The Importance Of Tattoos

Register to read the introduction… Employers cannot determine if a person is qualified for a job just by looking at them. So many occupations want a person to cover their tattoo if it is visible, such as policemen, nurses or teachers. However, if the company has interviewed the prospective employee, and knows that the person is highly educated and suited for the job, but still does not hire them just because of their tattoo; someone else could come along that does not have a tattoo, but is less experienced than the person who did have the tattoo. Therefore, the supervisor overlooked a well trained and knowledgeable person because he or she had a tattoo. Employers often think they already know what type of person it is when someone walks into their office with tattoos, but really they can’t tell until they get to know the person. In an article for the National Geographic News, Myrna Armstrong, a professor at Texas Tech University writes, “I did an adolescent study in high school. Sixty percent of the tattooed were ‘A’ and ‘B’ students. I said, ‘hey, this isn’t something being done by a deviant group. It’s broad, it’s mainstream’” (1). Tattoos are not just symbols for gang members and punk rockers, but even white collar professionals have tattoos. Lance Tuck, a professional tattoo artist says, “There is this idea that tattoos are for the criminal element. I do a lot of tattoos for doctors, attorneys, police officers, firefighters…” …show more content…
People such as waiters, insurance agents, and automotive sales agents are frequently looked down upon because of their tattoo. In an article from USA Today, Arnold Hogan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department said, “I have been on drills and on scene where someone has said, ‘I would not want that person working on me,’ and we’ve had to educate the individual who made the comment” (3). It is unfair for these people to be judged by their customers or patients because they see the person helping them has a tattoo. It would seem logical, that a patient would feel safer being attended to by a highly skilled, tattooed professional, rather than an unskilled, inexperienced person without a …show more content…
Many people with tattoos are often discriminated against for the way they look. Unfortunately, they are denied job opportunities because employers associate tattoos with inexperienced and unmotivated workers; this is not the way it should be. Tattoos are becoming more and more common and they are not just for old bikers and young rebels. Even professionals are getting tattoos; therefore society must change the way they look at tattoos and the people that have them. James Webb is a bestselling author, U.S. Senator, and earned two purple hearts serving in the military; he also has three tattoos. Steve Tufts, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles presents this argument in an article for USA Today, “We don’t allow discrimination based on skin color, yet we came up with a policy that discriminated against people with color on their skin” (3). It is time for people to stop judging others based on appearance; people with tattoos are no different than their peers who do not have