Tattoos?

The Core RPGC Main Forum
41

Maybe that’s true. On the other hand, the “safest” people, who won’t risk distinguishing themselves for fear of being rejected, are often the most emotionally tender or insecure of all. Someone who genuinely wants a tattoo - or wants to grow long hair, write fantasy novels, explore Europe while playing guitar for tips, or experiment with an open relationship - may be concerned that society will scorn and exclude him. So out of fear, he declines to do all the things he wants to do. As a coping mechanism (rather than admit his cowardice), he cultivates scorn for people who do risk distinguishing themselves. Because he was too tender or insecure to live his dreams for fear of being scorned, and thus was disappointed with life, he now scorns others brave enough to live their dreams. Strangely, he tells himself, “If I can’t do all the outlandish things I want to do, that means there’s something wrong with doing outlandish things.” He constructs a whole self-reinforcing morality, which may say 1) outlandish behavior is flat-out wrong, or more cleverly 2) outlandish behavior is a sign of deeper problems in a person (e.g. unreliability). That way, his cowardice is “actually” a sign of deeper wellness.

Who’s more reliable: the person who caves to emotional impulses, or the one who represses his desires because he’s so afraid of what other people think? Does the “reliable” person flee conflict or live out his divisive beliefs? Fear-induced reliability is effective because it overrides personal beliefs, but ineffective the moment the source of fear is removed. Belief-induced reliability is effective because it requires no external stimulus, but ineffective because people’s beliefs rarely coincide completely. Honestly, I don’t know what type of reliability is more valuable. But I think this post indicates which I find more personally attractive.

I agree with a lot of what you said; however, tatoos are no longer socially unacceptable, so there’s little risk of social rejection to getting one. In fact, if anything they seem to be socially popular.

I think the main reason people get tatoos is to convey their personality visually. That being said, oftentimes people all want to convey the same things, so that’s why you see boys walking around with tigers and panthers on their biceps and girls with butterflys on their lower back. Even though tatoos are supposed to show something unique about you, the whole thing’s become totally conformist and blase, IMO.

42

Ah ha ha. Curtis mentioned tramp stamps.

43

Well, I mean, that’s true of anything. When something is deemed cool and interesting, a bunch of stupid people ape it without originality or creativity; Mr. Bungle made really weird, experimental music, then Nu Metal was a result of talentless, worthless nothings banding together to try and copy it and ride the coattails of a legitimate artistic endeavour. It goes back to when people pretended to have tuberculosis to be more “poetic” because John Keats had it, and almost certainly even farther.

44

I’ll have to remember that phrase.

45

Nu metal started with Faith No More, not Mr. Bungle. Well, at least from what I understand. I know they’re both Mike Patton bands, but I doubt bands were trying to copy Mr. Bungle given what Mr. Bungle sounds like… which is everything.

46

Korn does refer a “Mr. Bungle chord,” when talking about their music, much to Patton’s ire. Anyway, the influence is from Patton regardless, since pre-Patton FNM wasn’t the source, which is the basic point I was arguing.

47

So, when you see a guy with a butterfly on his lower biceps or a girl with a tiger on her back, grab them and go home.

Anyway, I’m mildly interested in seeing what will happen when people start copying Patton’s Adult Themes for Voice.