Friday, January 18, 2008
Entitlement and Tattoos
Occasionally I become dimly aware that I am using a new word or an old word in a new way. The latest is entitlement, a word I don't think I used at all before about six months ago. It is a word used in many contexts, but almost all are political. For example, there was an article I read a couple of weeks ago pointing out that both Clinton and Obama had a sense of entitlement about the presidency. Also there is widespread condemnatory talk of the entitlement culture, which is, in essence, a new way of saying that rights entail responsibilities. I am also periodically made aware of a sense of wounded entitlement thanks to my Ponder Post 10: Tattoos?. This remains my most hit post. The primary theme of the comments is that I had no right to say that I didn't like tattoos, specifically - and, perhaps, most woundingly - that I could not find a person with a tattoo attractive. People have a right to bear tattoos, they say. True, but that in no ways limits my right to say they repel me. If I cannot say that, then I can say nothing meaningful about any human behaviour other than that it is none of my business and, if pressed, I might be obliged to have sex with a tattooed person. This, I suppose, is the ultimate logic of those who feel, above all, entitled. I don't like the sound of these people. Unlike so many neologisms, entitlement seems to be a word worth having.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Best not to argue with these dregs, just insult and harangue them. The best insults are the kind that sound unintentional, e.g. "Of course in hillbilly towns everyone has a tattoo (and a criminal record), but we don't have them in the First World. We also don't practice incest or human sacrifice. I apologise if I'm imposing my Western imperialist culture on your aboriginal tribal customs. You certainly have a right to sleep with your close relatives and dogs, and to tattoo yourself. I wouldn't want to take that away from you. Keep it up."
ReplyDeleteand remember, you are entitled to change your opinion at any time....
ReplyDeleteI just read a good article in the new Rolling Stone about Johnny Depp. He, of course, has a few tattoos. One of them he got when he was engaged to Winona Ryder. It said, "Winona Forever." Then they broke up. He got it altered to say "Wino Forever." Love it.
ReplyDelete"Forever" is a weasel word, ya know?
When I think about it, I have nothing against candidates feeling a sense of entitlement. What one person calls "entitlement" another calls "self-confidence." Just because they feel either or both doesn't mean I must vote for them.
ReplyDeleteBryan, you ought to think twice about visiting Canada in the future. They are well on the way to criminalizing writing such as yours about tattoo wearers. Hurting someone's feelings has become something of a state crime.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess this is just part of the "me culture" in which "entitlement" is a euphemism for "I demand", and in which it is believed that I have the right not to be offended or, in psychobabble, made to feel "less than". Clearly this is nonsense since free speech means nothing without the freedom to say things which others may find offensive. Tolerance of that which may offend is also a form of protecting freedom of speech. In defending an imagined right not to feel "less than", tolerance is the first thing to go out the window, or at least thus it would seem from your post. Wouldn't go into the jungle with these fellows!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with tattoos - in fact I rather like them, especially pour epater le burjoyzee, etc - though there's a lot wrong with most tattoos. They're done by people who couldn't draw to save their lives.
i thought Johnny Depp was Winona Ryder. Or maybe it was the other way around? Are you saying they're two separate people?
ReplyDeleteHi Bryan,
ReplyDeleteYou mention Amy Winehouse's tattoos and Angelina Jolie's. Here's Victor Thompson, one for the ladies to consider:
Patriots Fan Gets Helmet Tattooed On Head.
He said after getting the tattoo, "I feel awesome now. I feel like I'm part of the Patriots now." Now that's entitlement.
Yours,
Rus
Tattoos are not just for when you're drunk, they're for life.....
ReplyDelete