If she is, and assuming ‘tetragrammaton’ just means ‘four-letter name’, maybe ‘twat’ would be more apt?
Yes. Why would you put a sign on yourself which basically reads, “I am an asshole”? And the “explanation” caused me to sprain my eye-rolling muscles.
I can see why she’s drawn toward it but I think a Jew might be offended. If it’s in an area normally hidden by clothing I think it’s perfectly fine. If it’s somewhere public then I think she should reconsider.
If she were just getting the tetragrammaton tattooed to a non-obvious spot on her body, I might cut her some slack. For some non-Jews, the Name carries signifcant meaning without the associated taboos against speaking/writing it and tattoos in general.
But in the context you describe - linking it with some kind of new-agey pseudo-scientific nonsense - it just becomes trivialized, and offensive to most people who would recognize it.
I’ve spent a good bit of time being inked. I have both arms to my elbows, both legs from mid-thigh down, and my upper chest. I’ve put much thought into each and every piece.
The one thing I’ve never given any consideration is what anyone else would think.
Some observant Jews might be offended if they can see it. She’s kidding herself if she thinks there’s no way it would bother anybody. There aren’t that many potential offendees, but it’s conceivable it could bother someone even though the rules that apply to Jews don’t apply to her. As to whether she should give a damn or should avoid “appropriating” symbols from someone else’s culture - she doesn’t have to give a damn or be PC about it.
why would she want to permanently ink herself with somethign that could be offensive to a wide group of people? Is she a chronically angry person who likes to share the wealth?
Eh, if the OP had bothered to link to what he was talking about, I wouldn’t have had to go Googling.
I feel like she is, however unintentionally, reducing an important symbol from my culture into something pretty she can use as a tattoo. The name of god =/= a butterfly or a dolphin or a rose.
I don’t think it could hurt a god I don’t believe in, but I’m still a Jew and the idea isn’t cute.
She is, obviously, free to do whatever she wants, but like I said, if I saw someone with that tattoo my first reaction would be to think poorly of her, that she doesn’t understand the importance that symbol has for Jews. Her explanation of why she wants it would not improve that impression. If she doesn’t give a shit what I think, bully for her, go get the tattoo. Just giving my opinion.
No, not at all - she’s quite good-natured. I think she’s honestly unaware of the potential for offense. I’m also aware of the likelihood that I have it wrong, which is why I started this thread.
Who cares? No one cares, really, when Chinese ideograms or Hindu symbols or Japanese kanji are appropriated. There is a woman on this very board who is getting a Sanskrit tattoo; I was dismayed to hear it but I like her very much otherwise, so I haven’t said anything and I won’t mention her name. Why do Jews get to be special? I’m not saying they’re not worthy of respect but so many other mainstream religions have been co-opted and stolen; join the party. Two years ago I saw a magnificent solid gold cross which Jesus on it, wearing a purple amethyst bikini. If the Christians can put up with that, this is nothing.
Siiiiigh. I remember the days when tattoos were a sign of rebellion, not something you put through committee to see if you could get approval.
Other. On one hand
this.
On the other hand, the whole concept of the tattoo being described is all woo-woo and New Agey and, generally, sounds rather stupid… So I think it’s a bad idea, but not because of the religious significance of the Tetragammaton.
And I’m Jewish… (albeit an Atheist Jew.)
That’s what I’m saying. People tattoo aums and yin-yang’s all over the place. They tattoo crosses on their asses. They tattoo all kinds of scripts and symbols without even knowing what they are, or wear them on clothes. This doesn’t seem any different to me.
I came in here to say this, basically.
I think it’s a bit tacky, but if I had power to prevent tacky tattoos, misappropriated religious symbols would be waaaaay down on the list of ones I’d worry about.
It’s not just about appropriating another culture’s symbols. If it were a Star of David, I’d say it was edgy and something to think twice about, but ultimately not all that offensive (though very weird). If it were some Old Testament passage that she thought was particularly poetic or philosophically deep, written in the original Hebrew, I’d see no problem at all with that (though it’d be better if she actually read Hebrew). But the Name is something that either has significance or it doesn’t, and in either case, she shouldn’t be getting a tattoo of it.
And of course the alchemical business is wrong, too. I don’t mind too much the use of pre-scientific mumbo-jumbo symbology, but at least get your pre-scientific mumbo-jumbo symbology correct. But that isn’t offensive, just ignorant.
As for the argument that a tattoo is only for the wearer and that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, that only holds water if you get the tattoo on the inside of your eyelids. Anywhere else, it’s going to be seen by someone else, and you know from the outset that it’s going to be seen by someone else, and when I see something, I have the absolute right to decide whether I like what I see. This doesn’t mean that anyone should be prohibited from getting a tattoo, but it does mean that it can reflect poorly on the person if they do.
I don’t think anyone is saying Jews get to be special.
The question just happened to relate to a specifically Jewish symbol that had a specific prohibition against being written. This particular tattoo uses another culture’s symbol in a specifically prohibited way.
This makes no sense. By this standard, no one should get any tatoos at all. If people should not get anything that has significance, but also not get anything that does not have significance, what’s left?
If it has significance to her (however addled), then it has significance. It might not have the same significance it has to you, but you are not the arbiter of its meaning, and she is not obliged to share your fear and awe of it.
It’s also not just the tetragrammaton that has that kind of significance to believers. The Hindu Aum is also a name of God, but no one is mortified by seeing that.
This doesn’t hurt anybody, and I really don’t understand why anyone would be offended by something somone else has on their skin. It could conceivably tell you something about a person’s character (like if they have swastikas, for instan ce), but this doesn’t even do that. I don’t understand how anybody is injured by it.
As if mystical beliefs aren’t getting rewritten and reinterpreted all the time. Hell, entire cultures have been razed to the ground over semiotic arguments. Let it go. It’s not worth the time to get offended about, and doesn’t affect you anyway.
It’s not prohibited for the wearer.