What does that tattoo mean? – IOTW Report

What does that tattoo mean?

Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 21:15 MJA Uncategorized 48

This is from a Dear Abby column:

DEAR ABBY: While dining in a fancy restaurant recently, I noticed a woman sitting a few tables away who had a number of tattoos on her arms and elsewhere. When she came by, I politely asked her what one of them meant. My wife was furious! Did I do something wrong? — INQUIRING QUESTION

DEAR INQUIRING: Tattoos often have deeply personal meanings to the wearer. Although some individuals might welcome the opportunity to explain them to a stranger, others would not because the tat may commemorate a very personal — or sad — milestone. Your wife may have become upset because she felt the question was presumptuous.

SNIP: I already hate that dude’s wife and Abby works my nerves. LOL.

If the woman’s tattoos were on her body where the public could see them, then they’re fair game for questions.  What do you think?

48 Comments on What does that tattoo mean?

  1. “a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling” ~ Jimmy Buffett

    even uglier on women than men

    … especially after years of stretching & spreading … ‘gee, gramma, what’s that blob on your arm? well, it used to be a butterfly; now it’s Mothra’

  2. No problem asking, just as long as it’s not to try to make her look stupid. The wife was probably just passed that she herself was momentarily not the center of attention.

  5. If you want to self mutilate why should I care what they mean? If they are personal, then they are some place where only a few can see them. These days if you want to be a rebel–don’t tattoo!!

  6. Absolutely!

    Though I personally could not care less if someone has tattoos, piercings or how they dress. I just look, evaluate and decide if I wish to interact with that person. Those first impressions have worked to keep me safe and sane my throughout my life.

  8. I don’t ask questions. I just gawk and point.
    If someone wants to mark up their body where everyone can see then they should accept whatever they get when they are in public, be it questions, ridicule, mocking, hysterical laughter….

  9. Oh boy. You had to go there. Haha.
    I’m about to offend.

    I can’t tell you how many beautiful young women I’ve seen who have bespoiled their bodies with vile tattoos.
    Dudes? Who cares? Young dudes are mostly stupid and they can regret their errors of youth later.

    Young women? Ugh. Tattoos and piercings are a sign of lack of hygiene and says SKANK. I wouldn’t touch that.

    Or maybe I’m just old fashioned
    I’m glad that tatting wasn’t popular when I was young and stupid.

  11. I’ve noticed people with ink seem to exploit every possible opportunity to make sure everyone sees their ‘art’. I think that makes it fair to ask in some settings.

    Frankly, with the exception of veterans, I’m not interested in asking. I find the majority of tattoos I see about as artful as a Mapplethorpe photo.

  12. Reminds me of women who wear t-shirt with some sort of phrase or quote on them. I want to read what it says but I am afraid I will be called a pervert for doing so. As far as I am concerned, if you don’t want anybody to look “there,” then don’t wear a t-shirt with something written on it.

  13. I had a few excursions with a lady that had some barbed wire with some Injun feathers wrapped around her upper arm….the tattoo was older and believe me…..That wire wasn’t holdin” any calves in any more…..

  14. Would you ask someone how they ended up with one leg shorter than the other? Who did the hair-lip repair? If they can see anything out of that sideways-pointing eye?

    Asking about tattoos can very easily end up being the same kind of question.

  16. My dad got a tat that said Mother on his left arm in the early 1950s. He was probably drunk and in the marine corps. I think that grandma was less than impressed.

    And then there was the crusty boatswains mate i knew in the 1970s who had upside down letters ESUK on each of his left fingers. Upside down LTFC on his right fingers. If he intertwined his fingers it displayed a message to women sitting across the table from him. Not too hard to figure out his proposal.
    He also had spiderwebs on each elbow with spiders growing down each arm.

    Tattoos are creepy.

  21. When I was a kid (with a few exceptions, none of which I can think of now except maybe the tattooed lady in the circus and concentration camp survivors) there were only two types of people who had tattoos – sailors and hookers.

    Try as I might, to this day I have trouble not mentally sorting tattooed persons into those two categories when I see them.

    Sorry, tattooed ladies, but I’m trying to get better. I really am.

    🙂

  23. I love the bejeebus out of my wife but I always tease the shit out her for taking the texters to herself. She also has those silly bloody guages in her ears, in fact the very first thing I ever said to her was, “Do those things whistle in windy weather?”

  25. Tattoos are a valuable, public display of something very personal. Usually, IQ. I used to wander around wondering if people were as stupid as I supposed – now I have a visible confirmation!!!

  26. Had a waitress serve us a few years ago with a fresh tattoo of hebrew characters on her forearm. I asked her what it said, she answered “love of family” or some other platitude. I didn’t have the heart to quote Leviticus 19:28: “You shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves.”

  27. The only three things that bother me about tattoos are:
    1. You wanted it (who the hell wants a tattoo)?
    2. You got it (And paid good money for the pain and lifelong stigma)
    3. You pretend to like it after 10 years (dope!)

  30. There’s a great band….The Nighthawks. Well worth a visit to their website, been around for years. Anyway, one of the founding members..a real nice guy named Mark Wenner is covered from gettin ink at every town on the road for the last 45 odd years. We traded tales of our respective 1st motorcycles during his break outside a club in Roanoke, Va. 35 or so years ago.
    He reminds me of Bradbury’s book, The Illustrated Man.

  33. I don’t glorify anyone’s tattoo by asking about them or offering my meaningless opinion of their personal choices.

    This also goes for my sons, they have heard my opinion on tats enough over the years. I don’t beat them up about it.

    It’s one thing I feel I didn’t talk about enough as they were growing up. Maybe because neither I or their Mom had one at the time. Didn’t know it would be an issue.

    I think Mom getting a tat after I kicked her out encouraged them.

    When #1 started wearing a bandana around 12, like he was an hispanic gang member, I put my foot down solidly. ‘Take it off. Now. You’re not ever going to present yourself as a gang member. Got it?’

    Now he’s a loving, married family man, dedicated father, coach of all teams his kids play on, a Marine Sgt, and a police officer.

    I don’t bitch about his tats or bring them up.

    ———————–

    “SNIP: I already hate that dude’s wife and Abby works my nerves. LOL.”

    Statements like this is why you’re so loved here. At least by me. I’m betting others agree.

  36. I don’t like tattoos. When I see a beautiful young lady with tattoos, it’s a turn off to me. I wouldn’t ask about them, either.

    Alas, I do have one tat… inside my ascending colon, placed there by a doctor to mark a potential trouble spot.

  41. A wise VP told us over 12 years ago: “We’re getting older and heading out the door. Younger people will be coming in to take our seats. We’re going to have to accept their tattoos, their piercings, their colored hair.”

    He hit the mark pretty well. Seeing tats, gaged ears, orange hair, and goth makeup is now commonplace in this conservative company. Most of them do great work.

    The mission o’ the month now is diversity and inclusion training. Way she goes, boys, way she goes.

  43. I have on occasion tried to talk younger female friends out of getting tattooed. I tell them to just imagine an 80 year old woman lying in a nursing home bed, with that exact tattoo, being given a sponge-bath by a twenty year old aide. Never makes a dent. Sometimes in the summer I see some sixty-ish woman walk past me with some faded tattoo covering her entire calf – yeesh. Nothing cute or sassy about that crap.

  46. Last week, I had made an appointment to view a rental house. I’ve just PCS’d to Ft Hood, and so obviously need a new home for my family.

    The appointment was made a week prior, because the house still has a tenant, and also because I’m a doctor and had to arrange my schedule to have free time during business hours.

    Anyway, I show up at the agency at the appointed time, and the first person to greet me is a white guy in his mid-20’s: he needs a shave, has multiple facial piercings, visible tattoos on his arms, hands, and neck, and is wearing a hoodie. The other person I see in the office is a black girl of about the same age, wearing gym clothes or a warm-up suit, whatever you call it. She also has visible tats and piercings.

    Unprofessional, but this generation seems to think causal wear at work is acceptable. So I was prepared to overlook this.

    When I told the kid why I was there, he snottily informed me that I’d need to make an appointment to look at that property…so I put my finger on his desk calendar which was right in front of both of us, right next to where I could clearly see my name written, along with the appointment time (I was 15 minutes early, of course – it’s an Army thing).

    After consulting with his office-mate, he informed me that – so sorry! – they would be unable to show me the property today, because they need to give the tenant 48 hours notice. I replied that, yes, I knew that, which is why I made the appointment a week prior.

    It seems they neglected to inform the tenant ahead of time. So I left.

    A few hours later I get a call from the owner of the rental agency, wanted to know why I had left the office without viewing the property, and would I be interested in looking at some of their other properties.

    My answer was not just NO, but FUCK NO. With these indicators of the way they handle things, I have no intention of doing any business with them, of any kind, ever. He seemed amazed I could possibly have that opinion.

    Moral of the story: Tats and piercings are a reliable indicator – these people are worthless. Avoid them.

  48. I’m disheartened by the number of derogatory remarks. I assume that by degrading a person with tattoos, the same people might deride someone’s choice in clothing or hairstyle, both of which are displayed to the public daily. Perhaps we should all conform to a normative, bland, artless ideal… gray coveralls and buzzcuts, anyone?

    I myself have exactly two tats, both of which required thought before proceeding to scar skin with ink. Once, acquired in my mid twenties, is questionable only in location; my side, below the ribs. The other was a monochrome twin of a tat my wife got the same day, hers in colour. Though divorced, it still remains as a symbol of the time we had together.

    I’m 45, balding, silver bearded, I have three degrees, a doctorate, and currently work in an IT field that works on security. My tats are mine. If you want to ask about them, I’ll tell you about them.

    If you want to tell me they are stupid and I have marred or desecrated my body.. well… I’m going to tell you that your shirt makes you look fat, and your hair needs to be buzzed like mine. F%$& You, it’s my skin, my life, my art. It’s not FOR you. If you don’t like it… don’t look.

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