where’s my like button?
I understand what you are saying but if anyone gets tats all over their face/neck/hands or huge gauges in their ears and acts surprised that they can’t find work in a professional environment, they are either a liar or an idiot. Clean cut with no visible tattoos or piercings is expected and that is all there is to it.
With that being the case, I’d say it’s a good idea to rule those kind of people out in professional circles for reasons beyond how they look. They knew that getting those tattoos and piercings would make it very difficult for them to find work and they did it anyway. That says to me that they are either trying to be directly confrontational or that they are stupid.
I know two guys I go to school with that have lots of tats and piercings. One of them has gauged ears but not to the extreme and when he wants to look professional he puts in understated earrings, combs his hair, covers his tats, and looks more professional than the majority of people I see around campus. The other guy has a pink mohawk and tats that can’t be covered by a long sleeve collared shirt. Needless to say it is impossible for him to look professional and I’d place him in the “unemployable” category for the career path he is trying to pursue.
Bottom line is if you want to get tattoos and piercings, go for it, but either do it in such a way that you can take the piercings out and cover the tats or go for the stretched ear and face tat look knowing that you won’t find many job opportunities. If you look like a freak and expect to be treated like you aren’t, then you have issues much deeper than your appearance.
EDIT:
Your question earlier about working in the oil industry and hiring manual labor vs. professionals:
I’m going into the oil industry (first job in industry starts in May) and I haven’t encountered a professional in the industry with visible tats or piercings. I’ve also worked the manual labor side of things and in my experience, appearance can tell you a lot about someone in that area as well. Usually the real fuck ups, the kind with severe alcohol or drug problems or just a bad attitude that makes them a pain in the ass to work with, are very easy to spot as soon as you step onto the job site. They look the part. Based on that you are damn right that if given the choice, I wouldn’t hire anyone who I thought looked like trouble because nine times out of ten, they are.
I don’t know what “question” I did not answer for you. I am sure I spelled it out for you. We agree to disagree.
As to tattoos and piercings in the oil biz…well…this is a wide and varied industry. I don’t see those people in the shiny offices downtown. Maybe out on a rig or drilling site or stripping a barge. Who knows.
Some of you just cannot get over the fact that tons of tattoos, piercings and other odd wardrobe choices are off-putting to some of us.
Why is this?
-brickboy240
Because it’s still discriminating against somebody by means of generalization, or stereotype.
Isn’t that just human nature?
I mean…who does not discriminate even if it is just a little?
Don’t want to be treated differently…then don’t alter your appearance. Its not as if you are being treated differently because of your skin color. This is an easy fix.
Again…you all are asking everyone else to adjust to your standards. odd because many here lambast the gays for doing the same thing regarding marriage.
-brickboy240
Because it’s still discriminating against somebody by means of generalization, or stereotype.
That’s life. Discrimination is everywhere.
You can’t work for me if you can’t pick up 50lbs. And you aren’t getting past my interview if you show up with a face full of metal, facial/neck tats, have poor hygene or funky clothes. Wanna’ go all gangsta’, wear your hat sideways and pants around your knees? See ya. These things are off putting to my customers and cost me money. That’s a fact of life.
You can’t be a firefighter with facial hair and piercings on the job. You can’t be an airline pilot or flight attendant if you weigh 400 lbs. You probably aren’t going to get that janitorial job at a pre-school if you were a sex offender.
One of my friends is as conservative as they come, but he’s covered in tats and has a ZZ Top beard. His solution to problems encountered with his looks, form your own company. He’s been successful at it, but he’ll be the first to tell you that his CHOSEN look has held him back at times.
You need to get over this notion that all discrimination is bad. Some forms are good and keep you alive. Discrimination based on patterns of behavior is very natural. It is why you don’t walk though South Central LA on a Friday night. It is also why you notice the goth kid carrying a backpack into a movie theater. Granted, these examples are far more extreme than a person with tats, but they are examples of using good discrimination and judgement.
Disfiguring one’s body is a pattern of behavior that many consider maladaptive, and I have no problem discriminating against these people if they are going to engage my family in an intimate manner. That is because experience has taught me (and several others on this form) that the vast majority of people with aggressive piercings and tats are professional duds. Simply put, most have less common sense than a brick. There are some exceptions, but the risks of getting a dipshit are too high to go out on a limb when it comes to professional relationships.
Thus, I’m happy to clinch with you in the ring, roll with you on the mat, or have you work on my car if you’ve got a face full of metal or tats. However, I don’t want to see pierced lips and a nose ring on my anesthesiologist as he puts me to sleep for my appendectomy.
There are indeed some very productive and creative people who choose the tattoo / piercing lifestyle.
However, I’ll continue my pattern of stereotyping and discrimination as long as I can easily distinguish between a Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street rally simply be looking at a picture:
Versus
I agree with you to a point, but with tattoos, and piercings becoming more common, people are going to have to move on.
I don’t give a shit what you look like, as long as you’re good at your job.
And your life experience has taught you that appearance does not correlate with performance in professional circles? I’m not saying the correlation is perfect, just significant.
Move on from what? Discerning a prudent course of action after forming a rational judgement based on knowledge derived from sensory data and previous experiences? You have good luck with that. I’ll pass.
And yes, they are increasing, so are functional illiteracy, out of wedlock births, the number of people living below the poverty line, etc.
The virtue and necessity of discrimination: http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Dwyer/In_Defense_of_Discrimination.shtml
OP, you brought this topic up to the wrong crowd. A lot of people coming out of the military have or will never quite loose all the starch, and will continue to think uniformity and group think are good MOs. They heard the " the nail that sticks out gets hammered" and really took it to heart, and don’t mind becoming the Stepfords.
Ironically tattoos where a military tradition until recently, which is odd because they are becoming more mainstream as old people who associate tattoos with bikers,sailor, etc etc die off.
sent from mah gun,using my sights
Thus far it seems the thread has been about debating your first proposition. What is your response to my critique of the other two?
And again, exactly what “hypocrisy” are you talking about?
Sure, because “Hey everyone, let’s all show our individuality and get tattoos and piercings like everyone else is doing!” isn’t mindless simpleton “group think”. :rolleyes:
I understand what you’re talking about. And you are right. But if somebody was personable, and demonstrated professional competancy, then I wouldn’t discount them at all based on appearance.
That’s the exact thing I’m endorcing. Using critical thought, and using common sense combined with context to make a rational decision. Not discounting somebody professionally, because they look different than you. As another poster said: tattoos were a military tradition until recently.
And yes, they are increasing, so are functional illiteracy, out of wedlock births, the number of people living below the poverty line, etc.
Those aren’t even remotely comperable.
How about another take on it?
Would anyone suggest to their children that they should not graduate high school or seek a technical or college degree because that is too “conformist”?
Maybe suggest demonstrating their individuality by dropping out of high school and learning on their own? Pretty much all the knowledge you could ever get in school is available online or in libraries somewhere.
Honestly, a degree is mostly just proof that you are willing and capable of doing the work involved in getting the degree. A lot of what you will use in “real life” will be learned “on the job” and what you don’t get there (or can’t remember from school :D) you can probably just “Google”.
It really is just dressing your knowledge and abilities “professionally”. Not a whole lot different in how you are presenting “yourself”.
Tattoos were a military tradition in the right format. That format isn’t exactly what we are talking about here. There was no military tradition of full sleeves, neck and facial tattoos. An Airborne tattoo on your shoulder or a ship’s anchor on your forearm isn’t offensive to pretty much anyone.
Remember a couple years ago, those agressive liberals who were vandalizing cars that had Marine Corps stickers on 'em?
They’d be pissed. But I digress.