One Man's Trash....
People get various tattoos for various reasons. A red rose on one woman could be for no reason other than she likes red roses, while another could have one as a memorial to someone she loved that passed away. Typically, a picture or design holds no significance in an of itself. A cross is a cross, a tiger is a tiger, and a butterfly is a butterfly. The significance each individual person decides to assign a particular design is entirely up to them.
I once had a blue coffee cup in my cabinet. There wasn’t anything outwardly special or significant about the cup – it was just a blue ceramic coffee mug. Probably cost a dollar. I never used the cup, but it was many years before I got rid of it. I packed it and moved it three times over a period of about seven years. I always kept it in the cabinet with the other cups, just out of immediate view. There was a story behind that cup; a story I have only shared with very few trusted friends. The day I decided to finally throw the cup away was deeply significant to me. To anyone else, it was just a coffee cup. So, would it have done any good to ask the guy down the street what that cup meant to me? And just because a simple, blue coffee cup had great meaning for me, does that mean all the blue coffee cups in the world hold significant value to someone? And last but not least, am I required to share my blue coffee cup story with everyone that sees it and wants to know? No.
It’s the same with tattoos. Sometimes a star is just a star. And then again, sometimes a star might have a very significant story behind it and deep meaning to the person wearing the tattoo. If you’re curious about it, ask them. People don’t usually mind being asked and if it’s nothing terribly personal, they usually don’t mind telling the story. But don’t be surprised if they tell you it’s personal. If they don’t want to share, that is their right and it’s none of your business. Trying to sidestep their privacy by asking someone else is just as rude as pushing the issue with them. And asking someone that doesn’t even know the person what their tattoo might mean is just pointless.
Don't Assume
<P>Don’t assume you know what someone’s tattoo means, either. Tattoos are like a universal language, spoken by all but with many dialects and differences. What might mean one thing to you could mean the complete opposite in another country or to a people of another culture. So, don’t prejudge someone based on your assumptions about their ink.
So, what if you just want to know what it means because you’d like to get the same tattoo but don’t want to find out later that it means something bad or something you don’t support? Well, first of all you shouldn’t copy someone else’s tattoo exactly, just out of respect. But if it’s a common, innocuous design (such as a star, a flower, or an animal) then just get it and don’t worry about what it might mean to someone else. Just as tattoos are personal to other people, they are personal to you and your right to share or not. But what if it’s a specific symbol, or looks like it might be?
Gray Area
There are literally millions of symbols out there, representative of millions of things. Admittedly, some of them look pretty cool and would make a great tattoo. But if you don’t know what a symbol means – or if it even is a symbol rather than just an intricate drawing – then you probably shouldn’t get it until you’ve exhausted all possible research avenues. Highly recognizable symbols linked with certain groups, belief systems, lifestyles, etc. will associate you with those groups whether that was the intent or not. If you get a Confederate flag tattoo, you’re going to be associated with the group that supports slavery, racial prejudice, and extremist behavior. But I happen to know several individuals that thought the flag was simply a “redneck icon” symbolizing “Southern pride” and they never intended for it to be offensive, but that doesn’t change the fact that others will view them that way because of the tattoo.
My advice in this case is not to completely avoid getting a tattoo just because of how others may perceive it, but be careful. Earlier in this article I explained that another person’s ink is none of your business – well, your ink isn’t anyone’s business, either. If you have a valid reason for wanting a particular tattoo and your artist is willing to do it, that is your right. You don’t have to explain it, you don’t have to apologize for it, and you don’t have to hide it if you don’t want to. But you should be prepared to deal with adverse reactions should they arise and you should expect that your job, at the very least, may impose some restrictions on the visibility of your tattoo. That is their right.
The Golden Rule
In conclusion, follow the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want them to treat you. Tattoos can be a very private matter and that privacy should be respected.