This thread was inspired by one of my FB friends who just got a tattoo to honor his late grandmother. Several others posted to gush how much she’d have loved it. I never knew his granny, so I have no idea. But I can speak for myself.
Personally, I wouldn’t consider it to be an honor. At best, I’d be *meh *about it. Then again, I don’t like tats. I can appreciate good artwork, but using one’s body as the canvas just creeps me out. And anyone who knows me well enough to want to honor me would surely know how I feel about ink.
My youngest sis has somewhere close to 30 assorted tats and they all have significance to her. She even got one based on our mom’s nickname, which definitely was better than a heart that says MOM. I understand what most of them are about, but I still don’t find them attractive. Whatever - her skin, her life.
So I ask all and sundry - would you be honored to be temporarily immortalized in ink on someone else?
It’s the thought that counts I suppose, but I’d really rather they didn’t get a tattoo at all.
If they must, then they should get something with artistic merit. The classic Mom heart tattoo is just tacky. Find something that reminds you of her and go with that.
I don’t suppose I view it as an honor necessarily - it is not a method by which I hope to be memorialized. I’ve nothing against tattoos, it just strikes me as kind of cheezy and I’m of the mind of not doing anything so permanent. Hang a photo of me in your hallway and feel free to take it down if you should ever get tired of looking at it. That would suit me well enough.
I’d appreciate the sentiment, but anyone who knows me that well, probably knows how much I dislike tattoos. As a way to specifically honor* me*, it’d be weird.
It’s only an honor if it’s important to the person doing the honoring. So, yes, if they said that the tattoo was in my honor, I’d be honored. If they’d like to make a mashed potato sculpture of me in my honor, sure, I’m honored. They product isn’t important to me; this is one area where it’s literally the thought that counts.
I feel much the same way when people tell me they’re going to pray for me. Great, thanks. I don’t much believe in prayer (or even think that most people who say they’ll pray for me actually, literally remember to do it), but the thought that they care and hope for the best for me is a really nice thought, and I appreciate that.
I’m lucky in that I’ve never had to worry about that. I do have friends who have had their faces tattooed on other people’s bodies, and I assume they feel honored, but I myself would be creeped out.
I really like what **WhyNot **said. I just wish I was quite that good. My actual reaction would be more like the OP’s: I appreciate the thought, but why’d you go and disfigure yourself?
Depends on both the tattoo and who is doing the honoring. If it was my mother (which would be weird given her age) I’d just be “yeah, whatever, we know you love your kids”. But if it was one of my close friends or siblings it might mean a lot to me, as long as the tattoo would be decent - small, tasteful, definitely not my face. And if it was one of my not so close friends it would just be creepy.
My grandfather was in the Navy and covered in tattoos. All of his children and their children are also covered in tattoos - myself included. All of us also have a black panther tattooed somewhere on our bodies in remembrance of him and the glue he was to our family (the black panther tattoo he had was his favorite). I think he would have liked it.
But, in the end, it’s less for the person who passed and more for the people remembering him. Every time I look at my panther I think of all the wonderful memories I had with him. If I died, I’m sure that my family members would get a tattoo that reminded them of me - and I’m totally fine with that. I like the idea of them looking at it and remembering our good memories together.
