I don’t see how getting a tattoo that you saw on someone else and liked constitutes sheep-like behavior.
I dunno, I mean I see the point to a certain extent. If everyone and their mom does it, it is kinda sheep-like. Even if you have a good reason for it. Like I and someone else I believe mentioned upthread, everyone has a kanji/hanzi tatt. So even someone who has studied the language and got their own saying in Japanese or Chinese tattooed would be indistinguishible, at least on first appearance, from all the other people who thought getting 安 was edgy.
That being said, if it makes you happy go for it. You just have to realize the implications of what getting something like that is going to say to other people upon first seeing it. Compare it with (as I also mentioned upthread) getting a swastika tatt. You might be doing it because you’re Buddhist, but everyone in America is automatically going to assume you’re a racist.
BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed, I hear you are saying that someone that studied the language and got their own saying in Japanese would be indistinguishable from the sheep. But at the beginning of the post, you called it sheep-like. Not the same thing at all.
If someone really appreciates body art and Japanese, to the extend of learning the language for the sheer appreciation for the culture, surely you can’t lable that person a sheep. Or else, the term has lost all meaning and we are all just lambs in the lion’s den! (It is 1:30 am, and I am on a mix-metaphore role!)
Well, a couple thousand people probably have these lithos, but I know they only got theirs because they saw how awesome mine were. 
Yeah, I like to build/create things. It’s fun and gives me something to do. And I enjoy knowing that the stuff I surround myself with is unique and a direct reflection of my personality.
I also do my own tie-dyes, made my own backpack once, a guitar, an amp… I make a lot of stuff. Like I said, it’s fun to me.
You’re right, I should have made that distinction clearer. No matter how versed you are in Asian languages, getting something like “peace” or “love” tattooed seems to me to be pretty sheep-like at this point. Getting something rarer, like a literary saying or something you wrote yourself, wouldn’t make that person a follower, but to the untrained eye it would. That’s what I meant by the “indistinguishible, at least on first appearance” part.
Das rite, you a bad ass knitta!
I actually agree with featherlou, but I can see your point too, Nzinga, Seated. In fact, I’ve thought about this in such a way that I don’t become a hypocrite myself, and I’m not sure if I’ve succeeded or not. But think about this:
We’re all conformists to a certain extent. Otherwise, no one will understand you when you try to communicate, because we conform to using the same language (even if we speak different languages, we conform enough to be understood by learning enough of one or the other language).
We conform to the rules of society (most of us, most of the time) when we wear clothing in public. We conform even more to those rules of society when we wear suits to the office, or more-or-less formal functions (weddings and funerals for example). We could be non-conformists, and wear pants over our heads, and that might be good for statement-making, but is that really practical in the long run?
So we conform in a general sense, which for the most part, is for the good of society. If we didn’t, there would be anarchy, and society would crumble.
When it comes to fads of any type, I’m reminded of an old MAD magazine article from the 60s, which talked about non-conformism. There was a mob of people, holding signs, which said, “We are conformists!” One guy went off on his own, and said, “I’m not a conformist!” Soon, another guy joined the non-conformist, so there were two. Then 3, 4, 5 other people joined the non-conformist camp, and then before you knew it, the two camps were split evenly between conformists, and non-conformists. Then the rest of the conformists joined the non-conformists. Except there was one guy in the original camp who was a conformist, and now a mob of non-conformists. So who was really conforming, and who wasn’t?
The point is, is it hypocritical of people if they’re all saying “I’m an individual!” if they’re doing the same thing as everyone else? I see a number of bicep barbed wire tattoos, and can’t help but think these people aren’t really trying to be individuals, even if they claim to be (which to me, would make them hypocrites), but instead, I see it as more of a group-building fad; it’s a way the 20-30 somethings (though not exclusively that age group of course) have a way of belonging. It’s a way of uniting their generation. People in the 30s found the Great Depression as a way of uniting them (misery loves company); in the 40s, it was WWII; in the 50s, rock ‘n’ roll; the 60s, hippies; the 70s, disco (and its backlash); the 80s, new wave as well as Reaganomics, preppy-ism, and Gordon Gekko type “greed is good”; the 90s and 00s, tattoos.
That’s the way I see it, anyway.
I like the way you see it Prelude. I do.
Anyone that is trying to be an individual is missing the point, though, aren’t they? You just have to be yourself and express yourself to be ‘cool and edgy’. Trust me! If we all went around being willing to express ourselves fully, we would all be so cool and edgy we would cut eachother.
The thing is, there really is such a thing as sheep like behavior. It is obviouse to spot, and it is sad and annoying to watch. To say that the people that are a part of the tattoo community are sheep sounds ridiculous and a smidge ignorant. Tattooing is an art. People have been doing it in all kinds of cultures across the globe for ages. It is an interesting way for people to express certain aspects of themselves.
Are there some people who get tattoos that are sheep? Of Course. But that’s true of any group.
I really enjoyed your post, particularly the Mad magazine thing.
Thanks Nzinga. I wanted to express my personal distaste for tattoos without coming across as a dick. Because if you (personally or collectively) have a tattoo, it doesn’t directly affect me. Certainly not in the same way as say, weaving all over the road when you’re driving might directly affect me if I’m in the lane next to you.
It just disturbs me because I see tattoos as a fad (true, and I’ve said tattoos have been around forever, and will never go away, but I’m talking about the current trend – it’ll die down, and not go away, but the popularity will wane), and I’ve never been into fads. Not tying shoes (I see that at the gym all the time) is another one, but I’m not going to hijack the thread with that one. I’ll just say I see much the same age group walking around in sneakers with the laces untied as I do with tattoos. Hence my theory about generational belonging.
Plus I’m an old fart, so get off my goddamn lawn awready!
Please do this.
I don’t think it’ll die down, I think it’ll turn into ‘no big thing’ (if it hasn’t already). Like pierced ears today. Studs are already no longer a big deal, and large gauge ear plugs (I dunno what the kids these days call 'em) are already losing their shock value.
Some people here don’t think people who are getting tattoos at this point in the fad are sheep; I personally do (not all, of course, but probably most). I can live with agreeing to disagree. If you want to argue that people aren’t sheep in general, though, I’m not about to back down on that one. Just drive through any new neighbourhood and come back and tell me that people aren’t comfortable with conformity.
Good post, Prelude. I think I know what you’re talking about - it’s like all the Grunge kids from the 90’s, all carefully coiffed in their dirty long hair and plaid lumberjack shirts. Yeah, you’re showing me your individuality, alright - just like every other 19 year old. Hmm, perhaps I too am getting slightly curmudgeonly. 
This statement is worth it’s own thread.
I find it interesting that in theads like this (as well as most others that are based around aesthetic choices), it’s never good enough to simply dislike something based on one’s feelings. Instead, it’s always seems important to impart motives onto the folks who do the opposite of what wouldn’t choose for your self.
Why is that?
I mean, there’s been many satorial different directions that have taken place in my life and yet I don’t think it’s necessary to assume their practioners are sheep (or whatever perjorative). If you don’t like tattoos (or fake nails / pointy-toed boots / green and purple hair), why not just enumerate the reasons and leave the judging out of it?
Because judging’s fun!
When asked what the numbers represent, she should say they represent the number of times she’s been asked that, and now needs to get to a tattoo parlor to update it.
For the record, I think Delores Reborn’s tattoo is very tasteful.
I want to see an M.C. Escher tattoo.
That thing that has always surprised me about tattoos is how much other people think I did them for reactions. Yes, they’re colorful and eye catching, but mine are typically hidden. I have long hair too. I love it. Doesn’t mean that it’s for you.
I have a tattoo on my lower back. I got it there because it was easy to hide if I wanted, and even if I had kids, gained or lost a ton of weight, etc, my lower back would most likely not stretch out. Lower back tattoos have always made sense to me.
I have one other tattoo, a letter on my ankle. I lost my baby girl a year and a half ago. She was 23 days old. She died in my arms and heartbroken doesn’t describe it. I felt like I had all my insides scooped out. Like I didn’t have a heart anymore at all.
A few months after she died, I got her first initial tattooed on my ankle. It was an extremely personal decision. That tattoo is my way of keeping her with me forever. It’s a very plain tattoo, but I did it for me. Surprisingly, its the one people tried to talk me out of. They said I’d regret it, that it was stupid. That tattoo is more personal than any other decoration to my body, but people seemed to think they were entitled to an opinion on it.
That I have never understood. The tattoo isn’t pretty, it’s plain. But it means so much more to me than the little visual thing that you can see.
Really? Wow. What the fuck is that about? Did they think you’d be better off pretending it didn’t happen?
Cisco and a few other people mentioned memorial tattoos. A friend of mine died a couple of years ago and her father now has her face (with angel wings, some text and other art) tattooed on his arm. I never would have tried to talk him out of it, because she was his daughter and it’s not my business - but it’s still pretty weird to know the tattoo is there.
As is it’s arch-nemesis, schadenfreude.
(You know, folks living in glass houses and all that…)
Well, you can’t beat an honest answer like that.
And MissIntent, thanks for sharing that. I can’t imagine the pain involved with losing a child and hearing stories related to memorial tattoos always makes me feel like I’m getting a chance to honor them by extension. I have something similar to yours, except it’s for my brother, and it’s a million light years towards helping me heal much better than anything else that I have concerning him that I can’t carry with me always.
Plus, now that my loved ones are all getting older, I plan on eventually adding something to it for them as the time calls for it. So someday, I’ll have my favorite quote that David wrote out for me adorned by individual hearts in those people’s favorite colors. It’ll be the most perfect tattoo I have.