I don’t know about you guys, but I always see tattoos as a sign of slavery. It’s something you do to brand animals, like cattle or sheep. What do you guys think?
It depends on the tattoo. Tribal arm bands, bar codes and Asian language characters that “look cool,” IMO are more of a sign of douche-baggery than anything else (no offense to those who may have them). “That kind” of tattoo is the only vaguely reasonable way I can see drawing some sort of parallel to slavery and cattle branding since it seems like every other random person has one… the big difference being a cow doesn’t deliberately walk into the branding iron and it doesn’t walk away happy.
There are a lot of people who use tattoos as a means of self-expression, which probably wouldn’t be taken very lightly in a slavery-backed society.
Really this is kind of an interesting line of thinking though. You can pick just about anything and come up with some way for it to exhibit signs of slavery or some sort of conspiracy, etc… For example, I couldn’t find my car keys earlier and it really disrupted what I was trying to get accomplished, so while I was trashing my house looking for them you could say I was temporarily a slave to whoever must have hidden my keys on me as part of their sick game. Or maybe I just misplaced them, who knows
I guess the 1up Mushroom on my right shoulder means I’m a slave to Nintendo/video games.
I think it’s s sign of what you believe , what you imagine , what you love… it’s perfect art and I think we shouldn’t humiliate people who have tattoos.
Slavery? No way. It’s great art (excluding things like foreign words that mean nothing to whoever wears it), plain and simple. It’s fundamentally different than branding too, considering tattoos are entirely by choice.
this.
Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to insult anyone. I brought it up was because I saw Meagan Fox on Letterman, and she had an absolutely huge tattoo on her forearm, which I found shocking.
This is interesting, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica it says, " …the Romans tattooed criminals and slaves. After the advent of Christianity, tattooing was forbidden in Europe". This is probably why Grandma always said never to brand yourself, only animals get branded. I guess someone forgot to tell Meagan.
I know you guys are saying in other cultures tattoos are OK, but it’s European culture that rules the world, and the royals of Europe don’t have tattoos. I think society’s standards have been brought down for a very good reason.
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Excuse me, but that was a rather narrow-minded comment.
It seems to me, that you received a very religious uprbinging, which is not a problem in itself. But you tend to not accept simple things, that others do, and that doesn’t affect in any way your or others’ well being or life.
We are not Romans, and mostly we are not in that age. Actually, humans are still animals, at least that’s what is taught in schools in European culture.
Society’s standards are by no means a fixed, unalterable thing. In fact, it is an organic, dynamic, constantly changing entity, just like almost everything that is in connection with society on a global level. And there’s nothing bad in it. You should read some books on sociology.
European culture has a strong effect on the world, but to say that it “rules the world” is very offending. Royals have nothing to do with tattoos.
How ironic, apologies for insulting and insulting in the same post :no:
One big mistake you’re making is that you think Christian society is the same as European society. It is definitely not. For instance, European goverments promote safe sex, while the pope says condoms are not O.K.
Try not to believe everything your grandma says and get an own opinion.
BTW, burning marks and tatoos are something different. I’ve never heard of a hot iron in a tatoo shop.
I have, but the people that have it done are just as freaking crazy as the people who actually get bits of flesh removed so it heals and turns into a picture instead of just getting a regular tattoo.
Sure the Romans might have branded slaves, but we aren’t the Romans nor are we ruled by them. Our standard of living hasn’t really been “brought down” either. The Romans had it good in their day, but our education and our technology and the things we use every day and our medicine for example are vastly superior to what they had in their time. I hope I don’t open a can of worms with this because I don’t intend to offend anyone, but it’s fairly undeniable that in the past, certain circumstances made religion one of the factors in slowing down the advances in Western civilization, part of that being the ostracizing and/or killing of anyone with a dissenting belief. That piece of our history to me is much more symbolic of, if not a direct version of slavery than getting a piece of art done.
On a side note, my neighbor is a local tattoo artist, and he seems like the most free-spirited person around.
i think tattoos are ink on skin.
- d
I agree 100%
If I was to get any form of tattoo I would instantly become a slave…
What the fuck?
Idon’t really have a problem with tatts. But if I were to get one myslef, it would have to be my own artwork, the artist would have to be REALLY good, and it would have to make a statement I could be proud of for the remainder of my life.
Example, a 70 year old man is gonna look dumb with a Heineken bottle tattooed on his forehead. Just my opinion.
What really creeps my out are these people who cover their bodies with piercings. Cheeks, lips, eyebrows, Double-acht holes in their ears…and chains running between them. Ugh. self mutilation. Like people that cut themselves to show everyone how unhappy they are.
When I was younger I used to think of tattoes as ugly and scars on a body. Nowadays however I have a different opinion, especially after watching series like la ink. I learned that most people not only want a tattoo because they think it looks nice, but to remember something. Also good tattoo artists like those in LA ink are great traditional artists aswell, and I respect great artists 
I still wouldn’t want a tattoo myself, as it just isn’t me. But I respect people who have tattoos for a reason, and I respect tattoo artists as it seems like a difficult medium to work in.
Tattoos to me have nothing to do with slavery as long as people don’t get them just because they think they are cool, without any deeper thought whatsoever.
@ Month,you should get the city you want to live in(Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch) tattooed on your,ahhhh,never mind,really bad joke.
When people get tattoos, they do not automatically submit themselves to become a slave to anything, while I’m not fond of tattoos, I haven’t really formed an opinion on whether I support or condemn the tattoo industry.
One exeption is when joining gangs, some gangs practically require the members to have gang tattoos to show they are loyal to the gang, and many people later regret having the gang signs after leaving.
So, umm, the Romans ‘branded’ criminals and slaves 2000 years ago and this is evidence that tattoos = slavery?
I’m also pretty sure the Christians also banned feeding fellow Christians to lions when they gained political power but nobody (sane) goes around saying zoos are anti-Christian now do they?
BTW, burning marks and tatoos are something different. I’ve never heard of a hot iron in a tatoo shop.
I’ve known people with brands…more like an eight ball of cocaine, bent up clothes hanger and a blow torch than a nice trip to the tattoo parlor.
Pretty sure they weren’t slaves either.
Guys, I had fun reading your comments. Oh boy, it’s going to be really tricky to answer. Basically, I’m saying we’re being dumb down.
The people who own the media, are the same people who own the banks, and that’s how they control us. It’s all about control, that’s why we have these programs or get movie stars telling how cool it is to get inked.
Essentially the media tells us that we’re free, that we live in a democracy and having a tattoo is an expression of our freedom. Sorry lads, but democracy doesn’t exist, it’s a pyramid from head to toe, and you’re at the bottom.
At the top of the pyramid are the royal families of Europe, who claim their lineage all the way back to Pharaoh. Under them are the bankers, who also for some strange reason pretend to trace their lineage back to Pharaoh. And under them are the slaves and the criminals.
That’s why it’s so important for you guys to get a tattoo.
And if you’re not a slave, then you’re a criminal. That’s why they’re building all them private prisons. It’s a business, the more private prisons they build, the more money they make. And same people who build the prisons are the same people who import the drugs in, it’s a nice circle.
There is one way to get your freedom. The first step is to figure out why your name appears in upper case on government documents or bank contracts. Once you figure this out, you’re half way to freedom. Don’t believe me, take a look at your bankcard or passport.
Oh, it does.
Or maybe it’s just a flat pyramid base with a bigger top and smaller bottom with all the common folk on top and the consiracy nuts constantly being wrapped up in conspiracys, paranoid beliefs about secret government plans, elite classes, and reptilians, and living in constant extreme fear making up the bottom.:eyebrowlift:
I don’t know where you get this ‘we’ from, I only see one dumbed down crackpot theory posted in this thread so far…
So what you’re saying is the media is telling everyone to get tattoos so the owners of the media (and banks) can tell the common folks from their country club buddies?
I’m going out on a limb here and guessing that ‘tattoos’ is simply an excuse to get around the no politics rule so you can pimp a (debunked) theory about legal corporate personage or whatever you just happened to read on the nutjob extremist sites you hang out on.