Whoa - you people have opinions!

And you're not afraid to share them, apparently!

I mean, 27 comments concerning my thoughts on getting a tattoo?  If I would have only known that you all felt so strongly, I'd have posted it a long time ago!

But, really, I was a bit, well, insulted miffed at the assumption that a person with a tattoo is trashy.  I was actually a bit hurt.  I'd still be the same person - in fact, you wouldn't even be able to see it at all, since it'd be on my lower back and I'm too damned fat to wear a two piece or low riders.  Are you telling me that society is shallow enough that a good, respectable, clean person - someone you'd see hanging out in your local grocery store/book store/Starbucks/doctor's office - would be acceptable ONLY if she DID NOT have a tattoo?  Someone you go to church with, who in fact is a very religious person?  I don't follow that reasoning AT ALL.

That's like what my dad told me when I got my ears double pierced.  That it was something that hookers do.  I remember THAT conversation like it was yesterday.  I have a good relationship with the man now, but that stuck in my craw for years.  I'd venture to say that he's forgotten about it, but I sure didn't.

Does this mean that ANY person with a tattoo, no matter how smart/nice/talented/successful is not worth talking to?  If so, that's pretty harsh.  That the things you like about me - the fact that I'm so intelligent, so personable, so damned funny - would be negated if I had a tattoo?  What if you found out that your best friend, or your favorite aunt, or your lover, for that matter, had a tattoo that you hadn't seen before?  Would that person be totally out of your field of friendliness?

One comment, left by Dollymama, struck home with me.  In it, she spoke of being an engima.  I really like that aspect of me.  I'm the woman who bought two cd's this week - Dean Martin and the Clash.  I drive a huge honking van, but listen to hard rock at ear splitting levels - when I'm alone, that is.  I'm an intellectual, but love to read sappy - although well written - romance novels.  I attend church every single week, and for a long while hosted a faith sharing community in my home weekly.  Yet I am considering a tattoo. 

Answer me, please.  I'm really interested in knowing why that would be.  Cuz I don't get it, and I really am curious to know why about half of the responses were so negative.

__________________________________________________________________________________

In other news, we've got strep in the house AGAIN.  That makes three times in three months, with a round of pink eye in the  middle.  And!  Guess what?  My throat is sore, and I'm going to get a throat culture tonight.  Yay, me!  I don't get it - I give them immune boosters up the ying-yang - vit C, echinachea, garlic, collodial silver, olive leaf, zinc, elderberry and astralagus are all in the boosters we use.  WHERE are they getting all this SICKNESS from??????

Or, from WHERE are they getting all this sickness?  I think that's more gramatically correct. ;)

Edited to add:  Emma just hurled all over the kitchen.  I can tell this is going to be a looooong night.

Comments

[Shelly]

Well, I personally don't think you're trashy if you have a tatoo, but I think they look trashy...especially as time goes on.

I'm not a fan of them. Why put something on your body permanently when you may change your mind about it later? It's like being stuck with the same hairstyle for all of your life.

Plus, what happens when Nik is 16 and says, "Mom, I want a tattoo?"

[Paula]

Hi! I'm new to your blog, but FWIW, I've toyed with getting a tattoo for years, was going to when I turned 40 but didn't because I was pg. I am still nursing, so want to wait till I'm done. I'm a Catholic mom of 7, don't homeschool.

I relate to many of the things you've said.

I have an autistic nephew, diagnosed at 18 months, who is now 5.5 years old, saying lots of words and phrases, potty trained (this took till about 4.5 years) and will be mainstreamed next year. He will never be "normal" but has improved so much! His diagnosis isn't the same as your daughter's, but his parents certainly went throught some struggles with difficult behavior. I admire you for working so hard at parenting your daughter.

As for strep, if it keeps recurring--have you had everyone in the family cultured, even if they are NOT sick? You can carry it asymptomatically and spread it--I've had it happen with one of my kids. Also, toss or boil those toothbrushes! I hope you're not coming down with it!

[Mrs. Fun]

its very sad how closed minded some still are these days.
mr. fun has tats and when they aren't seen he is treated with respect. but if we go in the same store and hes wearing shorts and short sleeves it can be a different story. my tat is on my foot and rarely noticed so i haven't noticed different treatment.
We are not trashy in any way, actually way on the other spectrum. my body is a temple and i chose to decorate it.

sorry the sickies hit your house. we just got over an ass kicking flu.

[Mrs. Fun]

Plus, what happens when Nik is 16 and says, "Mom, I want a tattoo?"

if this my child saying this i say "when you are 21 and you still want that same tat then go for it."
i was 29 when i got my first and mr. fun was 27. chances are your child won't want one b/c you have one. and mr. fun and i find a tat we want and wait a yr. if we still want that tat we get it.

[Thumper]

Well, if a tattoo is trashy, then sometime this year I will join the ranks of the Trashy People when I get mine. It's going to be my reward for making goal weight. I will be Trashy And Proud of It!

I know a guy, he's a catholic priest, and he has the most beautiful panther tattooed on his chest. I wonder if he's trashy... :lol:

[Gretchen]

My personal opinion in most anything could be construed as wishy washy, but it is what I believe.

To Each His (or Her) own.

If you want a tattoo, then get one. Forget what anyone else seems to think. For me, I choose to not get tattoos. Too much of a wuss. I did go for the epidural's after all. *grin* What would you get??

[SignorM]

Hi, just stopped by from SA J and had to comment. I haven't read the other post, I'm one of those people if I don't do something the moment I think of it I'll likely forget so it'll have to wait ;-), but I certainly will now.

The first thing that strikes me...wow, I didn't realize people really still felt that way. I got my first tat when I was 20, not long after I had my first child. It was, in a way, a rebellion against being a mother but I like the fact that I have a constant reminder of that time in my life. I've since gotten two more, one of which could be highly offensive to some (a...let's say, spiritual symbol). In 13 years (*cough*) I've gotten only a handful of negative comments on any of them and nothing but praise for the one that might be questionable.

I have sketches and pictures of 4 more that I would like to have done, all of them much more artistic than the 3 I have. I love the idea of being some sort of living form of art, even if not everyone appreciates it.

Umm...that came out way more conceited than it seemed in my head...

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about people thinking ill of you (not that it sounds like it would really get to you much ;-) ). It's potentially a big deal and worth thinking long and hard about but I really think the "trashy" mindset it a minority in the real world. I say go for it :-)

(sorry for taking over your blog...)

[Liz]

I only counted 4 of 27+ posts which indicated those people were against tattoos. That doesn't strike me as an overriding opinion of your person at all. Don't take it so personally, especially when your last sentence of that post was 'Would that be too weird?'

Apparently 4 of your readers think so. The rest think you should go for it.

First time reader - don't hate me for pointing out the obvious!

[Chrissie]

My mother, age 57, has wanted a tattoo for as long as I can remember. My dad, however, is entirely against it. Says he'd leave her. We believe he would, so she has no tattoo.

The most ultra-conservative, Republican DOCTOR I know has a tattoo on her toe. She's not trashy.

Do what you like, just consider how much you want it seen, and what you might want to still be looking at when you're 80. :)

[Mel]

I don't get the point of tattoos, unless you're a Marine or an NFL player.

To me, they're kind of like a permanent mural in your house . . . fine, if you think you'll like the same picture for 50 years, but not so fine if you change your mind and like to rearrange. Better to just hang a picture on the wall than to permanently (no painting over it, ever) paint.

But if you want one, get one! I'll still think you're cool, but I won't understand it! ;)

[Karnak]

Hi Carmen

Several of the women where I work have them and one is now trying to get rid of hers by getting it lasored off slowly. She said that her tatto on her upper arm has gone against her in several interviews she feels. The process to get rid of it is expensive and painful as well.

So if and when you go back to work this is something to consider

[Jill]

Not sure what you're planning to get, but, check out this site

http://www.hanzismatter.com/

I thought tattoos were pretty mainstream now. Most people I know have at least one. I live in a very liberal town, though, so that could be why.

If you wanted something less permanant, you could always get a nose ring. I'm considering that for my upcoming birthday. YEA!

[Richard]

trashy is as trashy does.

What is trashy?, someone who dress's badly or cheaply, lives in a trailer park as thats all they can afford?.

Some of the best people I know are bikers who are labelled trashy because they choose a life style and fall victim to peoples perceptions.

If it makes you feel good and breaks no laws then go for it - I mean 99.9% of the population will never even know you've had anything done.

[Richard]

trashy is as trashy does.

What is trashy?, someone who dress's badly or cheaply, lives in a trailer park as thats all they can afford?.

Some of the best people I know are bikers who are labelled trashy because they choose a life style and fall victim to peoples perceptions.

If it makes you feel good and breaks no laws then go for it - I mean 99.9% of the population will never even know you've had anything done.

[Melissa]

I am all for tattoos. I have friends who don't understand why I got one. But all I can do is shrug. My decision not theres. It's on my lower back and it's not teeny. It's a Phoenix. For me it stands for strength and rebirth and if you get a tattoo that means something to you in a place where you want it. Go for it. *HUGE HUGS*

[Brandy]

I never said Trashy! I said I was too chicken, that I'd been raised conservative and it was a decision YOU had to make for YOU!
Do what you want, if you feel not getting one would make you regret it, then do it. Regrets should be for those too old to change. You're not there yet.

[Dollymama]

I disagree with the insinuation that kids maybe should be allowed to get a tatoo because a parent has one. My answer would be that I got one as an adult and they can too. (the price would be enough to dissuade a kid anyhow)

Some people know what they like and they like it forever. I'm one of those people. If you are, maybe you'd enjoy having a tatoo forevermore. And even if you didn't love it, it would represent something to you that perhaps would be even more meaningful in the long run.

[Jacqueline]

I say go for it. How much time are you really going to be spending staring at the small of your back when you're 80 anyways?

[Mary]

I was just trying to be honest with my opinion.
That is the first thing that pops in my head when I see someone with tattoos.
I can't help it.
Maybe being from the Bible Belt has it's influence?
I dont know why I have that association, I just do.
I see gorgeous celebrities with tattoos and it just makes them not so gorgeous anymore.
I get that feeling about bad plastic surgery too. Meg Ryan- cute as anything but now with the big porn star lips? not so much.

I just imagine 50 years from now what that tattoo will look like.

But it is YOUR body and you should do what makes you feel good.

[Debby]

Brand new to your blog, but loving it! First, the tat thing. I am now disabled, but was the Confidential Secretary to our County Attorney for 16 years, which was a very well-respected position here, AND I have 13 tattoos. I don't see what the problem is here. If you want a tattoo, then go ahead and get one!! I raised four children and every one of them has at least one, but I did insist that they wait until they were 16 until they got them, and they had to wait until two years after they had first asked for them. I didn't want them getting them just because I had them or their friends thought they were cool. I wanted them to be sure.

Second, my middle grandson is autistic. He is five. They told us he would never be verbal, and that he would never be toilet-trained. He also has many sensory integration issues, is mentally challenged and is ODD. Obviously "they" couldn't find their collective asses with both hands, because he is fully toilet-trained and is verbal, though mostly repetitive and mimicking at this point, though some spontaneous.

I will be returning often because I do enjoy your family so much already. Thank you so much for sharing your joys and tribulations!!

[R*Belle]

I came through mommybloggers. Love your site. Do you think the tattoo thing could be regional? I once made a negative comment about "people with tattoos" and my northwestern friend was shocked. Apparently more common in other places, they are illegal in my state and thus not very common. I am now much more mature (haha) and say if you want a tattoo- get as many as your heart desires!

[Sandra]

I guess I'm a trashy mom b/c I have a tattoo. Oooh and I'm even trashier b/c I want more. Please!!