Why Tattoos ???

"A tattoo is a permanent reminder of temporary insanity." A friend sums up his thoughts about tattoos with those few words. I have never thought that tattoos were a good idea and when my eighteen year old son got one last week, my dislike for them went off the charts.
I have noticed over the last few years an explosion in the number of people with tattoos. All kinds of people seem to have them. Why?? What possesses someone to pay an "artist" to take needles and inject ink into their skin? Why do women want tattoos on their lower backs? Do they think that they need a picture to draw attention to their butt? Do they think that men won't find their butts without illustrated directions? Why do men get a woman's name put on them? Have they checked the divorce rates? A tattoo will outlast child support payments and alimony.
My personal favorite is the Chinese symbol tattoo. I have known several people who have these and I always ask them the same question. How do you know what that means? The answer is almost always the same, "That's what they told me at the tattoo parlor". How many Chinese folks can they know that will appreciate the symbolism?
People think that it is cruel to brand cattle and yet our children get tattoos. We are the most advanced civilization in history and yet decorating our skin with tattoos is growing. Why is it that all the people who want to rebel and be different all do the same stupid things? How about some original thoughts?
My wife asked me why I was so upset about our son getting a tattoo. I tried to explain but I just couldn't put it into words. I did mention that we had spent $5000 for braces because we were concerned about his appearance and self-image. Then he spent $175 to show me that appearance didn't matter. I guess part of it is that I thought he was smarter than that. I don't care if every 18 year old in town has one, it's still stupid. People who seek to define themselves as individuals should not follow the herd.
Have you ever seen a sixty year old with a tattoo and thought "I wish I had one of those!"?
The good news is that millions of dollars await the person who can come up with an easy way to remove these "permanent reminders of temporary insanity".