I was watching the show PD live, at least that is what I think it is called. But I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway one of the officers is a guy they call Sticks. Apparently he was/is a Police officer of some note. I couldn't help but notice one of his arms is covered with tattoos. I think they call that a sleeve, I'm not cool like that but believe that is what I have heard it called. Seeing that got me to thinking.
Before I continue let me say I don't have anything against anyone having tattoos. Fact is I have two small ones myself, I was in the Navy after all. My son, the Mayor, has a number of them and my wife has one. So, just to be clear I don't object to them although I do think one should exercise discretion in obtaining them. All that being said I will continue.
I 'm certain almost everyone has heard the idiom Clothes make the man. The premise being we will be judged on our appearance. It is a very old idiom, often attributed to Mark Twain. What Twain said was, " Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. " I'd agree with that assessment. Naked people may prove to be interesting, but are seldom taken seriously. Clothes do make the man, or woman. Our first impression will be based on that. First there is what is fashionable. That says something about the person. There is the quality of the clothing, designer or Walmart? There is the cleanliness and general appearance of your clothing. Yes, it's true many judgments are made based upon those factors.
Then we come to the question of uniforms. Uniforms tell us a lot! We can tell the occupation of the person from those uniforms. There are all types of uniforms too. Uniforms aren't limited to professional occupations but to lifestyles as well. Consider the stereotypical biker. What is he or she wearing? What about a hippie? Aren't they all wearing uniforms of a sort? I'd say they were. A uniform gives us authority! Isn't that the idea behind them in the first place? If I'm in uniform, I'm legit!
So, what does that have to do with tattoos? What does having a tattoo say about you? Does it say anything anymore? Or has a tattoo become a societal norm? I'd say it has to a degree. There are still plenty of my generation around, the baby boomers, that have a different outlook upon that. I can't speak for an entire generation but getting a tattoo was something quite different in the 1960's than getting one today. What I mean is, the shock factor was higher back in the day, a little more dangerous! At least that was the perception. Only tough guys and criminals had tattoos, or you were in the Navy. I believe it proves out another axiom I am fond of using, " what is tolerated today, becomes tomorrows norm. " In my time I have seen the whole tattoo thing go from frowned upon, to tolerated, to accepted as the norm. As I said earlier, it is not a judgement, just an observation. Are we using those tattoos as subconscious signals? Well, that is something for the sociologists to write about. It takes a PhD to understand that! That professional may be in debt a few hundred thousand in student loans, but they will know about that. But, I digress a bit.
Have tattoos gone from sending the message that I'm a " rebel " to, I'm cool bro. Is that the meaning these days. Conforming to rebellion? Hmm, another for the Phd to figure out. I used to think that many of these folks would come to regret their choices. Now, I'm not certain about that as so many will have tattoos as to make it insignificant. It will be a common regret. And common regret is easily dismissed. Most will just laugh about that. I wonder though if it isn't a reflection of the degradation in societal norms. Was a day when we were held to a higher standard. Now, we just lower the standard. But that has been said of every generation and is likely to remain that way. The days of chivalry and proper manners are long gone and not likely to return. Societal norms are ever changing. Piercings and gauging are becoming popular. They are tolerated, the piercings anyway, I'm not certain about the whole gauging thing. If the axiom holds true, they will become the norm. Something to think about. I wonder what is next?
I do wonder though about the rise in tattoos. I hear many talk about how personal they are. They talk about getting inked. But why exactly do people get tattoos? I got mine while in the Navy, a way to fit in, a way to be accepted. It was almost a part of the uniform! And the selection of a Tattoo was influenced by those around you, at least it was in my observation. There were " standard " tattoos in my day, I expect I could tell about the year they were obtained by that. I wonder though if tattoos aren't obtained in response to insecurity. You can make a statement without having to speak a word! It was that way, to a degree, when I was growing up. If a person had tattoos, they were probably some rough characters. So I wonder, are tattoos today a sign of rebellion or a sign of insecurity? A conformity to society does make us feel more secure. By getting inked are we subconsciously projecting that tough guy image? Living vicariously through ink? Well, maybe some PhD has that answer.
I will add this much. If you are getting a tattoo that you feel necessary to keep covered, you probably shouldn't get that tattoo. Our sensibilities do change over the years. Tattoos, not so much.
Before I continue let me say I don't have anything against anyone having tattoos. Fact is I have two small ones myself, I was in the Navy after all. My son, the Mayor, has a number of them and my wife has one. So, just to be clear I don't object to them although I do think one should exercise discretion in obtaining them. All that being said I will continue.
I 'm certain almost everyone has heard the idiom Clothes make the man. The premise being we will be judged on our appearance. It is a very old idiom, often attributed to Mark Twain. What Twain said was, " Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. " I'd agree with that assessment. Naked people may prove to be interesting, but are seldom taken seriously. Clothes do make the man, or woman. Our first impression will be based on that. First there is what is fashionable. That says something about the person. There is the quality of the clothing, designer or Walmart? There is the cleanliness and general appearance of your clothing. Yes, it's true many judgments are made based upon those factors.
Then we come to the question of uniforms. Uniforms tell us a lot! We can tell the occupation of the person from those uniforms. There are all types of uniforms too. Uniforms aren't limited to professional occupations but to lifestyles as well. Consider the stereotypical biker. What is he or she wearing? What about a hippie? Aren't they all wearing uniforms of a sort? I'd say they were. A uniform gives us authority! Isn't that the idea behind them in the first place? If I'm in uniform, I'm legit!
So, what does that have to do with tattoos? What does having a tattoo say about you? Does it say anything anymore? Or has a tattoo become a societal norm? I'd say it has to a degree. There are still plenty of my generation around, the baby boomers, that have a different outlook upon that. I can't speak for an entire generation but getting a tattoo was something quite different in the 1960's than getting one today. What I mean is, the shock factor was higher back in the day, a little more dangerous! At least that was the perception. Only tough guys and criminals had tattoos, or you were in the Navy. I believe it proves out another axiom I am fond of using, " what is tolerated today, becomes tomorrows norm. " In my time I have seen the whole tattoo thing go from frowned upon, to tolerated, to accepted as the norm. As I said earlier, it is not a judgement, just an observation. Are we using those tattoos as subconscious signals? Well, that is something for the sociologists to write about. It takes a PhD to understand that! That professional may be in debt a few hundred thousand in student loans, but they will know about that. But, I digress a bit.
Have tattoos gone from sending the message that I'm a " rebel " to, I'm cool bro. Is that the meaning these days. Conforming to rebellion? Hmm, another for the Phd to figure out. I used to think that many of these folks would come to regret their choices. Now, I'm not certain about that as so many will have tattoos as to make it insignificant. It will be a common regret. And common regret is easily dismissed. Most will just laugh about that. I wonder though if it isn't a reflection of the degradation in societal norms. Was a day when we were held to a higher standard. Now, we just lower the standard. But that has been said of every generation and is likely to remain that way. The days of chivalry and proper manners are long gone and not likely to return. Societal norms are ever changing. Piercings and gauging are becoming popular. They are tolerated, the piercings anyway, I'm not certain about the whole gauging thing. If the axiom holds true, they will become the norm. Something to think about. I wonder what is next?
I do wonder though about the rise in tattoos. I hear many talk about how personal they are. They talk about getting inked. But why exactly do people get tattoos? I got mine while in the Navy, a way to fit in, a way to be accepted. It was almost a part of the uniform! And the selection of a Tattoo was influenced by those around you, at least it was in my observation. There were " standard " tattoos in my day, I expect I could tell about the year they were obtained by that. I wonder though if tattoos aren't obtained in response to insecurity. You can make a statement without having to speak a word! It was that way, to a degree, when I was growing up. If a person had tattoos, they were probably some rough characters. So I wonder, are tattoos today a sign of rebellion or a sign of insecurity? A conformity to society does make us feel more secure. By getting inked are we subconsciously projecting that tough guy image? Living vicariously through ink? Well, maybe some PhD has that answer.
I will add this much. If you are getting a tattoo that you feel necessary to keep covered, you probably shouldn't get that tattoo. Our sensibilities do change over the years. Tattoos, not so much.
No comments:
Post a Comment