If you only knew! 
I hate and regret most of my many tattoos. I got them when I was young and impulsive. At least I didn’t do anything morally reprehensible! Just costly. I’m currently saving for laser removal. I’ll only get rid of the hardest ones to hide for now (wrists) because I don’t make a ton of money.
I cover them because most just have nothing to do with me anymore. I don’t dislike tattoos but I don’t “relate” to mine anymore. Hope that makes sense.
I’ll add that none of mine are at all offensive. They are mostly decorative (insects, birds, flowers, etc.) and none are sexual, violent, or anything. All G-rated.
I got my tattoos because they’re meaningful to me, and I’m reminded by certain things when I see them. Their message is meant for me alone, so I placed my tattoos so that they’re covered by ordinary clothing (shirt and jeans). I don’t make any effort to hide them if I’m swimming or working without a shirt, but I don’t feel like showing them off most of the time.
It’s like wearing jewelry that isn’t visible outside of clothing. Why would someone wear a cross or a star of David under their shirt? They do it because it’s meaningful to them, not because they want to communicate their religion to others.
Tattoos can strongly affect how people see you. Having “LOVE” and “HATE” on your knuckles is somewhat reminiscent of the show Prison Break (to me anyway). Yes, I know that’s stereotypical, but knuckle tattoos are almost a “thing” on TV. I wouldn’t go so far as to wear fingerless gloves, though. Unless you’ve got both hands on the table, I imagine they’d be far less distracting than a tattoo that wraps around the neck or something.
I’ve got a small tattoo on the inside of my right ankle. I don’t cover it up, but I don’t make an effort to show it. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have gotten it, but I figure that at least they’ll be able to easily identify my body if I die and everything but my feet are destroyed. Always see the silver lining, huh?
That particular tattoo first became a Hollywood cliche for “crazy tough guy” in the 1955 movie The Night Of The Hunter. It’s appeared in a lot of places since then.