Luckily, the solution to this dilemma is so simple. If you don't like tattoos -- DON'T GET ONE! Then everyone can make their own decisions about what they do or do not want on their own bodies and we can all be happy.
Da: What world are you living in? "One day, sonny, you're going to regret getting 'Mom' tattooed on your forearm because people will think you look like a sailor." Gee, thanks grandpa! And, what exactly is your hangup with tattoos? This is the second time you've told everyone what a horrible mistake they are. No one argues this much over something that has absolutely no effect on them. Tattoos are certainly not for everyone, and if you think they are widely accepted in the business community you are sorely mistaken. Huh? First off, don't you build video games for a living? How many ultra-geeky software developers do you have? Have you strip-searched all of them to make sure they don't have any tats because, God knows, they aren't accepted. How many companies can you name that require that you don't have a tattoo on your entire body, oh, other than strippers (highly respectable business job)? Besides, who wants to work for a freakin' company that tells you what YOU can do with YOUR body!??! I don't care how much you're paying, your rules end at the door Joe Joe. I have several friends that got them in College or when they were younger and every single one of them wishes they could take it back. No offense to your friends but BOO HOO! In some circles, they would be referred to as "wussie." It is for life, and your perspective changes for most people as they get older, married, and have kids. This actually isn't true. There are plenty of options to remove tattoos if you really want to have them removed. But, that really isn't the point. Of course your perspective changes but that doesn't mean you go from guy/girl who wants tattoo to white suburban must-look-like-everyone-else Cleaver person. It is a lifestyle choice, but the main argument against it, is that it NEVER goes away. Lifestyle choice? I don't get this either. This isn't like you are turning into some biker with 95 percent of your body covered in "live to ride" tats. Amazing as it may seem, there are places in between Bubba the Hood and Ned Smith, CPA. No one looks down on anyone Rimmy, I just look at it in a realistic light, and tattoos are far from accepted everywhere. If that were true, you would have never told DM "you are soooo going to regret it." You don't know DM well enough to make that statement.
You guys can team up on Dakota with wishful thinking and anecdotal evidence to the contrary, but he is correct. Having a visible tattoo will make a negative first impression on the vast majority of employers and the people who handle interviews. Here is what he said: Tattoos are certainly not for everyone, and if you think they are widely accepted in the business community you are sorely mistaken. That is factually true. It is not an opinion. Dakota didn't say you couldn't find a job if you got a tattoo. He was explaining that most of the people in the business community don't accept people with tattoos as mature, intelligent potential employees. Anecdotal evidence to the contrary, that is an extremely widespread mindset. It's a mistake on their part, obviously, but he's not wrong in saying that attitude exists. And that's a good piece of advice for an 18-yr old to have. It seems to me like you guys are shooting the messenger here. I have two tattoos myself, but neither is in a visible place. At least, not the way I dress. I'm glad too, because believe me, my work situation is so insane that I don't want to give anyone any reason to stigmatize me.
BK: I know what you are saying and I understood Da as well. IMO, if you have visible tats, they would have to be in relatively conspicuous places. I mean, who goes to a job interview in shorts and a tank top? If you go in a suit or even a long-sleeved shirt, it is doubtful that anyone with a couple of tattoos would be "outed." I know that people look down on people with tattoos which I think is pathetic and small-minded, personally. Frankly, if some ass doesn't want me working for him because I have a tattoo (which I don't), I don't want to work for him anyway. Geez, how superficial can you possibly be? Besides, I dare someone to make fun of the special forces tattoo on the back of a soldier's hand. Amazing how that is a badge of honor and something you do for yourself makes you a freak.
Man, you must really think there's a lot of jobs out there or something. Believe me, these days you probably DO want to work for "him." And yes, it may be superficial, but that's the way it is. A lot of times when interviewers are selecting between several different, similar people, all it takes is a little thing like that to make up their mind. That would be a shame to miss a great opportunity because of something as silly as a tatoo, especially when jobs are scarce. But then again, I'm a square so I don't really understand the benefits of having a tatoo. It seems to me like their is more of a downside to having one, but like I said...I'm a square.
I agree, Jeff. I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with a tattoo, but there are definitely a lot of those type of people out there. One thing no one's warned Monkey about: tattoos are addictive. At least, that's been my experience. When you get one, you'll want another. When you have two, you'll want a third. It's probably a miracle I never got more of them, as often as I ended up plastered on 6th St. DCKid-- no, trust me on this one. Jeff would not want to work for him. He's not just speaking hypothetically here.
DC: I do work for a cold, heartless b*stard who has no tattoos - myself. But, BK is correct. I would probably go homeless before working for "the man". By the way, BK, what do you have? I have actually considred them before though I'm still not sure I'd go through with it.
1) Black Longhorn logo on my right bicep. I got this in the fall of 1995 after my roommate made the 2nd string of the UT men's volleyball team (it's a club sport there, not a varsity sport). We bet each other that if he made it, we'd get Longhorn tattoos. I remember being really nervous about it-- I remember cruising around West Campus drinking a 32-oz Miller Light trying to calm myself down. 2) I am not sure how to describe the second one. It's sorta like interlocked crescent moons with lines protruding from them... Imagine this: =(o)= Only with more of a curve to it. Kinda like that. It's on my left bicep. I got this in 1996 when we were hanging out on 6th Street-- I wasn't drunk, but I was feeling pretty good, and out of boredom I was like, "I want another tattoo!" Wise decision making process.
