Tattoos

[Tampa Turtle]

First of all, good luck on your fight.

 

Personally I have none, no tats or piercings. My wife neither; I always joke that will be helpful when they search for her body. Almost all the rest of the scout moms seem to have a "tramp stamp" prominently displayed.

[Gunny2862]

21 years in the USMC, no tats to date. Wife spent ten years in the USMC, also no tats to date.

Considering wedding ring tats for our 20th anniversary.

 

But one reason we have each avoided the tattoo artists to date is that the commonality of designs(especially that many of the designs seem to not be individual, but almost reproducible trademark like items) which seems to lower their value of (in our eyes).

 

But a larger portion than normal of our church staff is tatted, a unique distinction I think - they tend to small but visible stylistic (rough hewn wooden) crosses.

 

I don't have a problem with tats in general; but some styles do lend to pre-judgement - just like the way folks wear their clothes...

[beardad]

I have a few. all have some sort of meaning to me.I got my first when I had just turned 18. I am now 35. hasn't faded a bit. The ink has come a long way since the days when the blacks would turn green. if you have a modern day tattoo and it is faded. you are doing it wrong.

 

 

I also used to have my nipple pierced. that was an early 20's thing. it was a popular trend when I was in the Marines. took it out when my first was born. he tried to tug on it once.

[packsaddle]

I was working on a project in the Three Sisters area of Oregon years ago. Those were the best days ever, I just love that area.

One day mid week I stopped by a local grocery for a sandwich and I arrived just in time for 'check day'. Evidently all the 'blue plastic' people came down to collect their welfare checks or something like that. Then they'd cash the checks, buy some food and go back into the mountains to live under a blue plastic tarp. I stood in line behind one of them. He was about my height, taller than average, and had long black hair and a beard. He looked like a really grimy, dirty version of Jesus. He must have had 10 rings in each ear, pierced eyebrows, multiple nose rings, lips, tongue, I hate to even think about what else must have been pierced. He had a few tattoos but nothing exceptional.

We talked for a few minutes (that's how I learned about the check thing) and then I gave him a lift up into the hills where he disappeared into the bush on a poorly marked trail. I guess he spent most of his time stoned or something. He did tell me with a glint of pride that he never touched alcohol. He planned to spend the summer under plastic and then drop over to Sisters or Bend or Eugene or maybe on down to Florence when it got cold. He told me he and one of his friends had done each other's piercings. I mostly listened...horrified fascination.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[Eagle_23]

A couple friends and I are thinking about getting tatoos (well one just got one, but still) Basicly we all met at the scout camp we work at. And all three of us just about live and work there, so we are thinking about all getting the camp logo.

[SeattlePioneer]

I'm thinking about getting a "Tats Are Trashy" tattoo.

 

But WHERE?

[CA_Scouter]

I have a dream...

 

I have a dream that my sweet niece who has covered her chest and neck with tattoos will find some other way to draw attention to herself.

 

I have a dream that persons will express their individuality by not doing the same ... thing ... everyone else is doing... (boing!) (Corollary: "Yes, you are special, just like everyone else.").

 

I have a dream that we will one day live in a nation where persons will not be judged by the design of their tattoo but by the content of their character.

 

$0.02

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Our local tv station has 5 minutes at 6 pm edition where people can do a video resume.....It is fantastic fun to watch.....

 

When you got the tear drop tattoos, did ya think you might want a decent job some day.

 

Or that bunch of roses on your chest between the gals.....

 

Or you name on the front of your neck.

 

or that gun on your neck....

 

Or that tackle box in your lip an nose.

 

or when you talk clicking that stud in your tongue is going to sound great on the phone.

[SeattlePioneer]

I'd be curious if Scout Camp Directors would refuse to hire program staff with visible tattoos.

 

 

While I consider tattoos to be trashy behavior, I would tend to ignore one such display were it small. But I see a pronounced tendency for tattoos to grow like a skin a contagious disease on a lot of people.

 

Science managed to get rid of smallpox and we seems to have replaced smallpox scars with tattoos.

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>

I'm thinking about getting a "Tats Are Trashy" tattoo.

 

But WHERE?

 

[Scoutfish]

I've always told some of the youth and my own son :

 

Never judge anybody by their looks, You could be completely wrong.

 

At the same time, I have always said that I do not live myself to fit other people's predisposed ideals about how I should look or dress. If you judge me by looks alone, it's your loss.

 

But at the same time...when it comes to work, I do know that people do judge me by appearance. If I look like a thug, potential customers will think I am a thug and will more likely find something - anything wrong with how I do my job.

 

Again, that's actually their own issue and problem, but if it affects me financially....

 

So here's the deal with tatoos: They can be looked upon just like clothes or any other accessory.

 

Some people wear clothes they just shouldn't - and sometimes they were clothes that are inaapropriate for the situation at hand.

 

Don't wear a see through dress while not wearing a bra and a g string to church with thigh high boots.

 

 

Don't wear 3 piece suit to swim in.

 

Do not wear your " F*@K YOU! " anarchy shirt to your son's school play, but go ahead and wear it while laying on a creeper while servicing your trucks transmission.

 

 

 

Tattos are the same way. Saw an awesome scout tattoo on the facebook page. I think my tattoo is in very good taste.

 

Used to be a guy who worked with my company a long time ago , and he had the word "freak" with a set up bondage handcuffs tattooes underneath - on the side of his neck.

 

Yeah, that one - while probably entirely accurate - should be hidden . Not tastefull in my opinion.

 

But then that's the catch 22 isn't it? Who's opinion sets the standard and where exactly do you draw

the line?

 

I know quite a few former military ( note I did not say ex ) men who have either branch, date or place of service tattooed on their arms, chest, back, etc...

 

Saigon, Iwo Jima Pelelue ( I think I spelled that right) tattooed on their arms.

 

 

In those cases, it's not even close to being about tastefull or tacky, but is a chronicled part of their lives and who they are - just like a birth mark or last name.

 

 

I have my tattoo symbolizing my battle and victory ( so far) with cancer. I also plan on getting another tattoo of an angel that will be about 2 1/2' tall to symbolize what my wife means to me ( my guardian angel who just happens to still be alive) .

 

Maybe one day down the road, I might get another one after that, but I pretty sure I won't......right now, that is.

[airborneveteran]

I decided not to get any tattoos while in the Army. I was, however, really tempted to get jump wings on my bicep after finishing parachute training. Having a TS/SBI/SCI security clearance and a really fun job made me decide not to do anything that might ever even potentially keep me from getting assigned to any unique missions. It turned out that it never was an issue, but I would have been way more disappointed in myself for losing a great mission than I ever could have been for NOT getting a cool tattoo.

 

As for civilians with normal jobs. I don't want visible tattoos on people who represent me or my company. At a minimum it makes me wonder if your decision making process is limited to "the now" vs. long term, big picture thinking. I'm not the only person who has this concern and makes hiring decisions, so be careful in what will be on display for a future employer 20 years from now.

 

To the OP, once you're fighting for your life you fight that fight however you want with my best wishes. Just make sure that if you ever get a visible one you volunteer that info during your job interview. Fighting cancer is a justifiable reason to live only "in the now". You get positive points for being committed to your fight.(This message has been edited by airborneveteran)

[acco40]

Some folks like to draw attention to themselves and thus get tattoos, pierce their bodies with jewelry (or worse).

 

When my daughter was in middle school, she was asking me to allow her to get her ears pierced. I kept emailing her pictures of women with nose rings, elongated necks, stuffed lips, men with beer cans in their ear lobes, etc.

 

She argued with me for about five years or so but now at 17, she has actually thanked me for not allowing her to mutilate her body.

 

For me, it was simply a case of not wanting anyone to poke holes in my children. As for tattoos, my father, a USN veteran (as was my mother) had an anchor/rope tattoo on his hand. He had it removed before I was born and it was difficult to see but I could see some scarring where it had been. I could sense his regret and although he never pushed me not to get a tattoo, I've never really had the desire. Why would one want to deface oneself with what is essentially human graffiti?

 

I've always been really liberal with myself an my children with things like hair styles, facial hair, etc. but not with permanent decisions like piercings and tattoos.

[SeattlePioneer]

I've had Cub Scout Den Leaders with visible military tattoos. I cut them slack.

 

 

I don't recall this being much of an issue with WWII, Korean War or Vietnam vets. Has this been popularized in the military in recent years?

 

 

You comment that a tattoo might have precluded you from being included on some military missions is interesting. One thinks of "Lawrence of Arabia" when Lawrence was captured by the Turks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[airborneveteran]

SeattlePioneer

I was **not** a Special Operator or anything like that. But I was one of their MI guys for a time (that's why I went to jump school). Those guys are MY heroes. It would suck to be told "no markings" for a mission with them and miss a chance to do my job because of something stupid. Maybe I over-thought things with tattoos but it's better than the alternative.