Omniscient: Well, good for you. So it’s not for you, that’s fine with me.
BUT, here’s my rant:
You may think all that but that doesn’t mean it applies to everyone (and certainly not me). I have not even shown anyone but my friends and family (about 20 people total). No one, except of course friends and family really know I have had a tattoo for over a year (it’s always covered by my t-shirt sleeves), and hardly anyone even knows I have a second. Cry for attention? I think not.
I also started thinking of having a tattoo for several years, even before they became trendy. To say such things Omniscient, would offend MANY people (if you see a Yakuza, or better yet, a Samoan, be sure to tell him how trendy and short sighted his tattoos are).
I did NOT get these tattoos to be trendy. My first one represents my roots (Filipino), and this second one represents what I strive for. If I wanted to be a bad ass and be all trendy I would have done something like getting a big skull and dagger on my arm or something “fierce”. What I have is not something even remotely fierce. Also, this IS (no matter what you think of it) a way to get in touch with my roots. No one even has the specific Kanji I have, so that is hardly a trendy design.
My ancestors, the Visayans tattooed themselves all over, in fact the Spanish called them “pintados” because of their tattoos. My tattoos may not be of Visayan design, but they link me to my heritage through a common medium. Also, if I can, would like to get a Visayan style tattoo in the future (unfortunately with the lack of resources available to me, I haven’t been able to find drawings of them).
These tattoos were not something I chose lightly. I spent over a year and a half deciding on my newest tattoo (close to two years). I spent much of that time agonizing over what I wanted it to mean, and what I wanted it to look like. The first one also started out at least a year prior to getting it done. If I had gotten both to be ‘cool’ I would have got them done the minute I thought of something.
Don’t think for one minute I have not thought about it being with me for a long time. You have to be totally and utterly stupid to think you won’t have these for the rest of your life. That is why I chose the places I did (on the arm, my first is easily covered even by t-shirts. In the work environment, the second is easily covered by trousers. I doubt a translator is going to be going into work with shorts on).
You may have your opinions on tattooing Omniscient, but please, learn to realize not everyone who gets them, gets them to be cool, trendy or gain attention. Don’t make broad generalizations like that. You not only offend others but you look like an ass to those who have put a lot of thought, time and feeling into their designs.
‘The beginning calls for courage; the end demands care’
Now there’s something meatier.