him (no nasty comments from the peanut gallery)
(My biggest concern isn't wanting it removed afterwards, but liking it *so* much that I then *do* rush into more of them, and regretting *those*...)
i'm with kick on this...i have one (wife nearly divorced me over it too, even though i let her know for a year that i was getting it)...right after i got the one i wanted another...but i held off (mostly because i like being married)...but i really loved the scarification phase and missed it when my tat was no longer raised and bumpy...it can be quite addictive...i am lucky to have gone these 14 years without adding any more tattoos to my body...i would suggest you choose wisely and that you put it to an area that won't be horribly affected by gravity...that beautiful sun tattoo suddenly looks like a salvador dali painting when you are 75...
g
ps...i still love my tattoo...the only slight downside is that it is southwest american indian symbols that i got when i was living in baltimore...6 years later i move to the southwest and a) it is not as unique as it was back east b) i do feel a little self-concious on the rare occasions that i am shirtless on one of the indian reservations...the native americans have never said anything to me about it and it is not like i often run around the res shirtless...but i have gone swimming with some of my patients from the res and i wonder sometimes if they view my tat was honoring them (i hope) or belittling them somehow (i hope not)
when i saw matsu posting here i thought i would find:
"i would get a tattoo, but they are over-priced for what you get...what these tattoos need is a 25 to 30% price drop if they really want to be competive and get my purchase money"
I had a friend who had the most extraordinary tattoo of flowers in a line over his shoulder and down his chest. Apparently when samurai came back to their dojos, or wherever it is off-duty samurai hang out, in victory, they would put flowers in their armour. Something like that. Anyway, he had that done, in a beautiful Japanese style copied from some text book or Hokusai painting. I don't remember but I'm sure his source was impeccable and respectful and whatnot and etc.
It was quite something.
Speaking of scarification, I have another friend who had a self-designed symbol tattooed in white ink on the top of her arm. She deliberately picked at the tattoo before it was healed so that it would scar; it's raised a bit and looks like a brand.
I don't think I would do this, but I thought it was... brave. It suits her, anyway.
Speaking of scarification, I have another friend who had a self-designed symbol tattooed in white ink on the top of her arm. She deliberately picked at the tattoo before it was healed so that it would scar; it's raised a bit and looks like a brand.
Any tattoo done properly in white ink should raise a bit. It's something to do with the roundness and/or thickness of the needles used. Apparently white ink needs to be buried much deeper into the epidermis in order to last and not fade as quickly. I've no personal reference for black or coloured ink, but every tattoo artist said it's probably much more painful than getting a 'normal' tattoo.
Dude, I'm pro-tattoo and my doob habit is (nearly) as healthy as yours.
This is still funny and I would still never get a doob tattoo.
don't fret, muh man, twasn't aim'd at u. twas fer whoever thinks they self eLite. and the dooberizer on th' end was intented to chill any aggresion that mae have been spilt onto the key bored. and, in summation, i'll re-ITerate:
Comments
Originally posted by shetline
Let's keep in mind how this thread got started -- someone wondering whether or not he should get a tattoo, simply to fit in better with the "brotherhood" of others in a fire department (denying that peer pressure has a thing to do with it while simulateously spelling out the peer pressure involved).
The actually tattoo design is practically besides the point -- it's clearly become a modern-day initiation rite, a way of establishing tribal/group identity.
My concern is that some people are saying unequivocally 'no', but that's a fairly ignorant answer. Should you get a tattoo because you think you'll be cooler? No.
I've had several major experiences in life that, since they are in the past, I can't change the fact that they've happened and what they've done to me. Some of these will be immortalized simply because I recognize the permanent effect they've had on me. I don't give a shit if anyone ever sees them or understands them.
Originally posted by SonOfSylvanus
DMBand006, how often do you feel the need to change your Desktop Background or buy a new jacket? What music did you love ten years ago and what music do you love now? etc etc Catch my drift...?
Hear hear. A very good point indeed.
Not being tattooed, I can't offer a completely valid opinion on this subject. However, I can say that I considered getting one a while back. I drew a pretty design for myself, and worked it over until I thought it was perfect. Once I was satisfied, I bought a henna kit, and hennaed it onto my skin.
24 hours later I was sick of it and saying "for the love of god, get this off my skin".
So, I would definitely advise experimenting with henna before you actually take the plunge. It could show you that you've got a bit shorter an attention span than you previously thought.
If I do get one, it will be either fire service, or Christian themed. An old friend of mine (who is a youth pastor now) got a cross and crown of thorns tattooed on his left bicep. It's an awesome looking tattoo, I would really consider something like that, but on one of my shoulders or the middle of my upper back. I don't want one on my arms. I've also looked into a lot of fire service designs too. I'll scan some drawings and post them.
In some jobs tatoos may be signs of brotherhood, in others they are sign of people that should not get the job.
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
White ink because it's practically invisible, and fades in less than a dozen years. If you want to see it you'll pretty much have to be told where to look, and that's OK if you're getting it for you - and if it's going to be part of you then I suppose it has to be for you first.
I've got three tattoos, all done in white ink, and I still like them after over a decade. *shrug*
Originally posted by Matsu
These types of markings need some sort of cultural reference. Assuming you're a 21st century westerner, there's no way you'll come by that cultural context honestly. You aren't a sailor, or a native, or a norse warrior, or a Maori. At best you'll make some lame reference to these. At worst, you'll identify with the only real cultural context that ink and piercings have in our culture -- the loser, trailer park, dope/crack-head, drop out, criminal, ignorant loser. Might as well tattoo a photorealistic vagina on your forehead for all the good a tattoo will do you.
Yes, you can put it somewhere where it's easy to cover-up, but what's the point of the that?
Tattoos are expensive. Wanna make an impression young man? Go buy yourself a nice suit. That's an investment that will repay itself. A tattoo is just an expensive diversion that closes more doors than it opens.
Expensive is relative. A tattoo is less expensive than a liposuction or penis or breast enlargement for sure. I assume a huge d*ck or large boobs have much more cultural reference or content?
Haircuts need some cultural reference too. Not just the whites who have the wannabeblack hair styles (afros, rastas, braids) but also white males who have short hair. Isn't that a bit old fashioned? Didn't the men use to have short hair in the past, when there weren't that mnay shampoos available and when the women used to impress men with the length of their hair or something? So isn't the long hair for women as passé as well?
Originally posted by Matsu
Don't get me wrong, of course it's your body to do with what you will, but that doesn't make it wise, or particularly meaningful, even if you tell yourself that it has meaning to you.
That isn't just for tattoos. It is for facelifts, silicon implants, penis enlargements, liposuctions and a lot of other similar body modificiations as well.
Even if you want a bigger bust, smaller waist, less wrinkles, more inches somewhere and less in some other place, it does still not mean that you or your body has more meaning after.
Originally posted by Giaguara
but also white males who have short hair. Isn't that a bit old fashioned? Didn't the men use to have short hair in the past, when there weren't that mnay shampoos available and when the women used to impress men with the length of their hair or something? So isn't the long hair for women as passé as well?
The fashionable length of hair goes up and every 20-30 years o so... If you care that it's old fashioned or out of style you are simply fashion conscience.
Spoken by the wisdom of the follically challenged and head shaven.
MSKR
Originally posted by shetline
Oh, he's smokin' a doob! SMOKIN' A DOOB! Damn, that changes everything!
It's still trite, overused, banal imagery, but "irony" and doobness overcome all.
This is very, very funny.
This is still funny and I would still never get a doob tattoo.
He regrets it now, but he's stuck with it. He's not into surgery to try and remove the sucker.
It'll be funny when he's 60 and the grandkids are asking "Grandpa, how come you have a cartoon on your back?"
I had a fling with a girl who had Minnie Mouse inked on her lower back. She also had a thing for rear-entry, so I have this sexual association with Minnie Mouse that I will never be able to shake. Should've been looking at the wall... should've been looking at the wall...
now all we need is a image of minnie mouse and the "i'd hit it" tagline
g
ps..i like tattoos...will get an image of mine up sometime...my brother and his wife got matching tattoos instead of rings...i like the girls with the tattoo in the smalls of their backs...it is getting a bit too common place i guess, but still nice to look at....i had a female friend who got the biohazard sign tattooed just above her vagina...i thought that was a nice commentary...i also had a friend who was very into tattoos and had hundreds of them...the ones that perplexed me the most was when he went on a "flesh colored" tattoo phase and had about 20 flesh colored tattoos put on that you couldn't see unless you got right up on him (no nasty comments from the peanut gallery)
g
Originally posted by Kickaha
(My biggest concern isn't wanting it removed afterwards, but liking it *so* much that I then *do* rush into more of them, and regretting *those*...)
i'm with kick on this...i have one (wife nearly divorced me over it too, even though i let her know for a year that i was getting it)...right after i got the one i wanted another...but i held off (mostly because i like being married)...but i really loved the scarification phase and missed it when my tat was no longer raised and bumpy...it can be quite addictive...i am lucky to have gone these 14 years without adding any more tattoos to my body...i would suggest you choose wisely and that you put it to an area that won't be horribly affected by gravity...that beautiful sun tattoo suddenly looks like a salvador dali painting when you are 75...
g
ps...i still love my tattoo...the only slight downside is that it is southwest american indian symbols that i got when i was living in baltimore...6 years later i move to the southwest and a) it is not as unique as it was back east b) i do feel a little self-concious on the rare occasions that i am shirtless on one of the indian reservations...the native americans have never said anything to me about it and it is not like i often run around the res shirtless...but i have gone swimming with some of my patients from the res and i wonder sometimes if they view my tat was honoring them (i hope) or belittling them somehow (i hope not)
"i would get a tattoo, but they are over-priced for what you get...what these tattoos need is a 25 to 30% price drop if they really want to be competive and get my purchase money"
g
It was quite something.
Speaking of scarification, I have another friend who had a self-designed symbol tattooed in white ink on the top of her arm. She deliberately picked at the tattoo before it was healed so that it would scar; it's raised a bit and looks like a brand.
I don't think I would do this, but I thought it was... brave. It suits her, anyway.
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
Speaking of scarification, I have another friend who had a self-designed symbol tattooed in white ink on the top of her arm. She deliberately picked at the tattoo before it was healed so that it would scar; it's raised a bit and looks like a brand.
Any tattoo done properly in white ink should raise a bit. It's something to do with the roundness and/or thickness of the needles used. Apparently white ink needs to be buried much deeper into the epidermis in order to last and not fade as quickly. I've no personal reference for black or coloured ink, but every tattoo artist said it's probably much more painful than getting a 'normal' tattoo.
Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
Dude, I'm pro-tattoo and my doob habit is (nearly) as healthy as yours.
This is still funny and I would still never get a doob tattoo.
don't fret, muh man, twasn't aim'd at u. twas fer whoever thinks they self eLite. and the dooberizer on th' end was intented to chill any aggresion that mae have been spilt onto the key bored. and, in summation, i'll re-ITerate: