At least no one wears bell bottoms anymore

Russell Wardlow has posted the following on his blog,

Tattoo You

Standing outside a busy restaurant last night and idly watching the patrons go in and out, I was struck intensely by the hope that sometime in the near future, say five or ten years, tattoos will regain their once shady and disreputable status and the tens of millions of crudely inked fools will have to either slink around in embarrassment or spend thousands of dollars to have them removed (hopefully painfully).

I yield to no one in wishing les enfants would come to their senses. I would be happy if a non painful removal process were discovered if only people would quickly de decorate themselves.

Unfortunately, there is scant hope for optimism. The descent has been constant since my childhood. If our fellow citizens were going to suffer shame they would reverse the general trend of slobbinesss in attire that has pervaded the nation. I fear we are a nation that cannot be embarrassed.

So where is the trend going. I have never had the inclination for piercings or tattoos, so I don't know the level of discomfort associated with it. I did read, years ago on the net, where one fellow wrote about the pain being part of the process of piercing. If that is so, and things only get more extreme, look for something that looks worse and hurts more. Branding is the next thing. I expect to see outside of Fenway Park, vendors selling little B shaped irons so Sox fans can prove their devotion with even greater mindless fanaticism. Green Day fans can display that obsession. You name it, you can wear it.

At least Russell can take solace that if their will be no improvement, the decline will be accompanied with great pain. Of course, I would never find joy in that.