Face ink...

[beaglesandbass]

I don’t care what other people to do their own bodies that doesn’t affect me. Don’t waste my energy thinking about it.

 

[Pilgrim]

uhh, yeah...

Uhhh, no. Nope. Nyet. Nein. Negatory, good buddy.

 

[GrooverMcTube]

I went up to my step-brother's place about 6 years ago for a family reunion. His then about 20 year old son, who I hadn't seen in probably 10 years was there. His kid was a rebellious sort in a religious community and had drifted into a life of drug use and generally being a low-life.

He had several tattoos and wore some piercings. Most prominently was a neck/chin tattoo that went above his jawline on both sides of his face. It was a line from a song that he particularly liked:

The sound of your screaming
is music to my ears

He was a nice kid when I talked to him, and bright enough but very focused at the time on body modification. (Wouldn't it be cool if I had some lumps on my forearm that looked like a dinosaur's back?)

He had that kind of "screw you I'm to cool to care what you think" attitude. Haven't seen him since, last I heard he was still living with his parents. Always kind of wondered if he regretted getting the tat or had had it removed. Not close to my step-brother so I'll probably never know.

 

[mrwood4]

The first amendment guarantees you the right to free speech, but does not guarantee you the right to be free from judgment/repercussion of said freedom of speech.

 

[friskinator]

A friend of mine has a daughter that's a junior in high school. Her and her friends can't wait until they turn 18 so they can all start getting tattoos. She knows a guy that recently graduated that already has a prominent neck tattoo. Her and her friends don't see it as any big deal. My friend doesn't seem to have much of an opinion on it, and once she's a legal adult, there isn't much he can do. However, if I were him, I think I'd advise her to wait a bit before taking on that kind of commitment.

I know tattoos don't carry the same social stigma they used to, but they can still alter (sometimes unfairly) how you're perceived. It's easy to think "F it, who cares what anyone thinks" when you're 18. We all thought that at some point, didn't we? But we can't all be tattoo artists/musicians/etc for a living.