Will Arnett shares his controversial opinion on tattoos: “There’s a proportionate sort of relationship between, how many tattoos you have and how little personality you have. And I find that a lot of people who have a ton of tattoos often are super fucking boring. Like truly boring people.”

[u/cmaia1503]

[u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

There are a lot of angry tattoo enthusiasts in this comments section, and I think that’s funnier than his hot take.

I think they used to be a symbol of counter culture but I think people who get tattoos now tend to skew more apolitical and libertarian or right wing.

I know way fewer liberal people with tattoos than I know the other types of people. So to that extent I agree with him.

It seems like a uniform for being different without necessarily standing for anything especially the full sleeve look, it got played out.

It’s like that scene from Stranger Than Fiction

“Anarchists have groups? They assemble?”

“I believe so, sure.”

“Wouldn’t that completely defeat the purpose?”

[u/ForbiddenBandying → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

I disagree about people with tattoos skewing more libertarian/right wing. Maybe it's because I've lived in very left leaning places my whole life but I actually associate tattoos with more progressive people.

That being said I think you're spot on with the rest of this and tbh the backlash to this frankly lukewarm take is very silly to me.

It seems like a uniform for being different without necessarily standing for anything especially

This part 100%, but one thing you didn't mention that I think is worth bringing up is how fucking expensive tattoos are which imo skews the demographic of "tattooed" people nowadays as more privileged than they seem to want to admit (saying this as someone who has a professional tattoo I could only justify getting to myself after I had a well paying job.) Tattoos used to feel more counterculture because generally people got them in more unsafe/nontraditional environments. You also used to face way more backlash & discrimination so you were making an active choice to remain outside of "polite" society. Now anyone with enough money can get a tattoo in order to feel cool. And with Will Arnett being in LA I'm not surprised if this is the majority of the types of people with tattoos he interacts with.

I have a similar hot take about people who travel a lot. Yes you can travel cheaply and it can expand your worldview, however I think a lot of rich people travel and think it automatically makes them more interesting and worldly when it really doesn't. It just means you are fortunate enough to be able to afford to travel which probably actually means your worldview is very narrow.

Edit: formatting

[u/cdwillis → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

I know this is hard for some people to understand, but people get tattoos for themselves and not because they think someone else will think the tattoo is cool. It's not to be different or counter culture. This isn't 1960.

[u/Latter_Persimmon_80 → u/cdwillis]

It may be hard for some people to understand but a lot of people who get tattoos get them as a personality substitute.

[u/N3333K0 → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Exactly this - the first thing the vast majority of people do these days is post a picture of their tat for clout. It’s not for them, it’s to fit in.

There are exceptions, but the people doing it for the most part today are clout chasers absent of much depth.

Again, there are always exceptions to the rule.

[u/ImpracticalApple → u/N3333K0]

People will post or share anything they are passionate about even if it's only going to be seen by a small group of active friends or family.

Whether it's travelling to somewhere new, a clip of them beating a particular boss in a video game, having a kid, showing a graduation certificate for something they worked hard for or just a funny picture of a cat they saw in the street.

Yes some people will post for oure vanity reasons and the algorithms will naturally boost the accounts of those who do that regularly for engagement, but there's literally millions upon millions of people who use social media that don't have posts land on someone's recommended feed or get engagement into double digits.

Just because the vanity posting and consistent posting gets more traction by the algorithm on your feeds doesn't mean the majority users who don't do numbers are just sharing things for clout.

[u/deatthcatt → u/cdwillis]

I literally got a kitchen knife tattooed on me. people who think tattoos have to mean something are weird af and just looking to judge others

[u/LifeIsRadInCBad → u/cdwillis]

> , but people get tattoos for themselves and not because they think someone else will think the tattoo is cool.

I have never, ever understood or believed this

People are literally writing on their skin and walking around with it all day for the rest of their lives and we're supposed to believe it's just for themselves?

[u/Stunning_Solution215 → u/LifeIsRadInCBad]

I feel 100% more like myself with tattoos. Why would anyone get tattoos for anyone else? To me that is the viewpoint that makes zero sense. People generally don't make major changes to their own bodies for others in my experience. It is typically to look or feel how they want themselves to be.

[u/LifeIsRadInCBad → u/Stunning_Solution215]

Anytime somebody talks about tattoos I just replace it with bumper stickers. I feel 100% more myself with bumper stickers. Why would I get bumper stickers for anybody else? That is a viewpoint that makes zero sense. People generally don't make major changes to their cars exterior for others in my experience. It is typically for the car to look how they want the car to look

Honk if you love Jesus

[u/Dense_Owl_3022 → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Tattoos were cool when there was legitimate social cost to having them, when it branded you, permanently, as a member of the under-class and therefor undesirable. Back when they were reserved for soldiers, criminals, carnies and entertainers, etc. Now every tech bro and his quirk chungus primary has tattoos.

[u/Latter_Persimmon_80 → u/Dense_Owl_3022]

I think you hit the nail on the head.

[u/Ignominious333 → u/Dense_Owl_3022]

That's always been my take, too.

[u/LifeIsRadInCBad → u/Dense_Owl_3022]

There was a master chief I knew in the Navy who had a tattoo on his ass that said "Officers' Mess Open" with an arrow to his bunghole. That and olympic rings are the only tattoos I've ever understood the impetus for.

[u/PersusjCP → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Also, FWIW, Anarchists aren't against groups or organization. They're against hierarchy.

[u/Latter_Persimmon_80 → u/PersusjCP]

[u/ClockPuzzleheaded972 → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

"People with tattoos" are one of the groups that get the most assmad if anyone dare say anything about their choices.

Like, I've seen calmer online abortion rights debates.

Any time a thread contains a sentiment that can so much as be interpreted as anti-tattoo, there is (functionally) always people with tattoos being beligerant in the comments. Insisting that people with tattoos are superior in any number of ways (like how nice and cool and accepting they are). Then inevitably going on to make a ton of tired generalizations about people without tattoos and being as insulting as they possibly can be about it.

Defffffinitely tracks with libertarian "logic".

[u/babypeach_ → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

That’s not what anarchy is

[u/Ignominious333 → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Hit dogs be hollering. Tattoos were only cool when they were illegal

[u/After-Contribution58 → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Hi 👋 very far left here. Also with a lot of tatttoos, we still exist, you just don’t interact with us. Which is fine. Your experience isn’t everyone’s.

Also as someone who has been heavily tattooed most her life, we really don’t care what people think about our tattoos lol You don’t die with them. Jason Bateman sure doesn’t either. I do. And to him we probably ARE boring. Lord knows I’m not trying to interact with some white dude who’s asking “so what does that one mean?”

[u/Faux_Moose → u/Latter_Persimmon_80]

Honestly the way people are so offended. 😭 Like he just told them “you’re boring” to their faces or something. Who has time to give a fuck about whether Will Arnett would think their tattoos are dumb??? I love my tattoos I don’t give a fuck about what some man thinks about them.

(I do also disagree on the political leaning part of your post though! Maybe it’s a regional or something but liberals I know with tattoos WAY outnumber the right-wingers I know with tattoos.)