I Am Not Trash

If you don’t like tattoos, don’t get one.

It saddens me that tattooed people, though slowly being accepted, are still considered social pariahs. There are valid reasons for this of course. Yes, most convicts are heavily tattooed. A person’s class level, I will admit, can usually be estimated by what their tattoo is and where it is placed on the body. However, ink cannot tell you the whole story.

People who disapprove of body art instantly reject the “it means a lot to me” statement from tattooed people. If it means a lot to you (whatever “it” may be), they say, why can’t you keep it in your memories, or paint it, or so on. And to those who are considering getting a lover’s name or a loved one’s portrait, I would err on the side of caution and take this advice. Who knows how relationships, whether they be familial, romantic or platonic, will change. Yet in the end only YOU can determine if it is skin worthy. You are the one who has to undergo the tattooing and carry the design with you the rest of your life.

I could have kept my body a tabula rasa. I have both the quote and the picture I have tattooed in books. There was no true need to place them on my body. Yet to just carry around these designs on paper was not enough for me. Getting them permanently etched unto my skin allows me to express my devotion and appreciation in ways that words could not. The fact that neither artist will see my tattoos is irrelevant to me. I know they are there, I know Ginsberg and Dylan have changed my life, I know I have proof.

So there is my “it means a lot to me” sentiment. However, in my situation, being tattooed has meant vastly more than just getting a little something because I like it. Being tattooed has been a journey of self-discovery and self-love. My body has taken quite the beating over the years and it is beginning to show the wear-and-tear…scars, dents, dimples. There have been times where I hated my body more than I thought I could hate anything. Yet on the days when I’m having difficulty looking in the mirror, there are my tattoos: beautiful and interesting, permanent and protective, a bit like scar tissue. I feel proud. I don’t take the “walking art museum” quip as an insult. Good tattoo artists are no less talented than painters or graphic designers. My body can only be improved by their work. And no one else will have it. A rare art collection always carried around with me. When I can’t squeeze into my jeans, I can touch my pieces. Phew, they’re there, at least I have them.

I am an honors student and a damned hardworking one at that. I have never been to jail and I have never done hard drugs. So when you get the occasional peek at my shoulder and assume I’m white trash, I actually feel sorry for you. Your world will never expand. You will never meet half of the great people you could have met.

To drive the point home, here are some examples of perfectly respectable people with tattoos:
--Tattoos have been an important part of many cultures since the dawn of humanity. Otzi the Iceman, estimated to have lived 5300 years ago, had tattoos. The Maori tribe of New Zealand is famous for its decorative tattoos, as are many tribes of Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Hawaii.
-- Both Winston Churchill and his mother had tattoos. His mother had a snake on her wrist, Churchill an anchor on his arm.
--Thomas Edison had 5 dots in a dice-like pattern on his arm.
--Many Russian Tsars had tattoos: Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Nicholas II.
--Ian McKellen has an Elvish design on his arm! He is the classiest guy in the world. If this doesn’t convince you that people with taste can have tattoos, I don’t know what will.

There is my defense of being tattooed. However I want to be clear: the decision to get a tattoo is a very serious one. Though removal is a possibility now, it is expensive and painful. Best way to avoid it? Don’t get a tattoo if you are a commitment phobe. If you’re dead-set on getting a tattoo, you must choose the absolute right one and be 100 percent sure. This is why I advise choosing a design that is not “narrow.” You may be really into one band, animal, or person at the moment, but can you honestly say to yourself “I will love this forever”? It is a simple question but it is oh so important. A tattoo is forever. Especially keep this in mind if you want to get one done in a visible place, such as your forearm or wrist. Once you have a design, I advise sitting on it for a few months. If you can think about the design 5 months later and still adore it, that’s a good indication that your design is “right” for you. Go to a certified clean space and remember, good tattoos aren’t cheap (unless you are lucky enough to have a parent of a friend like I was). And, I cannot stress this enough, if you are getting something done in a foreign language, get it checked and re-checked by native speakers! The internet is not your friend in this case. And white people, stay away from tribal tattoos you know nothing about. You’ll look like an idiot.

If you’re skeptical of tattoos, I can understand. I just hope that next time you’re in line at Circle K for gas and the person in front of you has tattoos from elbow to wrist, you think twice before assuming they sell dope. That could be Edison or Churchill, a loving dad or college professor. You never know.