Permanent Markers

I have, on my foot, a sparkly new tattoo, acquired last Friday.

There are several questions that people without tattoos ask people with them.

The first, and most obvious, is what it feels like and/or how much it hurts. Well, it felt, to me, exactly like what it was: a tiny needle going in and out of my skin, in various spots, rapidly, for an hour. It is a very tiny needle, and I doubt anyone would object to being poked with it once; it's the repetition that gets wearing. I don't know how people can stand to sit for five hours and get tattooed. The foot is unusually painful, apparently, but still.

The second is why one would get a tattoo at all. Of course, that's going to vary, but it's surprisingly complex for me.

One reason is that, simply, it's something I'd never done before, and now I have. For something life-altering, like having a child, that's not a good enough reason, at least not for me. But a tattoo is pretty minor by comparison, especially if it can be readily hidden. So, sure. I wanted to see what it was like.

Another is, of course, no matter how much I might like to deny it, that I have lots of friends with tattoos, and that was influential. If I didn't know anyone personally that had one, it probably would never have crossed my mind.

But fundamentally, I got a tattoo because I thought it would be cool. What makes it cool? There's the obvious rebelliousness of it; it's still considered Not Quite Nice by a lot of people, as if it programs your soul to become a lower-class something-or-other.

The other thing that makes it cool is that, the conformity of Generation X and the habits of NBA players notwithstanding, very few people have tattoos (4% of the US population according to monster.com). It's different. It's novel. You don't see it every day. I'm not the only one in my work organization, but I'm the only one it's visible on. So at the same time I got a tattoo because I wanted to be like others and different from others. Which makes no sense, really, but it's a little late now. It's a good thing I like it.

I hemmed and hawed for years about getting one. I even talked to a relative about it who has since passed away. I was concerned, mostly because someone I was close to seemed to find them somewhere between disgusting and abhorrent. He said, "Well, that's nice, but if I really wanted a tattoo, I wouldn't let anyone's opinion keep me from doing it."

Thanks, Malcolm. Good advice.
 
9:45 PM