Many tattoo symbols and sayings can have a dual meaning --- one which you don't mean at all.
Having a tattoo in the first place can bring negative connotations about the person wearing it. Take, for example, prison inmates. The majority sport tattoos that definitely explain their views on society.
An "all the rage" tattoo says more than "trendy." Think about this sentence: trendy and 'all the rage'. Do you harbor ill feelings toward the government, religious order, what? Do you really want to advertise your thoughts on your skin to turn some people off? Maybe you won't get hired because a potential employer sees your tattoo as a personal afront and disgrace to the organization.
This list could go on and on, but this fact remains: there are very definite tattoos that insure a turn-off by employers, associates, friends, and family. So what you didn't like your uncle who was a war hero in WWII? Are you then renouncing ALL people who serve in the military by sporting some sort of anti-war symbol on your arm?
Also, think about this: prisons and other systems have used tattoos as a way of tracking inmates and other types of people. Jews were tattooed against their own religous principles to keep track of the fact they were Jewish and sent to concentration camps with numbers tattooed on their arms or wrists.
1. Swastika Tattoos. Do you love the Nazi party that has been ousted by every country on the planet?
2. Sexual Overtones in Tattoos: Women, in paricular, have gone so far as to put, "You Wish" on various parts of their bodies. This also includes tats that say, "Kiss This" and "Bad Girl" or any other sexual connotation.
3. Cartoon Tattoos: Daffy Duck makes YOU seem "daffy." So does Elmer Fudd who can't pronounce "r's" for the life of him. Stupid=YOU.
4. Skull and Bones Tattoos: Are you poisonous to everyone's health? Or maybe you're just poisonous to yourself...hmmm.
5. Name Tattoos: Whether you love yourself that much or are memorializing someone else, guess what?: no one 'gets it' unless you explain why "Gloria4Ever" is hanging around...or if your fiance' has had quite enough of your former loves.
6. Tattoo Quotes: Okay, you live by a motto or creed. Show it in your deeds and actions. Trying to convince others to follow suit by looking at your tattoo is just 'bad business'...especially if the seeds you sow show otherwise, you'll get called on it.
7. Flames Tattoos: Are you a secret arsonist? Flames stand for a lot more than burning houses down such as 'inflammatory' and 'inflammation'. Flame tattoos have also been used by criminals, whose very flame(s) tattoo identified them.
8. Barbed Wire (Barbwire) Tattoos: Have you been a convicted criminal? Advertise this type of tattoo and see how far you get being hired.
9. Devils/Witchcraft Tattoos: Most people will stay clear of your path in life because of the influence and connotations of devil worship, black cats, and the like. If you want to turn people off, these types of tattoos will do the trick.
10. Meaningless Tattoos: Maybe you got drunk or, for any other reason, simply didn't know how and why you got tattooed. Tattoos are for life until you pay big bucks and spend a lot of time getting rid of them. The worst part is, you may not even remember what they stood for in the first place.
