Friend, author and blogger Michael Z. Williamson recently posted this comparative image on social media.
I can instantly see what he's driving at. Frankly, I prefer no tattoos at all on people, but I've seen many examples, on men and women, that are relatively tastefully designed, well executed, and attractive. On the other hand, I've seen too many where the person wearing them has obviously given no thought at all to an overall design. They've simply added a bit here, a bit there, obviously executed by a person with little or no talent. They look a mess - and they make the person wearing them look like a mess, too, in personality as much as skin art. (That's particularly the case with prison tats. Some of them . . . hoo, boy!)
I guess I have to agree with Mike. Tats like that resemble nothing so much as graffiti, disfiguring scars on buildings (and on people) that lower the tone of the entire neighborhood (or person). To me, they're flashing red warning lights that any involvement with that person, no matter how innocuous it may seem, is unlikely to bear good fruit.
What do you think, readers? Are such tattoos worth anything - an expression of personhood, of individuality, of a "free spirit" - or are they just so much graffiti, demonstrating an approach to life and the person themselves that's depressingly low and dispirited, showing a lack of value and values? I'll be interested to hear your views.
Peter
47 comments:
Graffiti.
Graffiti for most of them, occasionally art, many times the sign of a weak personality and bad decision-making
It is a sign of impulsiveness, and poor decision making, thus indicating good dating material but poor wife material. In my opinion. Not that I know anything. Shutting up now.
Biggest difference is that the building looked bad before the graffiti; she was beautiful before...
In Nature, Toxic and Poisonous animals and plants usually announce themselves through colors and patterns.
Same goes with tattoos.
I don't know how many physically beautiful women have disfigured themselves doing this garbage.
Just my experience so far. Nothing good has occurred around folks with neck and face tattoos.
A fellow I liked at Walmart has over the years gotten more and more neck-face tattoos and complains about being too broke to pay for more tattoos and generally getting to be an ugly soul.
Is it the tattoo? NO, the tattoo is a Lifestyle Choice and indicates tattoos are more important than buying good tires for your car to get to work safely and reliably.
Small artful tattoos I see on plenty of smart good folks.
It is a statement of the person's mental health, male or female.
Men prefer debt free virgins without tattoos. Men who settle for less will rue the day.
Once again, I am reminded of the old joke popular among us devotees of skin art:
Q: What's the main difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people? A: Tattooed people don't care if you're not tattooed.
My attorney friend, when asked why he had no ink, "Son, have you ever seen a bumper sticker on a Bentley?"
To me, neck tattoos and/or facial tattoos are a sign of mental illness.
I wish the crazy chicks had self-identified way back when, when I was a lad. Probably wouldn't have made much difference, my goals were severely short-term then (one night), but it would have made targeting so much easier.
When the tattoo phenomenon skyrocketed in the 90's, I thought a lot about why people would do such a thing. My conclusion was that they desperately wanted to use this "freedom" they were told they have, but didn't know how. So they did this. Very sad.
In addition to all the tatts, she looks like she super sizes a couple of McDonald's meals for lunch every day.
Tattoos on a pretty woman is like putting a bumper sticker on an expensive sports car
I have to agree with the first comment, graffiti.
When I was growing up tattooed ladies were at the carnival, today the carnival is everywhere.
I don't understand it but that's me.
My brother started down the path of tattoos in his late 40s. Part midlife crisis, part reaction to my father passing. He has almost a full sleeve. A conglomeration of different tattoos melded together, each one having a special meaning to him. It is almost an obsession, but it is his his body, his money. I have seen worse responses in a midlife crisis/evaluation. I have remained free of tattoos. Unfortunately I have not remained free of scars. I have quite the collection. Like my brother each one has meaning in my life. Lessons learned, injuries and disease overcome. Each has its own story. No Regerts!
Bigtube6
I think you can execute tattoos well or badly, but in the end they all look awful, because human skin ages and ink fades.
No amount of paint would save that building from its innate ugliness, though; it was built to be ugly and ugly it will stay.
When yer on the beach have y' ever seen a woman born in the early '50s who got a tat early during the crazy '70s; she's 70 some odd now - without heavin' yer lunch
They need to understand what the Bible says about tats, cuttings and piercing's
When I was a kid, we all grew our hair long, to show our individuality. We all ended up looking the same.
Now they do the same thing with tattoos.
Only difference is, I cut that long hair off eventually.
As Jimmy Buffett wrote, a tattoo is "a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling". Most tats are ugly and pointless. This woman has disfigured herself and made herself look ugly.
Graffiti in both cases... And hers is REALLY gonna be nasty in 40 years if she lasts that long.
I have seen beautiful women who were tattooed. I have yet to see a woman made beautiful by tattoos.
I have a co worker in her mid 20s that has 'art' everywhere. Not attractive now and definitely not in 20 years....
Tattoos are extra ways to identify an individual, alive or dead. In my years as a LEO, I always made sure the tattoos were noted in the arrest report with Polaroids included in the file.
I'm un-tattooed at 73. I am going to wait until in my eighties for tattoos so that they will be legible when I'm 95.
At 71, never had ink... once contemplated putting my blood type on back of shoulder, but they type and cross-match accident victims anywho, so.....
WIth rare exception, tattoos are a billboard screaming "I make crappy decisions".
To each their own I guess. Never considered doing one when I was in the Navy in the early 70s but I got a tat at 65 when I retired in 2019. Big ass eagle with a flag on my shoulder. Took 12 hours and a grand to do. I love it, my 2 yr old granddaughter loves it and that's all that matters, but on the face? NWIH
I find them very unattractive.
Exile1981
I'll very occasionally see someone with a well executed tat. The vast majority of people just seem to have random collections of poorly executed garbage applied randomly to their bodies.
I take it as a warning sign, and an indicator of poor decison making. And ink on the face and neck means "cross the road, don't make eye contact".
At least with a sports care you can sell it later on. (sigh)
I've seen some really attractive body art. However, for every one of those I've seen dozens of garbage can graffiti.
Are we looking at the same girl? Because she looks reasonably physically healthy to me.
Like with a lot of things, depends on the content. A good LOTR quote/reference, passage of scripture, or something otherwise tasteful? No problem.
Weird/garish stuff, neck/face tats, or whatever mess that girl has going on? Yeah, not so much.
Remember that year when people were talking about having their 'makeup' tattooed on permanently so they wouldn't have to apply it all the time......Bad ideas just keep getting worse and worse.
I have friends with no ink. I have friends with ink. And if a woman is smart, and kind, and comfortable in her own skin (with or without ink) then she's beautiful..
I have never seen a tattoo that makes a person look better.
Major Charles Emerson Winchester III in Mash referred to tattoo as the poor man's art.
I've been pierced enough. Only tats I might be interested in might be drop tables. Don't know what they cost, my guess is a lot of people are walking around with tats worth the price of a decent rifle.
Tattooing was forbidden in the Torah because it was, at the time, an exclusively pagan practice. That's not necessarily the case anymore.
You wouldn't tag your own house with graffiti, so why do it to your own body?
"How are WE today" "would you like to order now?" Naw my appetite just zeroed out.
The aspect that I don't like is that people seem to think having Tattoos is an accomplishment.
I have never gotten a tattoo. Just always seemed like an issue in the making over time by embedding ink or other colored compounds permanently under my skin. Also I have never felt the desire or need to gild my lily so to say. I'm comfortable in the scarred skin I have.
In general I find tattoo's ugly due to lack of artistic talent of the person doing the tattoo. Then there are the tattoo's that make you want to give the person wearing it a wide berth due to the look into their mind based on their preferred "mentally dark" art. Then there is the 10% or less for men tattoo's that are simply cool artistically and implemented amazingly. This doesn't include full arm or whole body covered just a singular or maybe two really well done images. There there are the 1 or 2% of women that get something timeless and graceful. It never includes a large tattoo but more of a thin delicate tracery of vines, or very small flowers, or even an arbitrary pattern that looks as if it naturally growing up or around their bodies. These are tattoo's that were from the inception supposed to be art that enhanced the body. Not a statement of importance or emotional relevance. Minimalist stuff like this also ages well as the body grows, swells, shrinks etc.. If it fades it is still pretty as it is the minimal sketch/pattern that gives it its beauty not some intricate attempt at a picture that won't survive aging.
Over my life I avoided the average woman with tattoos in dating as a lot of the imagery was disturbing and a bit scary, either in topic or how much competing stuff covered their bodies.
Tatoo's have led to me revising my opinions on how many people have dark thoughts that seem to be central to their minds. It is a bit scary on a societal level. Not tattoo's in general but what a lot of the imagery in them displays about the darkness in peoples hearts. Your never sure if its the darkness of how they have been treated or how they believe. Sadly given the psychology of being abused they can end up both being true.
Face, throat, neck tats are a sign of mental instability.......steer clear and give a wide berth. Same with sleeves on a woman. Sleeves on a dude....might hire oil rig hand or welder, something like that but nothing that requires critical thinking skills or performing under pressure.
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