Tattoos: The Opposing Stand Points and Rebuttal

(Opposing Perspective)

Most people these days do a great deal of stereotyping towards tattoos. Many people saying that it destroys your body, or that it is rebellious, or that it is a waste of money. There are many bad and negative connotations said about tattoos. People disagree with the fact that tattooing is an art and decoration. It is a way of life of some people and many just do not see that. Many people also say that tattoos are a waste of money.

To start off on the money aspect, yes tattoos do cost a lot and that is an understandable argument. But, have you ever thought about all of the people purchase very expensive paintings and artworks to hang on their wall, well it is the same concept. Both, people with tattoos, and people with artwork in their homes, have the same expensive liking of art just express it in a different form. Now going off of this people will say, "oh well I could take a picture off and put a new one if I want but tattooed people can't do that". Well this is true but if you think about it that just makes tattoos so much more special, deserving, and show a much deeper love of art. Just tonight I was with a girl I know who said, "honestly I just think its a waste of money and its pointless". I told her that it is not true because it is an art form and asked if she had paintings hanging in her house and she responded saying no because her family doesn't care about art. This is my point exactly, you don't understand and enjoy the beauty of art therefore you do not understand why.

Now to just elaborate on any negative look at tattoos in general. In an earlier post I talked about tradition of tattoos and how for the Samoa it was a huge tradition for men and women and that it was culture to do it. Getting tattoos for them sometimes signified their social class, their family background, and more. For some cultures being tattooed is the norm and the way of life and it can actually be considered disrespectful to not follow in the tradition. That is rebellious, by not following a centuries long tradition that has been past done throughout the family. It is not rebellious to want to be your own person if that is not your culture and to have your own personal likings.

A final point is that people say you wont get a job if you have tattoos. This may have been true a couple years ago but these days tattoos are becoming far more acceptable in the workplace. There are guidelines and rules such as, no drug or gang related tattoos, and now members of a "protected class", such as religious groups, can not be legally discriminated against in the workplace. As stated, "The huge increase in tattoos and body piercings has caused workplace conflicts that, not surprisingly, have landed in the courts. In general, discrimination in employment decisions based on tattoos or piercings is not illegal unless the person with the "modification" is a member of a protected class, particularly a class based on religion."So people who say that people with tattoos can not get jobs and try to scare you by telling you that if you get a tattoo you won't get a job that actually is far from true depending on the tattoo you get (go.galegroup.com). (560)

Citation:
Elzweig, Brian, and Donna K. Peeples. "Tattoos and piercings: issues of body modification and the workplace." SAM Advanced Management Journal Winter 2011: 13+. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

Video Citation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqL6GCG9EYM

Tatted: Do You Really Know Your Historic Figures

(Miscellaneous Perspective)

Many people say that people with tattoos are criminals, thieves, gang members, rebels, etc. People with tattoos have for a while now been looked as being unsuccessful and unable to be productive. I don't really know how having your body tattooed would effect your mind and ability to lead and succeed, but some how that has become a common conception with people who have tattoos. I am going to take you back through history and I will be talking to you about a few very important people throughout time, who I bet you wouldn't have guessed to be tattooed, because they were such important and smart people. I am going to prove to you that the stereotypes about people with tattoos not being as intellectual as others is not true.

Now when you think of a king, what do you think of? Responsibility, smart, maybe money, big castle,  anything you want is yours. Well after researching and learning about King George V, King Alexander of Yugoslavia, and King Frederick IX of Denmark, when I think about kings I think of these Kings having tattoos and how many people say someone could never be in a position so high with tattoos.King George V who reigned over the UK, was the emperor of India, and was known as the Duke of York, actually allowed a local Japanese artist to tattoo a red and blue dragon on his arm. King Alexander of Yugoslavia was very well known for being a King and having a huge eagle tattoo across his chest. Finally King Frederick IX of Denmark was known for have many tattoos and also liked to show them off. Now to me these three men being smart enough, and having the responsibility, to be Kings shows that having tattoos does not effect your intelligence. I would bet that not to many people think of tattoos when they think of Kings because to many people it is the biggest shock in the world for someone important to have a little taste in art. Being a King is probably the highest position someone could have, just as being a president, and these three men are a perfect example of how having tattoos does not have anything to do with wits.

Anyone who still does not agree is probably saying, well your talking about other countries, but you haven't mentioned anyone from America. Well, I have a couple perfect examples for American leaders too and my first one is Teddy Roosevelt. Our 26nd president proudly bore his family crest but is was never certain exactly where the tattoo was, but it was said to be on his chest. Roosevelt showed great responsibility and understanding during his presidency. He had a very good reasoning of the domestic and international changes going on, as stated, "As president, the more mature Roosevelt concluded that the nation's real interests lay in a stable world balance of power. He was the first president to understand and respond constructively to both the domestic and international changes that had been created by the industrial revolution." To be able to see both of these different views and make this observation Roosevelt much have been a very smart and understanding man. Teddy Roosevelt was looked at as a man who knew what he was doing and who could make good decisions and choices, not as a guy with tattoos who was going to come into office and not know what he was doing. Another American historian, who was also known as "America's son", was John F. Kennedy Jr. who actually had two tattoos, one being a dagger on his right arm, and the other being a shamrock on his foot. Now this doesn't make any sense for people to be judging against tattoos and saying they don't resemble knowledge and well being but the "Son of America" has tattoos. To me this should be saying point blank and literally to everyone that tattoos do not effect the mental and intellectual abilities of a person. The final example of an American with a tattoo, and probably the biggest inventor and creator we have had is Thomas Edison. Everyone knows that he is well-known for his invention of electricity and the light bulb, but also the phonograph, and motion picture. Thomas Edison was by far the greatest inventor that America has seen and that's what he was looked at as and for, being an inventor, not a man with tattoos. He had five mysteriously placed dots on his arm in the shape of what would be on a die. People judged him for what he did to help, not on his tattoo and denying him as people these days would probably do. Another two people I will just briefly talk about is Winston Churchill and his mother. Everyone knows what Winston Churchill did and how he was a great help to WWI. He has the tattoo of an anchor on his arm and it is said that he got it to follow the tattooing tradition in his family, his mother Lady Randolph Churchill having a snake tattoo around her wrist and even having her nipples pierced.

As you can see there are many important, smart, and responsible, people and leaders with tattoos. All of these people were looked at for what they knew and what they did to make a difference and help. They were not shut down as people are these days for having tattoos. People need to stop judging on personal choice and start focusing on a person intellectual benefits and what they can do to help. People need to open back up and be more willy as everyone in the old days was. If Kings, Presidents, "America's son", and Inventors, can be tattooed and make huge differences for the better in the world, then common day people and ordinary people should too, along with other leaders. (982)

Citation:
Meyerson, Harold. "Foundering fathers: the authors of the Constitution were in love with gridlock. We've been paying the price ever since." The American Prospect 22.8 (2011): 12+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.
Video Citation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEdpKUtFmQ

Picture Citation:
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=x9f&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&biw=1584&bih=730&tbm=isch&tbnid=iSDygfZBdpv6eM:&imgrefurl=http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo/celeb-jfk.htm&docid=aeEXZqXqLDT2WM&imgurl=http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/images/tattoo_2/jfkjr.jpg&w=210&h=354&ei=0cPJTqf2EIvNtgeF0ZyxBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=332&sig=109600766584928147914&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=77&start=0&ndsp=42&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=14&ty=37

R.Lee Ermey speaks on tattoos in the Military

Tattoos: Their Culture and Their History

 (Global Perspective)

The art of tattooing has taken place as long ago as the ancient centuries and has been practices and appreciated all around the world by many different cultures. Tattooing back long ago, and still continued today, was very important for many cultures and had great meaning and symbolism. The Egyptians used tattooing on the dead as a sort this of passport to the "world after",  African tradition is that a special type of tattooing putting charcoal in razor cuts was used to show social rank, and tribal tattooing has existed for hundreds of years in the Polynesia backgrounds, such as the Samoa and Philippines. All around the world tattooing has very different meanings and there are different reasons behind each cultures specific type of tattooing. Now, tattooing was much more excepted worldwide in the old days, but the traditions and art form are strongly working their way back into many cultures, especially the American culture. America has become very primitive and strict on tattooing. An example of this is in a video I saw earlier today about tattoos in the military and R. Lee Ermey's opinion on this topic. Ermey says, "You know I think it has gotten a little bit ridiculous... I think its a     traditional Navy and Marine Corps thing... just because a kid has tattoos doesn't mean he can't fight... those are usually the once that do fight.". From watching this video I have learned that America has gone from "tradition to unreasonable condition". Back in the old days, around the 1940's up to the 1960's and even 70's, in America tattooing, as stated above, for a sailor in the navy was a huge thing and a wide spread tradition. An example of this comes from a story, "Skin and Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor", that says, "...shows the art's many functions (identification, decoration, group bonding, superstitious "protection") and the many forms it took (numbers, personal icons, political symbols, talismans)."(go.galegroup.com) This means that tattoos to sailors represented stories, experience, friendship, it was pretty much used to symbolize their ranking. Now just as America had its tradition, the Samoa have always been well known for their creative and traditional style of tattooing, which has died down a little but still stays strong throughout most of the country. The Samoa's had a universal custom of tattooing the butt and thighs with thick black lines, sometimes even different symbols. This tradition was strongly followed but not just men but also women. It was actually from the Samoa that one of the first forms of the word "tattoo" was discovered, spelled as "tattow". As you can see tattooing has been a great tradition for many centuries throughout all different types of cultures. The art of tattooing has a great history worldwide has placed a very important and honorable role in many cultures. (477)

Citation:
Givens, Ron. "Tattoo traditions bared." American History 44.4 (2009): 13. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

It's Creativity and Expression, Not Destruction and Rebellion

(Personal Perspective)

Trace Cyrus, Miley Cyrus' Stepbrother

Are tattoos artwork and personal creativeness, or are they destruction of the body and poor judgement? Many people look at tattoos as being disrespectful to ones religion, rebellious, and ruining the body. But, have you ever noticed that the majority of the people who say these things about tattoos are those who are not artistic, they don't see the world or their life in a creative view, and they are stuck in the mind set of being satisfied with following the norms of society just to get by? People who look at tattoos as a bad thing are those people who wake up every morning, put their spiffy suits on and get in their fancy cars to go to there 12 hour office desk job. Now people who love and complement the art form of tattoo are those who are more creative, they love the beauty of life, and are more open and understanding of others individual choices. People with tattoos are the ones who do things for themselves and aren't constantly trying to fit into society and follow the social norms.  These are the people who love individuality and don't let what others say effect their life and how they feel about themselves. People with tattoos are the ones who live out the American dream. The show their freedom and don't let themselves get sucked into the rules of society and the workplace. A good example of this is, I have a friend who is almost as in love with the art form of tattooing as myself but he won't get them because he doesn't want to be viewed as different and rebellious. This is the main reason for choosing this topic. People are hiding their true selves and personalities because they feel they need to fit into society's view of the norm to make it in life. I chose the topic of tattoos and their effects to get the main point across that they are an art form of ones personal creativity and people should not have to worry about hiding who they really are to feel like they will be successful.

9/11Tattoo

On a side point, artists, painters, and sculptors, all express creatively and expression in their works, painters you paint and paper, but people never criticize painters wasting trees for their own personal expressions. Tattooing and painting are the exact same thing just done in a different way, one with paint and paper, one with ink and skin, but they are both ways that people show who they are and their creativity. I try and explain this example to many people who reject tattoos, trying to teach people that it is just art done in a different way. I always have people saying things or asking about my tattoos, somethings good and some bad but either way what someone says doesn't effect my feelings towards tattoos. This topic greatly involves me and I have had many experiences from having tattoos. I have dealt with those who don't understand, and I have shared stories with those who agree. My topic is very important to me and it is very important for me to get my point across and persuade everyone that tattooing is an art form not destruction of the body or a fad. People need to learn that they should live life though their own image and creativeness, not letting other people determine who they become or how they act. This is my main reason for choosing this topic. (582)