I’m not sure what the current trend for tattoos (and it has been cyclical since at least the time of King Harold II – the oaf with ‘England and Edith’ over his heart who lost the Battle of Hastings) goes to prove in a modern post-industrial society other than the fact that the people who choose to decorate themselves in such a fashion are just the latest prima facie examples of the regression of humankind and feel unable to embrace modes of communication such as words and/or actions. A tattoo is, kind of like (to drop into their argot for a second) Twitter and Facebook but forever innit… like.To sport a tattoo, particularly a visible one, is to declare oneself on the side of the pagans and barbarians. It is, after all, an intrinsically short-sighted action.
The vast majority of the ovine multitude who shuffle past the bookies and Greggs to get to high street tattoo parlour and ask for ‘Something in Chinese or Japanese that says peace or whatever’ or ‘a portrait of my bird from this picture of her with her ex but can you leave him out?’ can justifiably be called vulnerable victims - but graduates, professional people and heiresses have no excuses.
Those who pay the tattoo artist du jour 750x the going rate to dab something discreet below their ankle, or who consider themselves profound and somehow superior to the common herd by having a quotation they could not be bothered to memorise on their back, are, with apologies to Oscar Wilde, merely the unspeakable in pursuit of the indelible.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Civilizational regression
First it's clothes. Then tattoos. Then piercings. Eventually, we'll have done with the clothes altogether.
44 comments:
A cute little butterfly on a young girl's lower back will morph into a buzzard on old woman's ass.
My friend's husband is a professional artist and he says the problem with tattoos is, not only are they public art you're forced to see, they're bad art. My perspective is: perhaps there are buildings so ugly they actually look better covered with graffiti. Perhaps some cars are so ugly they look better covered with bumper stickers. And perhaps some people are so ugly they look better with tattoos. But for anyone who is good looking defacing your body with a tattoo is akin to "improving" the Taj Mahal with graffiti.
I got three tats between the age of 18 and 22, and I certainly regret do so. Thank the Lord they're aren't visible, but I'm seriously considering getting them removed. I can't imagine my little girl or boys getting tats when they grow up.
" . . . other than the fact that the people who choose to decorate themselves in such a fashion are just the latest prima facie examples of the regression of humankind and feel unable to embrace modes of communication such as words and/or actions."
If we really educate young people and provide them with real opportunities to express themselves intelligently (e.g. teaching them classical rhetoric, composition, and the like) the compulsion to express themselves with sundry other accoutrements might not be as prevalent.
I'm almost got one when I was 18. Chinese symbol for "creativity" on my lower back (probably meant pig whore). Actually signed the waiver and had it stenciled on my back before running out of the tattoo parlor. I had seen it in the mirror and it looked terribly.... stupid.
I still don't regret it. And I never will.
I cannot help myself but to issue a contemptuous glare whenever I see a human being of either sex covered in body ink or serving as a human pin cushion.
. And perhaps some people are so ugly they look better with tattoos.
I understand the sentiment, but no, you're wrong about that.
A tattoo in a language you don't understand is just a big mistake. Many people who actually know the language will find it funny. At least the Chinese and Japanese who wear a broken English T-Shirt can change it to another badly designed T-Shirt. A tattoo lasts forever. I do like tribal art, but I'll never put it on myself. Tattoo parlors should offer temporary tattoos. Wear it for a week before deciding on making it permanent.
I HATE tattoos, specially on women. You see a natural, gorgeous redheaded beauty with nice smooth skin, completely defaced with graffiti allover herself, looks terrible.
One girl I knew was a stunner but her back and chest was covered with tattoos. She had this huge demon-bat thing across her entire chest, with a manic grin on it's face. I just thought, it would be SUCH a challenge to actually manage to fuck her, with that thing staring back at me..
Another cute lil lass I know doesn't have tattoos, but wants to as "the body is a blank canvas"...
If girls want to experiment with stupid stuff then they should do so with temporary tattoos. Those I have no problem with, but permanent ones? That's complete idiocy.
Amusing seeing someone with multiple names of their various exes tattooed allover them
I think they pulled it off the air, but A&E had a hilarious show called "Bad Ink". Worth watching just to see Dirk and Ruckus neg women with bad tattoos. "Ok, I'll show you my bad tattoo, but you have to promise not to laugh" to which they respond they will promise no such thing, and then proceed to laugh.
You can see some clips of it here: http://www.aetv.com/bad-ink
Here is an example: http://www.aetv.com/bad-ink/video/dirk-finds-a-client-on-the-strip
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." - Lev 19:28
Some decisions are easy.
The Transformed Generations need to show how edgy, tribal, and independent they are. Not by actually accomplishing anything, but by purchasing a cheap stamp from some biker meth-head that shows they're part of the cultural Black Death. They spent the past 30 years running around in black clothes too and still, somehow, think it is hip and trendy.
When I was a kid, tattoos were limited to the (many) local sailors, and to the occasional lowlife who was drunk/stupid enough to get one. Now every lost dog in the nation needs to show how much they don't care.
Tatoos are like the I Give Up 'music' of Millennials. Rap and Celebrity Crap. See the ferocious tat? I got my Nihilism Destructo Badge too! No actual effort required. Now I Belong to the Unbelongers.
@RC
But what about shellfish?
/ atheist
I don't have any and don't have anything against them. I hang out with people with tattoos and attend events where tattoos are everywhere. Recently attended the Ink n Iron festival in Long Beach, which was a spectacle. For some people, getting tattoos seems to be an addiction or an illness.
One of the earliest indicators of civilizational decline--for me at least--was trousers on females. I clearly remember being very annoyed as a little boy in the mid-1970s by all the little girls I saw who were wearing trousers. I thought, WTF is this all about?! It was kindergarten or 1st grade. A teacher admonished me for speaking out about it.
Time for Game stuff.
I've gone over this before, when we were talking about Lena Dunham but it's worth repeating.
All women need attention. It's hard wired in. There is no genetic haplo-group excluded from this trait. Given that the human mammal has no sense of smell to speak of, males are visually oriented. Women know it. Thus the need to stand out.
Ink is quite useful in determining what kind of girl you are dealing with...apart from the kind you aren't going to marry.
Stars; a reliable indicator of poverty. The girl was born within easy ear shot of Camelot Estates trailer park. This is because a star is very easy to draw.
(Sub category) Blue Star on her wrist: Possibly means she is or was...or thought of herself as a lesbian. Possibly in a Zoe Quinn sort of way, so you might not be out of luck....For values of luck.
Butterflies: Basically the same as stars. They are as cheap as their owners.
Quotations: She is trying to be interesting. Depending on the quotation the girl is under the impression she is either an artist or an activist. Likely both. She might however, be trying to tell you something about herself. A girl with STAUNCH inked on her wrist, probably thinks she is suicidal.
Placement near and calling attention to her Lady Garden is a good indication you can rapidly escalate to close with that one within hours of first contact.
Be on the look out for any that indicate that she is an SJW, obviously.
Ink can be an excuse to execute a kino as first contact. A light brush on the tattoo in question and then confidently ask a question or two about it. And be prepared to calmly and cooly eject at need.
I'm so against young women in trousers that I try to remove them whenever I can.
CS ~ Thank you for that. There is a young twentysomething woman in my office who has some ink. I've tried to discern what sort of designs they are, but she doesn't sit still long enough for me to get a better look. She's quite beautuful. Shame about the tats, though.
OT: GG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UczG0dWJpz8
Yes, but since when do most people think through their actions?
Could be something intimate between married couples, I wouldn't know.
Ink is more of an issue that men observe, perhaps women view ink as an accessory to fashion?
I am not afraid of much these days. My random fears, anger are rather primitive responses to rise above for cheerful courage (limited here before I go OT). Fears apply to what some call intangibles or some other adjective, too sick to think of it. God, debt, getting super sick, mar like the burn scars that fade, financial rape and needles.
its bold for a woman to pierce her ears or have art on their bodies. I dont have a direct judgement in post america about inking, its how some are supporting themselves on a sinking ship. as I've remained so uncool and so aloof its reminds me of tv; cultural shock as I see the excessive of inking in my gen x.
Needles are not something I cannot tolerate too often, after seeing the death parade nohealth-uncare, infections, complications, etc.
I dont know.
It leaves me believing the ink is interesting in that I thought anyone could just recall one image once throw it on paper, moving on to another motif minus the permanency. I address art for the body as motifs not even tattoos. Apparently, that's not the case. Some feel such a pull towards the coveting, (I covet things too) enjoy the images so much or are drawn to them to hold for the long-term. After over 1000 pieces spanning 20 years it didn't occur to me ink it and hasn't occurred to me I still didn't pierce my ears while receiving lovely gifts of jewelry. Hows that for regression, it never occurred to me...
The matter of needles always went wrong for me. For example in May 2015 I was deathly ill the hospital burned my arm injecting phenagren as I cannot tolerate zofran. Never again, no more needles or IV's.
In anatomy, its form, function is order plus beauty met with age, decline. In painting, body art is not strange per se but I produce around 10 paintings per day. Those images could not possible stick around perm but temporary.
Saw the daughters of my cousin for the first time in five years or so. The prettiest one (middle child) had been athletic, with long blond hair and a pleasant smile. She had gone from that to a 21 year old with 40 extra pounds, a ring in her nose, and words tattooed on front and back of her upper body where they could be seen. She didn't look as happy as I recall either. Perhaps disappointment that her parents didn't advise against all the mistakes.
In my humble opinion, tattoos on young women are considered erotic partly because they advertise impulsivity and partly because of the contrast created in overlaying a traditionally masculine custom on soft, radiantly feminine skin. Now, mind you, I'm not talking about the trailer park war pig who tripped on the way out her hovel and rolled in ink. I'm talking about the stripper or biker chick she's attempting to immulate.
Unfortunately for the women concerned the more common tats become, the less striking the contrast even in the most feminine young women . And of course when they start to show age they simply look Marge the truck stop waitress who was ridden hard and put up wet.
Tattoos are revolting. They really are graffiti on God's work. My favorite was the single mom stripper posting pics of her new tat on Facebook. To which her Dad replied: "Nice to see you're getting that while not paying me rent or your student loans."
Some folks are just really fucking stupid. And she was gorgeous. Now she's a walking cliche.
Leviticus 19:28 makes it quite clear, and Jewish commentaries have some various ideas as to why.
1. The human body is God's handiwork, and it is unbefitting to mutilate what he has created (save for medical reasons).
2. It was customary for idol-worshippers to tattoo and scarify themselves as a sign of devotion to their gods; to brand themselves like animals. Branding oneself willingly is a step down this path to willingly become less than human.
There's a reason the Germans forcibly tattooed inmates.
David-093 said...
@RC
But what about shellfish?
Mark 9:18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
luagha --
"Branding oneself willingly is a step down this path to willingly become less than human."
That makes a lot of sense. And western men are so mindwiped that they convince themselves such self-abuse by women constitutes 'boldness'. And empowerment etc.
Totally agree. I've seen girls utterly ruin their beauty with a huge ugly tat.
It screams "stupid."
Meh, depends on the ink and the significance. Biker tats are a code. So are russian organizatsiya. To a lesser degree, military ink. For some subgroups that can't legally or socially brag about their achievements, it's a way of signalling status to others in that group.
The current mania though? Abject silliness. So where did you earn that rainbow giraffe?
Why do today's tattooed folk always have the need to defend themselves from criticism, as if their individual claimed reasons of being "strong and independent" are supposed to persuade everyone else that they're reeeeally not insecure as they seem?
Methinks they protest too much.
1) It's a threshold issue, I use it when hiring. If they're that stupid/emotionally tore-up, do I want them representing my business?
2) I also always hear in my head when I see a cute girl tatted up, "Ask me about my parent's divorce!"
3) The ONLY thing Cher ever said that I had the slightest respect for was when she said she wanted her tats removed, because when she did it it was edgy, and now every Jr High kid had them.
Tattoos are a public statement of low class. Period.
On the other hand, if you're Jane Q. Average-Looking, you can score SMV/MMV points by NOT getting one. They've become so commonplace a woman without one stands out. And doing so requires neither money, good genes, or self-denial.
I agree with luagha. As to the quote from Mark, it is true but at the same time Christians went to brutal deaths to avoid such a "mark" as burning a pinch of incense. Context is everything.
Having said that, a tattoo on a girl, no matter how hot, has always been an instant, irrevocable
endear for me. Tramp stamp fits it perfectly.
About the only contexts in which I find tats acceptable are masculine, biker and military, but I find the trend for hyper-tattooing every inch of skin in today's military (re: the hilarious Mat Best) off-putting.
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." - Lev 19:28
I actually knew a guy who had this tattooed on his back - in English and Hebrew. Talk about flipping God the proverbial bird.
this is good.....Interested in playing the game, then maybe we can take a look at viprsgolds.com
Anytime someone tells/shows me their tat I just tell them "Interesting...I stopped drawing on myself when I was 3."
A most convenient practice. You couldn't get volunteers to wear a sign around their neck saying "loser", " I have mental/emotional issues", "unbalanced person", or the like, but folks will actually PAY for a tattoo that serves the same purpose! Go figure.
I try not to be judgmental, since people that I love have tattoos, including my dear sister and some of my closest friends; one is even a tattoo artist. But I can never join them. I simply do not see my body as a canvas.
Pondering the question, perhaps it's related to my aversion to horror shows? I'm big on bodily integrity.
Better to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt...what's a tat but a permanent shout. Do they even think?
Better to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt...what's a tat but a permanent shout. Do they even think?
Another definition of tattoo: positive I.D. You may live as clean as a new pin, but you never know what's going to happen in life. The words "And he had an eagle tattooed on his forearm " could bring you a lot of grief.
No Marsh they dont think the ink thru, who knows. Consider that women endure pain every 28 days, 9 months and might have ink. Perhaps it speaks of a strong Constitution to have a hidden inking that a wife and husband agree upon. Her body belongs to God and her spouse as wife...aside from Christianity, can one remain open minded upon such an issue of body art?
I ran this by dad whom still asks me to read him (dad is blind/paralyzed in a nursing home at 65) whatever Vox is posting, dad told me I'm still not allowed to pierce my ears or date with such genteel reminiscence of the past, I smile as nothing changed. Dad reminded me that I sinned so to speak, years ago one of his work pals wanted my art or what I call simple motifs for his tat palor, dad gave them my designs but those designs were not meant for tattoos, its just art. So dad said, I should disclose that. Even at 35 I do what I am told by dad....somethings never change.
LOL the usual nonsense from the usual manginas but I'll tell you what the next time some non-tattooed UMC person needs help on the side of the road or a working class White guy to put feral negro behaviour in check, I'll just walk on by. Me being on the wrong side and all
Only two tattoos I've ever seen I thought were worthy of respect. One was a Holocaust survivor whose forearm tattoo had faded to just a blue blur. The other was wife's grandfather's service number arm tattoo in WWII. He said that if his body were blown to bits, he'd want his family to know it was him. My mother was a medical technologist and warned me many times as teen of the perils of hepatitis, how one could be infected and go years without detection, and how tattoo is lifetime strain on immune system. You'd think the non-zero risk of infection, and the propensity to look like just another trendy pseudo-non-conformist, just like the other rabbits, would dissuade. But it doesn't.
Thomas Carlyle wrote in Sartor Resartus that “among wild people we find tattooing and painting even prior to clothes. The first spiritual want of a barbarous man is decoration…” Carlyle was writing with tongue in cheek, sort of.
Post a Comment
NO ANONYMOUS COMMENTS.