So I don’t have any REAL tattoos, not that I object to tattooing AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, my husband has three tattoos that I love, and I support any his future ink. I am fascinated and appreciative of tattoos. Tattoos are art. I love the lines and the colors. I love some tattoos as much for their deep meaning and purposefulness. I love other tattoos for their frivolity. And I love that some people are unafraid to ink up their bodies in the most outrageous ways, one of which is the idea of a sleeve (whole arm tattoo situation).
That all being said, I mistakenly conducted a social experiment regarding tattoos. Gerry bought me a shirt that is short sleeved with the exception of a mesh/tattoo treatment on the arms. Essentially, from as close as a few feet, the shirt gives the appearance that the wearer has tattoo sleeves–real ones! So, I put the shirt on yesterday, and did I ever learn a lesson:
When I went to the hardware store, people went silent as I walked by, rolled their eyes at the sight of me, sighed in disgust, even widened their eyes when they were waiting on me!
Next stop, the local pizza shop, where the cashier looked at me in horror when I walked in and then quickly looked back to the customer at the register. A former student said, “Oh, my God!” and then she realized that it was a shirt. (She was surprised but very pleasant even before she realized she’d been tricked.) One ten-year-old boy yelled out to me, “I LOVE YOUR TATTOOS” and was disappointed when I told him the truth–at least there’s some hope for the future of a nonjudgmental society.
My question: What’s everybody’s stinking judgmental problem? Why does anybody else even care if I have tattooed my arms? Is it anyone else’s problem or business if I have “sleeves”? Was I offending people? What was the offense? Why? What did people think I was going to do? Break out into a fist fight with the nearest stranger? I had changed nothing else about my appearance, just the shirt with the funky sleeves.
I was astounded that everywhere I went, there was an overwhelming majority of folks who clearly had a problem with my choice of body art, fake though it was.
What’s going on here? Are we really all that sensitive and closed minded?
