What is Western humanity doing to
itself?
What's with this tattoo craze that has
taken the world by storm? The body has been
projected beyond the personal and intimate,
to become a walking canvass. It seems more
and more people sport, one, two or
twenty-two tattoos. And this is no
one-nation, ethnic or religious fad, but
cuts across borders and countries: rich,
poor, fat or slim, men, women; Germans,
Spaniards, Americans --everywhere, everyone
has been branded.
This proud defiling of the body is, to
say the least, quite mystifying. Is the body
not meant to be a repository of our entire
selves? I will not go into what the Bible or
main monotheistic religions have to say
about them. Still, one would think this
practice anathema, for while it conceals
one's personality behind this self-made
laceration, it also labels and relegates the
wearer to a specific class or category of
person.
Tattoos, which at one point seemed to be
a dying practice, have come back with a
vengeance. There is a delirious infatuation
with them and there is no end to what one
gets to see drawn or written on these motion
pictures. From the fantastical and
allegorical to the plain crass, the entire
gamut of childish imagination is laid bare
before us. Decorum -- that
old-fashion-sounding word -- has been thrown
out the window. Or are those who wear them
meant to be making a point without having to
pronounce themselves, uncover their true
self, their identity, personality. In other
words, what makes each one of us a unique,
complex and interesting human being. On
occasions one sees in certain tribes -- from
Indians to Africans-- their bodies and/or
faces painted for a specific purpose,
usually ceremonial in nature. To be forever
plastered with a message or drawing,
however, is comparable to wearing the same
clothes or sticking to the same idea for
one's entire existence. Quite a curse if one
comes to think of it, for we are meant to
evolve, polish, and refine our ways with the
passing of time, even at the risk of
contradiction.
It is usually the young who are
inebriated by this blunt posturing, which at
times can be quite defying and provocative
in nature -- but almost always rash.
Back in the old days to be tattooed had
some significance. It was a mark, a sign
that set apart those who bore them. It had
to be "earned," like a badge of courage or
daring, and it was mostly sailors or
convicts who wore them, and usually only
one, to symbolize a lost love, the clues to
a hidden treasure or for other such fanciful
reasons. There was mystery behind them, a
story. No more. Nowadays, tattoos are like
modern constructions:pêle-mêle,
confusing, ugly.
When certain practices become fashionable
what usually ends up occurring is that the
initial idea or reason behind them loses all
sense and purpose, creating the very
opposite of what was meant or intended in
the first place. This life-long fashion,
however, is self-nullifying. Some will come
of age and realize that what they thought as
original or unique at one point in time is
no longer so appealing or attractive. All
the more so in these times where immediate
pleasures are the norm.
Alas, since gravity has that crushing
feeling, in the end, whether we like it or
not, tattoos are not a pretty sight.
From the American Spectator