Worried Father

[MJJean]

They are coming into town in a few weeks, and it will be the first time that I will see a lot of him, so it should give me a better idea of his character, and how he would take being asked about his tattoos.

Just out of curiosity, is anyone here tattood?

I also don’t have a problem with a tattoo here and there. It’s the down his arms/up his neck thing that gets me.

I am tattooed. So is my sister, my brother, and my oldest daughter. A lot of our cousins have tattoos and so do a lot of the in-laws. In fact, my BIL’s brother is a tattoo artist.

You don’t need to worry about impulse control with this young man. Sleeves (what tattoos covering the arms are called) take a lot of planning, many visits with artists, and many hours of sitting in pain while the work is being done. Then the new tattoo must be kept clean and moist to heal properly. Those kind of tattoos are generally not an impulsive act.

I wouldn’t worry about money, either. Yes, quality tattoos can be expensive. But think about the bang for the buck. First, the end price can be considered a bargain if you think about how many hours of thinking, planning, interviewing artists and researching goes into each tat. Many hours of occupation and entertainment for a few hundred dollars. Second, how many things do you spend money on that you enjoy looking at and that have personal meaning to you that you will always have with you for the rest of your life? Lets say he spent $2500 total on all of his tattoos. That’s $2500 for something he will have for about 50 or 60 years! I’ve spent more on gaming computers over the last decade and all I have to show for it is a pile of obsolete parts in a bin in my storage closet.

You also shouldn’t have to worry about commitment with this man. Or a lack of follow through. He committed to designing and sitting for those tats knowing they’d be with him forever. And neck tats are painful. Very painful. He was committed to his artistic vision to the point where he willingly endured hours of intense pain to achieve his end result. So, this is not a fellow who is going to have a problem making and sticking to a commitment.

You might want to watch the first few seasons of Ink Master, a Spike TV show. I’m sure you could find it on Netflix or Hulu. You could learn a lot about tattoos, artists, and the culture in general.

 

[CAROLOFTHEBELLS]

Skin changes over time, muscle tone changes, some people become heavier, some leamer. What a tattoo looks like now is not what it will look like in 50 or 60 years with the changes that age makes to the body. Therefore, it is not something that will last a lifetime. However, people don’t seem to be talked out of getting tattoos based on that. So, in my opinion, people who are tattooed are not thinking of the future and what will last well over 50 years. There are better ways for a man to use $2500.00 that involve committment and future happiness. I do agree that spending time and money on computer games is a waste, though.

 

[Listener]

I agree with you. When I was growing up in the Catholic Church in the 1950’s, I was told that it is a mortal sin to get a tattoo. This was because you were mutilating your body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Why anyone in their right mind would want to spend money on a tattoo is beyond me.

I used to stop for coffee every morning on the way to work. One guy that waited on me had his arms covered with tattoos. I even learned that his nickname was “Tattoo.” Every time he waited on me, it practically made me sick to look at his arms. I always had to struggle not to have a disgusted look on my face.

I feel the same way about body piercing. When I see someone with a bead pierced into his or her lip, it looks to me like a giant, ugly, cold sore, and I can’t stop staring at it (while feeling disgusted).

Your daughter is an adult who will make her own decisions, so you will have to “suck it up” and do your best to like him, but I can sure understand where you are coming from.

 

[Giggly_Giraffe]

Does your daughter have Tatoo’s? I’m guessing she might.

My objectable observation of Tatoo’s is that it attracts people who enjoy seek pain. You daughter is in a culture where many people never learned the life skills of dealing with emotional and spiritual pain and will turn to inflicting body pain as a coping mechanism. Tatto’s seem to be a socially acceptable way to inflict bodily pain vs “cutting”; however some do both.

Now, as a father you can get to know your future son in law and size up how he does with emotional pain … How he will do with life’s stresses. Maybe leading questions like, how would you take care of your wife if she has cancer? If he has theability to verbalized ways through stressful situations great; if he does not then how can the family teach this new member of the family how to properly cope with stress.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Skin changes over time, muscle tone changes, some people become heavier, some leamer. What a tattoo looks like now is not what it will look like in 50 or 60 years with the changes that age makes to the body. Therefore, it is not something that will last a lifetime. However, people don’t seem to be talked out of getting tattoos based on that. So, in my opinion, people who are tattooed are not thinking of the future and what will last well over 50 years. There are better ways for a man to use $2500.00 that involve committment and future happiness. I do agree that spending time and money on computer games is a waste, though.

(Bolding mine). I’m guessing you don’t have tattoos. Your opinion is wrong. Everyone who gets tattoos knows how they age, and chooses to get them anyway. When I worked in a nursing home, I saw a lot of old men with black spots on their bodies. They happily told me about their very faded tattoos that had long bled together. I’m tattooed, and I considered every one of them carefully. What it comes down to for me is that in 50 or 60 years, the rest of me won’t be looking so sexy either, and at that point, I doubt I’ll care. But I’ll have artwork commemorating those closest to me and some of the best parts of my life. Yes, they’ll show a lifetime of wear, but just like old jewelry or furniture, those visible signs of wear make it even more special.

As far as the money goes, that’s silly. Does everything you buy hold up perfectly over the decades?

 

[MJJean]

(Bolding mine). I’m guessing you don’t have tattoos. Your opinion is wrong. Everyone who gets tattoos knows how they age, and chooses to get them anyway. When I worked in a nursing home, I saw a lot of old men with black spots on their bodies. They happily told me about their very faded tattoos that had long bled together. I’m tattooed, and I considered every one of them carefully. What it comes down to for me is that in 50 or 60 years, the rest of me won’t be looking so sexy either, and at that point, I doubt I’ll care. But I’ll have artwork commemorating those closest to me and some of the best parts of my life. Yes, they’ll show a lifetime of wear, but just like old jewelry or furniture, those visible signs of wear make it even more special.

As far as the money goes, that’s silly. Does everything you buy hold up perfectly over the decades?

Not to mention any decent tattoo artist is also thinking of aging when helping the client to design and place their tattoo. Inks and methods have evolved since the early days so tattoos look newer longer than ever before.