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In my English class we were told to write a commentary on the subject of our choice. I chose tattoo discrimination, since I face it on a day to day basis. I, myself, have two tattoos. If I enter a store and I am wearing clothes that cover my tattoos, I am percieved as a normal, nice, guy (well, that might be stretching it ). I can return to that same store, with the same woman helping me, but instead, say, wearing a bball jersey top that shows my tattoo on my shoulders, and I get a whole nother story. I am one of "those kids that start trouble".

Not only are you judged differently, but you have to be careful in where you apply to get a job. Can you cover your tattoo? If not, say bye bye to that job. Tattoos are supposed to be a form of art and are instead, a form of discrimination.

My own mother screamed at me "white trash" when she saw my first one. My Mom's co-worker said to her "you better be careful with how many tattoos you let him get, you dont want him to be perceived as a trouble-maker and a gang banger. wtf is that?

And just for the record, my tattoo on my shoulder is a cross wit thorns wrapped around it, and the other is a R.I.P for my dad.

So anyway, my question to you guys- Any of you have tattoos? Do you get discriminated against? What are your personal views on tattoos?

i'll read it when its shorter

OMG I hate when people discriminate on that basis of what you ware and how many piercings or tatoos you have..i have lots of piercings which i dont ware as much any more, but when i did i used to get so much shit for it!

no

Cool, I had/have some friends that get/got piercings .. its aggrivating seeing the stares at the mall ... thats the worst

Or we used to get followed arround the shops...as soon as we stepped in, we got followed..it was so annoying!!

my school wont let anyone have tattoos even tho i dont have any and dont plan to, i think it is still bull to discriminate like that

Hey Boogie, where from Kali are you from?

me 2!

Lemoore, central cali .. i live at the navy base, hence being in the Navy

Lemoore.... hmmm.... never heard of it. I live in Fairfield.

yeah i didnt read it either but it is bullsh!t when people judge bassed on what their first immpresion is. i had a couple (goth) friends and my other friends wouldnt even hang out with them.

in some cultures, tattoos are seen as a stature in society, accomplishments and every other good things... however in some, tattoos are taboo... people see this as a way of rebelling... you have something to say, and in their opinion it's not good... and tattoos are kinda associated with gangs and prison hence the hateful glares... i'm not saying that just because you have a tattoo, you belong to a gang or went to prison, it's how other people see it... i could give a flying f*&% what you put on your skin... it's yours... do whatever, however you wish to... f*^&% everybody else...

I second thatt!

That's the first thing they ask you in the military is if you have tattoos-
if you have them in a way that shows when your sleeves are rolled up, that's cause for instant rejection. Personally I think some tats are really cool, and some of them are tribal status icons as well as expressions of oneself in a very unique way.

I come from the decade when kids with long hair and cycle jackets, or someone with even a Metallica shirt on was picked on either openly, or by people who sat and stared at you all night until you wanted to ****in' scream...and then when they started trouble, YOU looked like the bad guy for defendng yourself because of the way you looked. Not to mention cops asking you where you hid the drugs all the time.....

People will always pick on you no matter what-long hair, short hair, no hair, at, skinny, whatever. You want a tattoo? Fine. Just be sure the needles are changed and the instruments are clean. There are certain risks, and we all know what they are so no need to mention them here.

should put up some pics of the various tatoos and board friendly piercings that the friendly posters here have adorning their bodies. I have two tatoos...one is a jolly roger style piecebut rather than the skull and crossbones i have a gas mask and two assault rifles. On my right calf I have a biomech zombie head.

apoligizing for the poor pic quality..will get some better pics soon.

right arm.

well, i dont have ne tattoos, but it really does sh*t me how some people think, that if u have a tattoo, or piercings, then ur a trouble maker, what a stupid thing to think,...... its total b*llshit....

I have three tattoos and two piercings in my left nipple.

Tattoos:

1. A rainbow dragon sucking on a hot dog and throwing away the bun. That's on my right arm.
2. Jimmi Hendrix's entire backside all down my backside.
3. The Tasmanian Devil on my ankle.

nice tatoos nasty...

I have two.... and never been discriminated for that..... maybe 'cause I'm a girl and I don't show them all the time..... all I get is this kind of face>>>> <<<<< when I show them.... it's pretty flattering ....

cool, what are they of Paola?

it's a burning heart with a cross in it on my upper back (sorry my english sucks )
a sword with a rose and barbed wire on my leg (near the ankle)

English? what did u do wrong..? lol..i dun tink u typed neting wrong...

ur tatz sound kik ass!

thanx Veralidaine

no probz, n jus call me Vera, much shorter...

ok Vera!!!

....coolies...

Someday i'll have to tell you about the day I was dressed up for a Metallica show: Denim, leather, the whole bit, and after the show we (my brother and I) went to a convenience store. A woman left her purse in the store, and I returned it to the counter and the first thing the guy said was 'is all her money in there?'

And that was enough to get me going, and the manager knew it,
and he called the police on us after an argument ensued. It escalated until the police took attitudes with us, and I told the officer the way I was treated was against the law, and he put his face right in mine and screamed " I'M the law here, boy, and don't you forget it, now get the hell out of here!" and the manager was smirking at me behind his back all the while...I wanted to pulverize that little gold toothed rat bastard momma's college boy. All of this because of how I was dressed.

That would piss me off to.

I've had similar stuff, not that many 'cause t-shirts cover up my shoulders, and thats where they both are..Im sry to hear that though.



Nice!

Thanks my friend! Naturally I could call him more but I don't think it would make it thru the language filters. Sad that people have to do shit like this, categorize others because of something they don't understand.
I mean hey, if I had a dollar for every time I was called a 'devil-worshipping-long-haired-******' I'd be sitting in Bill Gate's office right now.Assholes..

Surprisingly...I get more shit for my tattoos and piercings in pittsburgh, which is supposed to be a hub of modern art by the way, Than i do in the middle of nowhere north carolina. Here in NC people always ask me if my septum hoop hurt or if it hurt when the punched my ears out. But they do it politely. IN pittsburgh they just kind of stare and look disgusted, and occasionally a random ******* will start the whole were different but im stronger thing and try to pick a fight...fun fun fun

tattoo discrimation??? thats strange, most people like my tattoos. seriously ive never heard of anyone discrimanting against people with tattoos....seems pretty dumb to me.

I have one tattoo, and it is on my lower back so not many ppl see it until the summer. Since it is not where most can see it I haven't experienced discremination. When I got it my family (other than my parents who were cool about it) totally shocked me. My bro has three rather large tats two of which he got in the marines. No one said anything to him! I have one small butterfly and ppl flipped. I was amazed that my family was so hypocritical.I also have my belly button peirced and want at least one more tattoo.

I have experienced sort of the same thing tho just in the way that I dress. I work at a bank and when I leave work and go to a store ppl are very polite and ask me if I need help. When I am out of work clothes and in my reg clothes (right now I am in a punky style) ppl do a complete 180!

I have 5 in total, but they're covered up at work so I don't get any hassle.

I have 3 tattoos myself and I am only 15, my mum found out about them just the other day and went nuts and started to say that people who have tattoos are drug abusers and whatnot,

I have one on my left forearm of an Eagle
I have another one on my right top arm of an eagle tearing through a scottish flag
My third one is on my left top arm of an eagle but instead of it being coloured its colours are the scottish flag.

Discos - I like eagles!

If this was a good world, tattoos and piercings wouldn't even be a subject. They would be just what they are - no more - no less. Unfortunately, in this complicated world (well, we've complicated it), tattoos are (or were) done on the body to show the "colors" of a person. Hell Angels, crooks, ect... It was primary a means of intimidation - it would look bad if you had a snake going down the neck or somethin'. So, that mentality kinda followed time. Today, a lot of young people carry tattoos. Some I find nice.

I think that discriminating based on how someone looks is bull I have 10 tattoos and 9 piercings, 5 piercings are on my face. people look at me like they are afraid I am gonna kill them or something. I have been turned down by 2 jobs b/c of how I look. It is time 4 people to grow up and get a life. the human body is a canvas and it is each persons right to decorate it as he/she thinks is fit it is nobody elses place to judge that person. It is the person who recieves the ornament who has to live with their decision not anybody else. some people need to mind their own business

Ummm, you got turned on reading that and you cannot now concentrate? That's sooo wierd - or that not what you meant by 'when it's shorter?'

i think they are cool i am getting one on the right side of my back not sure what yet (late birthday prezzy)

I have one of a jewel scarbe on my right arm

Private businesses have the right to hire who they want. If you are applying for a position with a business, they have every right to judge you. After all, should they decided to hire you, they will have to live with your body modifications as well.

I don't have tatoos but I have two little piercings and I didn't get job for it (distributing of advertisement handouts). I was little angry and I really didn't understand.
so I hate this tattoo and piercing discrimination..
I hate all discriminations

I want tatoos when I'm older but at the minute I'm not old enough, I'm 16 so only 2 years to go... *waits*

Dude you have to be 16 in england...

tattoos are better than piercings

they are just a poor excuse for a tattoo

OMG My boogie started this thread ages ago cry how cute! And im still in his siggy.

Good ol' days.

I'm in it too

How many times did that happen to you?I doubt it if it happens all the time no many people trust teenagers because they are quick to judge.
But I never had that trouble and i have a tattoo on my arm of the deathmark.You may be geting upset over notheirng.JM

no matter what nobody should base their opinion of what kind of person you are on how you look. It is wrong. Just because a person looks different than most people doesn't mean they are a drug addict or a psycho. my point is that people should get to know me before they determine what type of person I am.

What you on about? I am 16, 18 to get a tatoo ain't it?

In an ideal world, one would be judged on the content of his character and not on his appearance. Unfortunately, the reality is that everyone makes judgements about others based on physical appearance. What does your physical appearance say about you?

my physical appearance just shows that I don't give a crap about what society percieves as normal. I decorate my body because I feel it makes me look beautiful. I am very happy with how I look. in reality this world is superficial. The real beauty a person has should be based on what is on the inside, not on their outward physical appearance

I'd like a lizard, tiger & a Chinese sign on there, oh, and my star sign would be nice (The Scorpio)

If the statement you are trying to make with your physical appearance is that you do not care about what society thinks, why get upset when society at large reacts to it?

When you go out to a social gathering and you see someone attractive, do you say to yourself, "He or she looks really good on the inside,"? No, you do not because you do not see someone's insides when you meet them, you see their outsides first. If what you really want is for people to get to know you on the inside, why put up barriers in this way?

I don't make judgement on what kind of a person somebody is until I get to know them because it isnt fair to judge without knowing. I probably do get to upset about what people think but I just don't think that it is fair for someone to say things about me when they don't know what I am about

You think people make judgements because of this?

In the tattoo parlour where my cousin works its 16... so I figured it was the country over.

Really? No fair... I want one know!

I think that people do. You have no idea how many times I go somewhere and people give me dirty looks or get in my face about how I look I actually had a guy get into my face and tell me I was sick because I look the way I do, he said it was a total disrespect.

That's wrong

well.. I'd have to say it depends where the tattoos are, and what they are of.. also theres a fine line between having one or two peircings. and then covering your entire face with metal hoops.. its up to you to keep it tasteful or go overboard

i.e. walking into a store with your arms covered in F@%$ You tattoos and your face covered with metal and chains, dont expect a warm greeting.. whereas if you've got like one or two tat's and maybe just your ears nose and/ or lip pierced (2 max for each area'ish) then you probably wont recieve that same descrimination..

besides.. its not you people that they're descriminating against.. its the people that came before you who wore those same style combo of jewelry and tats when they committed crimes.

I dont think it should be up to anyone else to decide what is tasteful as far as how many tattoos or piercings you have. It is your body, your choice to decorate it as you wish. I have 1 piercing in my eyebrow, 1 in the side of my nose, 1 in my septum and 2 in my lip. just about all of my tattoos aren't visable unless I wear skimpy clothes. personally I don't think I went too far with my decorations. And people do treat me like sh$t because of it.

I wouldn't think about having piecings, 1 on the eyebrow would look nice but I haven't had anything pieced for ages (ears)

i do get funny looks. i have a tattoo on my wriste. and i wrk in a resturant,wen i hand ppl their food sum ppl give me the"oh ur one of those grls"look. alot of ppl r cool with it tho.and an old woman once asked me questions about it..and she said it was pretty.
so i think it depends on wat u look like..and obv guys with tattoos will get different reactions.

I was reading about the guy who had to write the paper in English class and chose Tatto Discrimination. I understand completely how you feel, I am 41 years old and I got my first tattoo at the age of 19, so I have been dealing with this for a long time. I work in a Veterinary Hospital and they make me cover my tats because of"the image they may send to our clients". Pleaaaaase!!!! We have a client who is a registered sex offender online and do they think I care what that piece of garbage thinks of me! My tattoos have nothing to do with my ability to perform my job and they thought I was a very funny and good person until they discovered my tattoos. I still have not received that so called raise I was supposed to get after 3 months. What is with people, they seem to have an elevated opinion of themselves. I would rather deal with a tattoo than a whiney employee any day. Or a Child molester for that matter!

I would like a tattoo but i'm not to keen on needles i'm also keen on getting one or two piercing but my mates won't let me also its very unfair how you are judged for a form of art which lets you express yourself