As wildly popular as they seem to be these days, tattoos definitely get under some people's skin (LOL!).
One anti-ink activist (who knew there was such a thing?!) has taken her stance to the extreme and started a Facebook page, "Tattoo-free (and happy)," to illustrate her distaste for the body markings she believes place people at risk for HIV, ADHD, cancer, scabies, hepatitis, and a multitude of other dire conditions.
Site proprietor Jayne Weschire, who also sells Clean Arm Army shirts and hoodies, writes:
Simple fact is: Tattoos are horrible, tattooed people are criminals and tattooists are disease-spreading degenerates. All inky-stinkys should be jailed.
I'm not a tattoo fan either, but that's crazy harsh, right? Still, the site is gaining ground, racking up more than 22,000 fans, with thousands added just this morning!
More from The Stir: 12 Bad Mom Tattoos That Will Make You Cringe (PHOTOS)
While I can't imagine ever caving to the craze, there have been times when tattoos have provided me with a much-needed distraction. For example, last summer my children and I were waiting on a never-ending line at a water park. The man in front of us had his entire back adorned with a colorful mural of baboons in their natural habitat. It was no Mona Lisa, but it was intriguing!
I also can't understand why someone would go to so much trouble and expense to have something they can't see, unless they're standing in front of a mirror, drawn on their body. But it's just that — their body. And while I think some are absolutely hideous (sorry, Lena Dunham, I'm looking at you), I also think it's not my place to say what someone should or shouldn't put on their body if it doesn't directly impact me.
Clearly, Weschire feels differently. She writes:
I am campaigning to have all visible tattoos banned from professional sporting events worldwide. I will lobby the sponsors to exert financial pressure on the degenerate promoters and soon we can enjoy the World Cup of baseball and the International Games without being disgusted with subhuman filth who draw ink on their bodies.
Yikes! The inked community is drawing support from its own and needling Weschire right back by starting its own page, "Remove the Tattoo-free page from FB."
Speaking of removals, some tattoo removal businesses are reporting as much as a 300 percent rise in removals over the past year. Are people rethinking their ink, or are they simply making room for their next tatt?
I once knew a woman who had an enormous tattoo of Elvis poised at a microphone stand between her shoulder and elbow. As much as it was a conversation starter, she said as she got older and gained weight, the King of Rock and Roll began to literally roll, saggingly, toward her chest.
"Now he looks more like he's ready to breastfeed than belt out 'Hound Dog,'" she said with a laugh.
Maybe some tatts aren't meant for the long-haul! Or, if Weschire has her way, they'll be banned altogether.
How do you feel about tattoos? Do you have one or would you ever get one?
Image @iStock.com/webphotographeer
