You can call it whatever name you want. It is simply the act/art of writing, drawing or just distorting the outlook of your skin in pictorials or otherwise to suit your state of mind per time.
The ongoing debate globally now, is how a person who carries this is viewed in society. Where do their rights to this type of self-expression start and stop?
In Nigeria today most employers will not have you in their establishments once they sight your #ink. The law frowns at it in the sense that in Nigeria, if you are traveling commercially and there’s a stop and search, the officers involved will go hard on you just because you spot a tattoo.
Generally, people who present themselves unconventionally, whether it’s ink or clothing or hairstyle, say that they are doing it to express themselves. Well, okay, but the thing is: what message do you think you are expressing?
To many employees, the message is “I am a nonconformist, I don’t play by society’s rules, don’t expect me to tow the beaten path…”But for a lot of employers, that is not a great message to send, because, rightly or wrongly they are looking for people who will follow rules, for example company policy and procedure. The corporate world is generally not looking for flamboyant individualists.
Employers can hire or not hire, depending on a variety of factors involving the future of the business. They simply choose the person who is the best fit. Nobody can change this.
If a guy with a tattoo of the female reproductive organ on his neck (yes, I have seen this) and teardrops across his face, and strange symbols around his neck, and the ‘F’ word across the knuckles of all his fingers, do you really think anybody, particularly women, will be willing to work or walk alongside him? Maybe not!
These are anti-employment looks. There are always other people looking to be hired. There are a lot of applicants for each job. And the religious side of it? People quote Deuteronomy and I quote Revelations. The Bible records that “it is written on his (Jesus) thigh that he is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords” (tattoo or not?)
I would love to indulge, but I am not strong hearted enough.
Finally, would you be comfortable if a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit taking care of your loved one is all covered in ink or Tattoos?
Ms Akerkpev wrote from Makurdi
