I recently got my second tattoo. I waited the "obligatory" three years that I felt it would take to adequately reduce the possibility that I was getting the tattoo simply because I was addicted to the sensation (Which - for the record - I am). I the came up with a design I loved and got it permanently inked onto my back.
As I've shown it off to friends people are very positive about it. "How did I come up with the design?" is a common question. Most people want to know because they are hesitant to committ to something that will someday lose it's meaning for them. They want something that will last - something that will always be significant.
That was when one friend said something unsettling:
"I'm just going to wait until they come up with an ink that can be removed without scarring and then I'll get my tattoo."
What?? Is it wrong that I'm slightly offended by the notion that one would only get a tattoo if they're assured that there is an out? This misses the point of tattooing altogether. I have to say, it almost cheapens what I'll call "legitimate" tattooing because removable tattoos will look just like the traditional type. This is the same sort of thing as signing a pre-nup before getting married. Like marriage, if a tattoo is something that a person only committs to knowing that it is something permanent (pending disaster), then it will be taken more seriously.
This got me thinking even more. Now that divorce is so commonplace and socially acceptable do people think less before they committ to marriage. Economically speaking, the negative incentive to divorce has been somewhat removed. There is less of a bad consequence to those who jumped into marriage without thinking it through. The answer to the question, "What if he's the wrong guy?" has turned from, "You find a way to make it work." to "There's always divorce!"
Have we created a self-perpetuating cycle by allowing divorce so freely?
Now, this is not a black and white world. I realize that there are exceptions. Some marriages must be dissolved. Some tattoos must be modified (who knew that tweety bird was going to lose his "cool" factor?). On a whole though, the care and thought that goes into a tattoo are a significant part of the process. You wouldn't marry someone you met yesterday simply because you have the option to divorce and you wouldn't tattoo on a whim simply because it's now easy to remove. (would you?)
My question is this: Is the guy who would only get a removable tattoo also more likely divorce? If so, if you can't tell the difference between a real tattoo and a removable one then how do you know which guys to avoid?
