A few days ago as I was walking around Wal-mart, I decided to count tattoos on people. Actually, the number of people with tattoos. Not because I wanted to make a judgement. Rather, I like to observe. I'm a people-watcher.
I saw all genders and ages of folks donning the colorful "body art". When I observe anything, I try to see with clear eyes, putting even my religious and cultural values aside for a moment, simply to try and understand, to empathize without judgement.
Try as I might, I just don't get it. I'd understand a little better, perhaps, if the tattoos lasted just a few months, or even a year or two. They don't. While there are procedures to remove tattoos, the skin can't be restored to it's former state. You might not care when you're twenty, or twenty-five. But at some point you're not twenty-five anymore. Saturday Night Live had a great bit starring Amy Poehler a few years back. It's a little crass, but worth a laugh:
Excessive piercings go right along with tattoos. One or two in the earlobe, ok. But the lip? The tongue. The nipple?! Why, why, why!
And wha
t about those ear gauges...Somewhere along the line, people confused "cool" with "stupid".
You might say all of these things are for the sake of self-expression. Fine. But what are you expressing except "I like to put holes and irreversible pictures on myself." If you want to express yourself, go get a t-shirt made. At least you can take it off once you change your mind, and it won't leave a big painful hole in some body part.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tattoos, piercings, and ear gauges, oh my!
Posted by
Neal Larson
at
6:14 AM
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3 comments:
Well sir you ideas are your ideas. Frankly no one cares what some old dude thinks about the new "cool" thing to do. It's a new style, get over it.
Everyone's opinion is different due to taste and style and decided whats cool or just plain "stupidity" in my opinion i would have to disagree with you on the gauges topic, they are just as much as a form of self expression they display what the individual thinks and how they like to express themselves.
-La Crets
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