Again, who's arguing here? Stop trying to make this more than it ever was. If people are discussing something you don't care about ITT, go read another thread then.

I actually really hate when people make comments like this and attempt to "control" the thread.

I'm the fiddler at the local hoedown. I'm social. I'm Everyman. I'm nobody's Nero.

I'm not trying to control anything or anyone. I'm saying what I think. Argue till you're blue in the face, by all means. Is that tattoo ink?

To me tattoos are cool in the same way cigarettes are cool. they are bad for your health and career and potentially limit your social options but they make up for it by saying that you do not care about your own health and well being. Tattoos express something and cigarettes make you feel good. There is nothing smart about smoking period and theirs nothing good coming from tattoos, but the sheer veracity of having them/smoking them is cool in and of itself. It shows you are willing to take negative ev risks and are open to things.
tattoos also have the dual benefit of expressing something in particular. They are cool.

I think you have summed-up the logic of an entire generation.

Ah, but which of those highly original, individual, and communicative statements would be best to pick off the wall and have applied?

I was thinking maybe a flaming skull would be good ... maybe some playing cards ...

It's hard for me to say. I flirted with the idea of getting a tattoo because some of my friends have them, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it. I thought to myself - this is for life, it will look terrible when you are older, mutilation is not a good form of self expression but at the same time I admire those who say F it I dont care about those consequences, give me the skull tattoo because I think it looks badass.
It increases the range of possibilities of what they are capable of doing. there is a set number of options a sane person will pursue in certain situations, where an insane person has a wider range of options because you do not know what they will do. certain people I know, there is no way they will ever jump me in a public place and start bashing me with a lead pipe but with a certain type insane/violent person that door is always open. And that is hot as far as Im concerned. tattoos are like that but to a lesser extent.

The only problem with that logic is that when something just becomes the popular style, it's hardly rebellious or distinctive anymore.

Getting a weird haircut, wearing goofy clothes, or getting a tattoo are among the easiest, safest, and least introspective and nonconformist ways of expressing your putative originality, creativity, or "outsider" nature possible. When I see a tattoo I think of someone who has directed his focus someplace undemanding and meaningless, in lockstep with one of the very silliest trends of the moment, and tend to think of them as more conservative, not less.

If you were getting a tattoo in the 50's, maybe there was something outlandish about it. Now it's just following a particularly dopey version of the herd.

Plus, those things are ridiculously fugly when they turn green.

sigh Im going to have to drop this arguement for now due to a combination of a lot of truth in your post and me not caring all that much about this issue. I think in my 30 second prep to combat this response I actually learned something about myself which I don't feel like bringing up right now. For better or worse I will be bringing it up later.

Why all the tattoo hate? I loved that little guy.

"Boss, de plane!"

Seriously, anything that indicates a woman will subnit to having something disgusting done to her body in a dopey attempt to seek some attention that she'll regret later is alright by me

Blarg,

But what do you think of really cool tats?

the actual knowledge being shown about tatoos in general itt is laughable.

..and imo if you really feel tatoos are disgusting and all that then i accuse you of being insanely superficial.

and lol at the the idea of most tatoos having some sort of intert social power to pariah you from certain parts of society. people barely look twice at them anymore and if you're in an industry that frowns upon it then you can get one in the other 80% of your body thats not shown everyday.

this is one of the dumbest things ive seen in our beloved nc thread.

Dr. Livin is ordering Blarg to take 2 ambien and zonk out for a solid 12 hours. You sound like you need it....bad.

Hey some of us only brought love

I think you misunderstood his point, livin. Lots, though certainly not all, of people justify getting a tattoo because they want to be seen as unique. He was arguing the same point you are, that once upon a time that may have been a valid argument, but these days tattoos are so common as to not get a second glance.

i dont know...saying tatoos are gross or whatever kinda tilts me. dont know why. i do have one but im not on the tatoo freak bandwagon or anything. this opinion just seems a little elitist to me.

+1

I am here, silently lurking in the background without much to say to be honest. I have been in a bit of a funk and not feeling very social, which I hate.


For the record, I have a tattoo and Fishette has more than one tattoo. I personally do not give a crap if anyone else likes my tattoo or what they think about tattoos in general. They are entitled to their own opinion as long as they are not condescending, boorish or rude about it. To dismiss a persons intelligence or really anythig at all about them because they happen to have a tattoo is really beyond silly. People get tattoos for a lot of different reasons. Some reasons are better than others, granted, but really it is a personal decision and should be respected as such.

for the record i found this highly insulting.
my wife has several tatoos....she didnt get them for attention. I didnt get mine for that reason either.

man there must be something in the water lately thats making people say some pretty stupid **** in the lounge.

I'm with livin' on the tatoo thing. Maybe it was a rebellious thing at one time, but now it's just in style, and no different than wearing a shirt. You like Izod or you don't. There's nothing rebellious about your tastes in clothing, but what you wear is an expression of you. Following your guys' logic, if your best friend decided to get a tatoo, then s/he is now an uninteresting *******/bitch.

Ultra-sensitivity ITT today

The word "knowledge" doesn't mean what you think it means.

Others are entitled to their taste just as you are entitled to yours. Not a difficult concept.

LOL
You know we have found a radioactive topic when Blarg and I look over <shudder> and find each other on the same side.
We've all stated our opinions. Maybe we should take a timeout and come back to this topic whenever the lounge falls into the doldrums.
But isn't it refreshing to have a nice little fistfight in order to perk things up and clear the air on a harmless, cultural topic from time-to-time?
No harm; no foul.

I doubt it wasn't. Nobody said the government should be involved. Just some personal decisions are more sensible than others. At least if you get a bad haircut it doesn't last forever or take a thousand bucks and some painful lasering to get rid of.

A friend of mine got a tattoo of his dead father's face on his calf. A little creepy, but at least it is original, about something real, and not some teenage angsty or goofball crap. What's really absurd is when people want something original to express themselves, and then choose a tattoo off the sample illustrations on the wall. How many people are out there being individuals wearing that thing, being exactly like some other guy following exactly the same trend? And really, how many skulls or ludicrously drawn women are out there making people look like anything but fools?

And again, when those things get old and green in a few years, they are beyond fugly no matter how they started.