Tat Explosion

[runco]

I mean no disrespect with this posting, and I am not a Tatphobia person, but have you noticed the Tattoo explosion?  

 

I recently went to Dollywood Splash Country with my kids, and I have never ever seen so many Tattoos?  I honestly felt out of place as in the minority, because I did not have any on my large blank canvas.  I wanted to go out and buy a Henna tattoo or get a Sharpie just to write something on my forearm just to fit in.  Now I am not talking about the roses or flowers on girls ankles, but the multiple tats that cover whole arms, backs, stomachs, and the ones that barely can be seen that go out of sight.  I saw some facial tattoos, neck stuff, and a few bald headed guys with tats on the cranial areas.

 

I think some tattoos are cool, and a few are sexy on women, but honestly I seen some DWSC that were down right awful.  The homemade kind or jailhouse made stuff just looks awful.  The ones that spell L-O-V-E on the knuckles of one hand and H-A-T-E on the other.  And where are these young people who don't look like they have a pot to psss in, have the means to pay for these large art scenes?  I am sure some have dropped $1,000s into their billboards.

 

I am not bashing, or meaning any disrespect, its just very noticeable that the majority of the young adults have Tats.  Is this just a Fad on the upswing or has the pinnacle been passed?  So I guess the in thing is to have a I-phone and a tat, that appeared to be 80% of the crowd at Splash Country.     There is not a Obama program for Tats is there?   

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I've noticed. My personal favorite is when we get a 200+ lb tatted up "badass" on the stretcher with ink everywhere, and they freak out like a baby when I come at em with an IV needle.

[daddyo]

But tattoos make you stand out from the crowd, don't they?

 

Oh, wait...

[leroy]

Runco; you are right.  There is a "tatoo explosion" among the younger of us.   I think it's an uncoscious pop culture thing.  I really like the ones the young mothers have.  I would love to hear the discussion several years into the future when their 2 year old becomes 18 and says "...i want a tatoo..." on my tooshie or some other place equally discrete...(...if there is one by then...).   Remember Quequeeg (....terrible spelling...) the south sea islander in "Moby Dick"; that's what i think of when i see em. 

 

To each his own.

leroy

[scoutfsu]

Runco, no offense man.....welcome to the late 90's, 2000's.

[daddyo]

Some of these folks are finding out that some employers aren't as excited about tats as they are. The place I work for requires you to cover them up when you're in the workplace or out representing the company.

 

I have a friend who has to wear long sleeve shirts in the summer.... :rofl:

[Patton]

I've noticed. My personal favorite is when we get a 200+ lb tatted up "badass" on the stretcher with ink everywhere, and they freak out like a baby when I come at em with an IV needle.

Ironically common isn't it?

[Chucktshoes]

I am one of those who has more than a couple of tattoos. I have several on my forearms but I understood when I got them that I would possibly have to cover them if need be for employment. As far as the expense, it can vary greatly and you can usually tell who spent a lot of money on their ink and who didn't with a quick glance. Good work isn't cheap, cheap work isn't good. I'm a fan of the art form and if given a choice, I am much more likely to spend $500 on a tattoo than a gun.

[crossfire]

I am one of those who has more than a couple of tattoos. I have several on my forearms but I understood when I got them that I would possibly have to cover them if need be for employment. As far as the expense, it can vary greatly and you can usually tell who spent a lot of money on their ink and who didn't with a quick glance. Good work isn't cheap, cheap work isn't good. I'm a fan of the art form and if given a choice, I am much more likely to spend $500 on a tattoo than a gun.

I'm with you except for the last line "I am much more likely to spend $500 on a tattoo than a gun".

Forty five years riding motor cycles (35 of those on a Harley) and you end up with some ink somewhere along the trip. :rock:

[Spots]

I have a few, and a few more planned. I see a lot of stunning work, and I see a lot of "What were you thinking" stuff. Like chuck said good work aint cheap, cheap work aint good. But Ill spend money on ink over alot of petty bullshit I might blow it on otherwise.

Tapatalk ate my spelling.

[Mike.357]

tats are fine.  I have a couple.  They both have personal meaning to me and I am not explaining why.  

 

I do get a kick out of generic tat's like chinese symbols or tribal bands.   I saw a pic of a person with a chinese character and it actually stood for General Tso's Chicken, dunno what the person wearing it thought it meant.

[TrickyNicky]

Butt tattoos make you stand out from the crowd, don't they?
 
Oh, wait...

FTFY

[1gewehr]

Whether someone gets ink is their own choice, and has no impact on me personally.  But here are my observations:

1)  The more intricate the artwork, the faster it gets worse as the person ages.

2)  I have yet to see a human body that looked better with a tattoo.

3)  The more professional the job you are interviewing for, the less likely they are to hire someone with visible artwork.

4)  The more subjective the artwork (political subject, girlfriend's name, etc), the more likely the person will be to try and remove or change it later.

5)  Fads come and go, and like it or not, they are a fad right now.  In another ten years, they might be seen as tacky.

 

I've only been riding motorcycles for 42 years and don't have single tattoo.  But I only rode Harleys for four of those, so maybe it's a Harley thing.  Maybe not, since during those four years, I never once felt like getting a tattoo.

 

If you really want a tattoo, that's your choice.  But it's not like buying a car.  Even after it's paid for, you won't be able to trade it in and get something else.  Even the best laser removals still leave a ghost behind. 

[Guest TankerHC]

Funny you mention that because my cousins family came down last week and we also went to Dollywood Splash Country last Sunday and were talking about the exact same thing. But not complaining, my cousin has tattoos, we were talking about people regretting getting them because everywhere you looked there were tattoos. What actually brought the subject up was one of the employees had sleeves, a female. He told me back in the late 70's, early 80's he had planned on doing that to the elbow, but then everyone started doing it, so he just stuck with the 5 he already had, but then last year he got another one. I dnt have any problem with tattoos, lot of people in my family have them, I dont even notice them. They just arent for me, anyone else wants one, more power to them.

 

But what REALLY did pizz me off, and I swear I am not making this up, while we were there, my cousins wife, my wife and their 2,  12 year old nieces went to the changing/bathroom. In walks behind the, (Again, I SWEAR I am not making this up), a fat guy in a orange bikini, with big fake boobs and an blonde wig. This was not some woman mistaken for a man, this was a man. He walked around the park like that all day, people were staring, and plenty of people were talking about it, because they were disgusted, including employees so he wasnt an employee. But what can they do? Thats a lawsuit waiting to happen. When he walked in the womans bathroom, all the woman came out, including ours. I heard a lot of them saying "There's a man in the womans bathroom!", but nothing you can do these days, not in this perverted society.

[runco]

Runco, no offense man.....welcome to the late 90's, 2000's.

No offence taken.  I have gone to the beach every year since I was a teenager, and I know that tattoos were starting to come in the late 90s, but now it appears to be an explosion, everyone has one!  For some reason I was at the beach just a few weeks ago, I don't recall seeing a lot of tats.  But I go to Splash country, and they are everywhere. 

[daddyo]

Well, it IS a good time to be in the tattoo business, that's for sure.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I dont mind tats and I got  a few myself but one I regret forever and maybe even will get it removed.Stupid..stupid ..:(

I would love one of my dog I had for over 12 years.Its just so hard to find an artist that knows how to really capture a dogs face and looks.

[Moped]

I don't mind tats and think some of them are pretty cool, especially sleeves!!I Personally, don't think I will ever get one though.  What I do mind is people having X-rated ones and showing them off in public.  My Splash Country story, along these lines, happened several years ago.  There was a young guy there, that had a tattoo over his whole back that showed a skeleton having sexual relations with a voluptuous young woman. And don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude at all, but Management should made him cover that up.  It had no business being exposed in a family oriented venue.

 

What the heck are people thinking when they get stuff like that inked on their bodies?  I mean at some point you figure he is going to be raising kids.  How do you explain that to them?

[daddyo]

What the heck are people thinking when they get stuff like that inked on their bodies?  I mean at some point you figure he is going to be raising kids.  How do you explain that to them?

 

That's a great example of someone who believes in freedom without responsibility.

[buck1032]

I am a true rebel/non conformist. Retire from the Navy and been riding Harleys even long and not one single tat. Granted back in 86 I was bumming around Singapore and heard about Johnny Two Thumbs. A bunch of us went to his shop and they all got tatted. Johnny  was either retired and dead cause he wasn't working, so no tat for me. LOL

[Raoul]

tats are fine.  I have a couple.  They both have personal meaning to me and I am not explaining why.  

 

I do get a kick out of generic tat's like chinese symbols or tribal bands.   I saw a pic of a person with a chinese character and it actually stood for General Tso's Chicken, dunno what the person wearing it thought it meant.

Makes it easy to order when you're slobbering drunk.

 

Just point for dinner.

[Murgatroy]

My grandfather got two Sparrows during Korea. 

 

He followed these up with a pair of hula girls during Vietnam.

 

He was the toughest, gruffest, most intelligent no nonsense man I ever knew. He retired as a Gunnery Sergeant from the Marines after his second tour in Vietnam. I remember he used to make the hula girls on his arms dance. He was a great man.

 

That was my first introduction to tattoos.

 

 

 

 

I have several.

 

 

 

I wear long sleeves and a collared shirt at work. I have to. It doesn't bother me, it is professional. Wearing a tshirt and dockers isn't. I am in a high responsibility management position. It would be a lie to say that my tattoos haven't been an issue, but I have found ways to make them nonissues.

 

I also have my ears gauged. Currently 9/16th of an inch. Been that way for a decade now. That is actually less of an issue now than folks coming in with massive 'rocks' hanging off of their ears.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't mind folks with tattoos. It is their body. There are three things I stress to kids who ask about them. 1) Good Tattoos aren't Cheap, Cheap Tattoos aren't Good. 2) Think about what you want, where you want for a long time before you ink it. 3) Get it somewhere you can cover it, until you make that decision to cross that threshold that separates society.

 

I crossed that threshold a long time ago.

 

I have had my knuckles tattooed since I was eighteen, and I did it myself, with a jailhouse gun.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Murgatroy

[RichardR]

I don't really care one way or another, what folks do to their own bodies is their own business, but I do tend to think of tatoos in terms of money, like when I see an obviously struggling young mother of 3 driving a beat-up 78' Ford LTD, with enough tat's totalling in value of a good solid used Toyota ...

Of course I think the same way when I see a 78' Monte with 29' spinners & bumping stereo system that cost 5 times the original purchase price of the vehicle.

But it's their money & iffin it makes them happy more power to them, unless of course they owe me money that is!

[gregintenn]

To me, a tattoo screams "I'm unemployable!"

 

I expect the tattoo removal business will be booming in a few years.

[Spots]

To me, a tattoo screams "I'm unemployable!"

I expect the tattoo removal business will be booming in a few years.

Why? I have a few, that are all in good taste and easily concelable. I know 1k's of Marines and other active and veterans who have tattoos. I could see saying face or head tattoos, or sexual or drug themed tattoos may say unemployable, but all tattoos? Really??

Tapatalk ate my spelling.