I’ll be honest. I want tattoos. I have a list of at least 10 tattoos I want. On the other hand, I don’t drink, and I want to be a high school teacher. And these don’t have to be contradictory statements. The world is changing. I have been on a college campus for about three days, and probably a solid third or so of the student population has at least one visible tattoo. And these kids are studying to be teachers— mechanical engineering, doctors. In the next five years, you could probably walk into a doctor’s office and find a doctor with a full sleeve. No one is going to tell him or her that they look "unprofessional" because they possess skills that most people do not. Their tattoos do not affect their minds or their work ethic.
At the end of the day, it’s just another form of art, an accessory, a bracelet you can’t take off. Yes, it’s permanent. It’s forever. That’s everyone’s argument. But I have good news. When I die, my skin will be the first thing to decay. So it’s not forever. The next argument is that no one will hire a person with tattoos. About 36% of people in the US between the ages of 18 and 25 have tattoos. So you can discriminate to your heart’s content, but within the next five years, a third or so of the workforce will have tattoos. Good luck filling job positions.
It’s not a rebellious thing. I’m not getting a tattoo to spite you, my dear reader. I’m going to do it for me. I’m going to do what makes me feel confident. Maybe you have to sing ‘Eye of the Tiger’ before work every day to get where you need to be. Maybe you have a special pair of shoes that make you feel particularly badass. It’s the same difference. You do you. Express yourself. And I’ll do me. And tattooed folks will do them. The good news is, no one is forcing you to get a tattoo. You may remain a tabula rasa, and go about your day, business as usual.
The point is, people have tattoos. And you don’t have to stare. You don’t have to judge them. Their tattoos don’t affect you. Maybe they’re smart people. Maybe they’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. There’s no cause and effect or correlation between intellect and tattoos. I won’t start doing Satanic rituals as soon as I get a tattoo. I’m still me, just me with a cool piece of art on my arm, or wherever.
There're so many things in this world to be angry about— racism, poverty, war. Why single out one group of people that’s just trying to express themselves? Life is too short to be that bitter. We’re all artists, and some of us want to display it.
