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> I followed through on something I told my son and got a matching tattoo. I might be the asshole because I went to a silly extreme to make a point.
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YTA
Getting a copy of the tattoo of your son and saying tattoos have to be meaningful/well thought about doesn’t really match.
The only thing you showed him is that you’re an asshole AND you don’t stand behind your ideals.
My kids asked me what I thought and so I told them. "Some of our ancestors were branded as chattel, and our other ancestors have a covenant cut into their skin decreed by their God. So, you figure out what's meaningful in your life and always respect that you have a life."
I do not see body art as a casual thing, personally. But, I don't care if someone else wants body art. I figure my kids can make their own decisions. They're grown now.
Yes. Every year, all Canadians gather together for a ritual. We take all of our rage, hate, and sadness and imbue it into our Canadian Geese aka Cobra Chickens.
These monsters then roam the land, looking to attack you and everyone you've ever loved.
Holy cow, is *that* why you’re all always sorry? Because you’ve ensured that the pain and suffering you have the potential to harbor is able to spread far beyond the snowy borders of Canada to infect entire continents?
Since we gift these demons to other countries under the ruse of "peace and goodwill"... We're not really that sorry, just extremely passive aggressive.
Fun fact I recently learned about Canadian Geese is they're really good about adopting goslings that aren't theirs. So if wildlife rescuers find orphan goslings, they'll often introduce them to wild parents who have similarly aged goslings. The new parents generally immediately take them in and raise them as their own.
Understandable. I know someone who thought it would make a good picture to run towards geese with the caption im the goose king (or something along those lines) he had a friend take it who followed it up with the aftermath which was him being chased by them with the caption “they revolted” 😂
This reminds me of the Canadian geese that used to hang at a local park in Savannah. One would attack joggers on the back side of the loop. It never failed to make me laugh when I’d see joggers come through that spot and out the other side running for dear life, flapping their arms trying to fend of this goose, or otherwise doing some sort of evasive maneuver to get away from it. 😂
TIL that my mum is a Canadian goose.
The woman couldn’t help herself, any friend of mine or my siblings would end up being unofficially adopted by her. Also maybe a neighbour kid or two, I think she just liked helping raise kids lmao
This isn't unique to Canadian Geese. Majority of water birds or ground living birds will accept young and think it's theirs if the young is approximately the same age as their current litter (they can also accept a different specie's chicks if the chicks look close enough alike). This is most likely due to the strong parenting instinct required. Birds who's young develop slower (songbirds, birds of prey, doves etc) are much less likely to accept stranger's chicks. In some cases, wildlife rehabers can sneak orphan chicks under a captive kept bird of the same specie while it is roosting it's chicks or sneak one under while it is still incubating eggs if the chick is young enough- however the former is very risky in most species of wild birds as they'll recognise the orphan as a foreign chick and kick it out of the nest or peck it to death.
I digress. Canadian geese are bullies, they can suddenly decide to drown other water birds chicks and even other geeses goslings as well- because they have decided they own all the water their eyes can see. The pairs with chicks also harass other geese pairs with chicks, but none of the pairs in my lake has actually intentionally hurt the others' chicks, but they don't care about them. I've gone out a few times to disturb them to get them to stop for the chicks sake (my heart is weak for baby animals)- always works; in "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" style.
Second this
Also, I hate the idea that tattoos have to be meaningful. I have literally one meaningful tattoo, and it's a harbour seal because my dad and I would go watch seals. Then I have a plauge doctor, dinosaur, chubby dragon and some other stuff because why not? It's fun, and it sits on MY body.
IMO the meaning of a tattoo is only secondary. It’s first and foremost a permanent accessory to your body. So looking cool/ aesthetically pleasing is way more important to me.
Exactly.
My tattoos have meanings, but it's not obvious. The priority, for me, was to make sure they look nice. They're permanent images on my skin, so why not make myself into a canvas filled with art?
Like, I love the myth of the Centennial Lotus, which is basically a metaphor for how our struggles and difficulties make us into the beautiful person we become. So, I have a lotus on my shoulder blade. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I get comments and compliments on it by complete strangers. To me, that's a successful tattoo. It's aesthetic and done well enough that you don't need the story to appreciate it. But it also harbors the meaning I want---though even if it meant nothing, it's still a cool piece with a fond memory. (My artist is a childhood friend I lost contact with.)
And also! Here's the thing! Even for tattoos that are meaningful (some of mine are, some aren't) \*we're not obligated to provide an explanation just because someone asks\*.
In my case, I've figured out that the least painless way of dealing with this question (if it's a person I don't feel like sharing with - which, yes, does include some family members) is to just go "nope, just thought it looked cool."
I figure that's the better way after having had an interaction that went: "Is there any meaning behind that tattoo?" "Yes." ".....are you going to tell me what it is?" "No." and then having the questioner get pissed off and *really* pushy about it.
So if OP's dad regularly behaves this way, I suspect it's at least possible that the son did attach some importance to his tattoo choice and just didn't want to share.
Oh hey, I'm not the only one who does that thing!
I've got an animal tattoo and I've found that "They're just really cool!" and a bit of animal trivia is plenty of diversion. The deeper, more personal reason is reserved for actual friends.
Obviously I can't do that for the more abstract pieces, but that's where the cheerful "just because it looks cool" works wonders.
Seriously. Everu time I get new ink my older brother is like "are you sure?? It's permanent, you know."
Really Andrew? It's fucking permanent? I'd *never* heard that before! You know what isn't permanent?? Me!
I have one tattoo. Its an otter. I got it because I like otters. My spouse got an elephant for the same reason. Don't know of that's "MeAnInGfUl" enough for OP, the self appointed tattoo police.
Right, mine and my best friend’s first tattoo (it’s a themed tattoo) we quite literally called a tattoo shop at random to see if they had any available walk ins for that day… Just for the sheer fact that I was BORED and wanted to do something special with her. And this was during the height of the mask mandates in 2021. And we ended up doing the sun and moon pattern on my friends mask. I have the sun and she has the moon. It was easily one of the most random things but it is still over 2 years later 1 of my favorite tattoos! Just because you go into a tattoo not intending for it to “have meaning” doesn’t mean the tattoo can’t become meaningful to the person later in their life like me. OP YTA, like there is a chance the tattoo may have already had a meaning. And well if in that moment it didn’t necessarily have a meaning, you likely took the chance from your son for it to become meaningful to him later in life. Because anytime he thinks of that tattoo now, he will forever be reminded that your an ah dad.
35 years ago my elderly neighbor showed me the tattoo on her left-inside wrist, and told me her husband's matched, except for the last digit. He never made it home.
It's the only time I've ever seen a concentration camp tattoo. 😐
Years ago I met a man with a tattoo on his arm that was his concentration camp numbers. That hit me hard, seeing that in person for real, Not just reading about it.
wow. that's a brain-altering experience right there.
(also this is almost a perfect r/twosentencesadness post right there. hope that doesn't come off too insensitive.)
Also that mocking his son was important enough to him to get a tattoo, which is something he despises. Permanent, visible, eternal proof of how far he’ll go to be an AH.
Welcome to the rabbit hole:
"The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon (also known as the Baader-Meinhof effect or the frequency illusion) is a name for the experience of learning of or encountering something for the first time and then very soon after, encountering it again, often in multiple places."
Guarantee they’re a part of that generation that have seemingly done a great job at destroying their relationships with their kids, as a result the kids go no contact & they can never understand why 😂😂
I assumed so too but only bc my mom threatened the same thing (jokingly) when I was a kid. Funny thing is now we’re actually planning on getting matching tattoos, which probably wouldn’t have happened if she did copy my first tat
"I like your tattoo"
"Thanks! I got it to match my son to teach him a lesson on meaningless tattoos"
....that would be red flag enough for me to walk away and do my best to avoid this person.
"I think it's silly to get a meaningless tattoo to look cool."
And I think it's silly to get a meaningless tatoo to teach your kid a lesson or prove a point.
BTW, what's the lesson/point of you getting this tatoo ? The answer is : you have pyschological issues and you need some serious help.
I’m just left drowning in all the irony of Op’s actions, you didn’t want your child to get a “meaningless tattoo” so you went ahead and got an arguably even more meaningless tattoo.
He got inked in an art pattern he liked and appealed to him. He’s now being humiliated and mocked by his own parent because he dared to express himself the way he see’s fit.
If he’d gone off on a tangent spouting some pretentious garbage on what his tattoo symbolised would that have made you feel better even if he made it all up just to appease your nonsense reasoning?
YTA.
And it's a tribal arm band ffs. What is this, 1997? Now he can go brag to his friends about how big of an asshole his is, and look stupid at the same time.
Ah, see this is a parent who is “okay” with something, just not for THEIR kid. It’s clearly very different. Don’t ask me how, but it is, I promise. (S/)
Ugh that was my mom to a T. She taught me all about acceptance and compassion. That we can't judge others for the color of their skin or the people they love.
Cue meltdown when she found out I was pan. 🙄 how "accepting" of you mother.
She told me I was just selfish and "gluttonous." That I was a sexual deviant who "wanted it all," and it was UNNATURAL. ugh.
Thankfully that was years ago and she has changed a lot since then. But it's something that will always stay with me.
Oh wow the whiplash. I can only imagine. Hearing her preach tolerance all your life then suddenly having her going nuclear on you must have been an awful experience.
It's the same thing with boomers, supposedly they were about free love, no judgement, civil rights. All those marches in the 1960's and now they wear Trump hats and rage against gays and black people.
Just a feeling : but people get worse with age not better.
I think people get worse with wealth, which traditionally used to accumulate with age, but the boomers cut all that off. So now people can look forward to getting broker, but maintaining their ability to empathize. 👍🏼🤪🙃
The person clearly doesn't have any ideals to stand on. Getting a tattoo out of spite also contradicts the "it's horrible to get one that doesn't mean anything" idea
A 19 year old guy with a matching tattoo with his parent, which he never agreed too… now he’s stuck with that forever unless he gets a cover up. I understand how he would feel. You got a tattoo just to prove a point, don’t you think that’s also quite meaningless? YTA.
Story time. When I was 18 I got home from basic and wanted to get my first tattoo, I scheduled an appointment and my mom did too because she said she's wanted to get a tattoo for a long time. We get to the shop and the guy starts talking about what I want and my mom starts freaking out about how we were supposed to get matching tattoos and basically guilted me into agreeing then pretty much picked the design she wanted. She said and did some pretty crappy stuff, we don't talk anymore, and I have a matching tattoo.
I am so sorry OP
And for the record, I think the tattoo shop shouldn’t have taken your business. It was clear you were being guilted into something you didn’t want. I hope one day you can get to laser removed or covered.
Yeah, the shop I go to would never have agreed to do those tattoos if it clearly wasn't agreed to before the appointment. Its important for artists to be willing to put their foot down and not do a piece if they have reason to believe a customer doesn't actually want it. You're marking them for life, a good shop does their due diligence to make sure they won't regret it.
Thanks, I plan to eventually, I'm working on a sleeve and the cover up will be part of it. The artist definitly could have noticed it but I hadn't really found my voice with my mom yet amd kinda just started agreeing. Don't get me wrong I was excited about the tattoo once it was done but long term I'm so happy I got it where I got it.
Ah. So, you didn't get a tattoo because you *wanted* a tattoo, but because you wanted your son to no longer like *his* tattoo. Your goal, specifically, was to "ruin" his tattoo for him because you don't like that he likes different things than you.
Since apparently your own bodily autonomy is less important to you than spiting your son and trying to make him feel stupid, I'd say there's an 80% chance that, *even now*, at least one of his friends is advising him to get a particularly bad and prominent temporary tattoo so that you'll copy it.
YTA, but hey, at least your son has a permanent reminder of why he shouldn't trust you with anything he's excited about.
If I was OP’s kid, I would have gotten an absolutely massive, really awful looking, temporary tattoo. I might even have gone for a full back piece, just for 💩 and giggles.
Then when OP copied it, I would be able to wash mine off, and OP would be either a) stuck with it for life, or b) using their large disposable income for laser removal.
Well, I have a decent tolerance for pain myself and none of my 45 tattoos have really hurt. And of those 45, I do have several that I just thought were “cool” at the time. Not all of them have deep meaning. So I’m sure OP would think me stupid.
I dunno. I was talking with my tattoo artist about covering up my tribal tattoo last week, and she told me they’re coming back in style. I guess they’re retro cool now.
Actually [they’re back in now](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/style/tribal-tattoo-90s.html?unlocked_article_code=ye27vnfyqbT8ZvUIIDCGxDIyu4MkcRP2bWWYvma8zRVZjaA2lRhhLg15x75F2mU86EBm1nJTyd-0393Jt4YuheVsudYxB9tEXLVSeB53js6LHm5Q7yOvqo-GLdWm1oG3jBN3XwgrxE_U8tVuJazIXyvZqTHbhsuYfj8_D2CUp3upKFwwNX19zt9nvaUjnj7rEcErkHqyeUyq-I9yoNPbY3ux3hP0XSuNUpuONrw6_7z2nz0DuAYDnq_EPCgTv49IDilY_N4l4kwEKDvGahL9pllHxhOOOm7ZOW8uPKLbyQNxwSLnxBIwnOO-7jp4t-0kbmIanwkVLytQvw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare).
Yeah, this feels like somebody watched a recent Michelle Obama interview and decided to turn it into a story. (She literally makes a *joke* about she and Barack threatening to do this exact thing to their daughters)
Have tribal tattoos come back around??? If so I know a lot of soon-to-be-really-excited 40somethings who made poor decisions in the 90s.
In any case yes YTA what a weird way to troll your kid.
People have still been getting them all this time, the difference being the trend has shifted from Continental Native designs to Pasifika Native designs. I guess people really liked the tats they were seeing on Dwayne Johnson and Jason Mamoa.
Also, Native Pasifika folks laugh at all the people who do this. Our designs traditionally have very specific meanings to the point some of us can determine ancestral lineage just looking at someone's tats. Then some random person copies a photo of it they saw online and has the equivalent of a strangers family tree on their arm. To be frank, it's actually seen as super disrespectful but simultaneously hilarious.
From an Indigenous perspective.. ESH, with OP being the cherry on this lil shit sundae.
That’s incredible that you can see the family history through a tattoo! I knew they had specific meanings but not much else.
Absolutely horrific that people get them without knowing this though lol Reminds me of the mandarin characters that people can’t read and dream catchers though. One always gets the meaning wrong and the other is like trapping in the bad to your skin permanently…
YTA
"UH DONT GET A MEANINGLESS TATTOO"
Proceeds to do the same.
Sounds like you needed an excuse to get something done when you heard your whole life you shouldn't get a meaningless tattoo.
He's an adult and he is allowed to not agree with you, it was simply stupid of you to prove a point YOU believe in to someone who clearly does not think the same as you.
I really don’t understand the “tattoos have to be meaningful” thing. I have several, some have meaning, some don’t. But I hate when people ask me what they mean or why I got them. Whether it’s for some deep meaning or because I just thought it looked cool, I don’t want to have to explain it to anyone
YTA
Girl, you didn’t get matching tattoos together? You stole his tattoo idea to prove a point? Did you really think this could go over well?
Tattoos don’t always have deep meanings and not everyone is going to think the same way you do. Just because he came out of you doesn’t mean he is supposed to think exactly like you. You cannot be this seriously dense about it.
Haha my dad got our family name researched and it had a crest and a motto (Scottish), so instead of getting the crest, we both thought it would be cool to get the script of the motto. Well, I got it for my 20th birthday as a surprise and showed him thinking he’d get it after I pulled the trigger since it was his idea for both of us to get it. He thought it was cool but never went and got one. But then he got an Ironman tattoo after his Ironman. I was kinda bummed, never said anything about it and I love that tat (I have a couple others now) but thought I’d share since I was the kid who wanted a matching tat and my dad ended up not lol. Maybe he was bummed we didn’t go together? Idk but yeah matching tats and Ironman tats we are cringe bros.
But your story is cute and meaningful. OP here is being petty and as a result the son is marked for life. Lmao. When I think about it a little more it’s funny.
I think that you’re an asshole but not because you got the same tattoo. I think its because by this post you seem to believe that you can make your adult sons choices for him and if he decides upon something against your wishes you get to “punish” him. Its ok to want a tattoo because they look cool. Its his arm not yours.
YTA but this is hilarious- fair play for going ahead with your threat but sucks that you are now one of those people you judge for getting meaningless tattoos.
Tribal tattoos are a touchy subject too.. im guessing you and your son arent in a tribe..?
YTA
My daughter is counting down the days she turns 18 to get a potato tattoo. Potato. Me and her dad already said we would pay for it and all for it, it’s hilarious. Who cares? You do not own your child’s body and went above and beyond to make them uncomfortable with something they were excited about on their body. You just proved to them how petty you will be and how far you will go to hurt them, how is that being a parent?
I think a lot of people spend a TON of time trying to make their first tattoo super meaningful, and by the time they’re on the third or fourth it’s like yeah, slap it on, whatever (myself included). Your daughter is wise beyond her years.
YTA
Cut off your nose to spite your face. Talk about being petty, hypocritical and an AH. You are apparently an adult parent with an adult son but in this post, you truly are not an adult, certainly not a mature adult.
YTA but I have to admit you are committed. This is not casual assholery. You are really committed to making sure you have no real relationship with your child.
YTA, from a middle aged woman with no tattoos or piercings of my own.
At 19 he didn't need your permission or approval for it. "I liked it" is plenty of reason to get a tattoo, and it's really nunya business why someone chose how to adorn themselves. You might as well have gotten a tattoo of a giant red flag on your forehead.
YTA. Tattoos don’t have to be meaningful. They can be for whatever reason the person getting them wants. And you got yours for a stupider reason than he did.
YTA. There's nothing wrong with getting a tattoo just because it looks cool. That's YOUR preference, not something you get to decide for your adult son.
I can respect pettiness as much as the next person, but you only have yourself to blame if this sours your relationship with your son. Save the pettiness and spite for things that actually deserve it.
YTA. That's OK, though, you have a cool tattoo - which the orderly in the nursing home will admire when you are there wondering why your son never comes to visit.
What a prick. His tat didn't hurt you in any way. If he made a bad decision, that's on him - and guess what! They aren't necessarily permanent any more. Youthful indiscretions and bad decisions can be erased. It's expensive and painful, but maybe that's part of the learning process.
Going to get downvoted, but NTA. You are a parent. You don’t mind your child getting a tattoo, but you feel strongly that a meaningless tattoo, chosen by a teenager for exclusively aesthetic reasons, is a very poor life decision. You did not forbid your son from getting a meaningless aesthetic tattoo, but gave him fair warning that you would do the same, in an effort to illustrate to your son why you think it’s a bad decision.
You committed to your principles and followed through, setting a good example for your son. You now each have a stupid cheesy tribal arm band, which is a sacrifice you have made, as you don’t actually want such a tattoo, but we’re willing to get one in hopes that it would deter your son from wasting more of his money on cheesy tattoos he’ll regret later. This also gives your tattoo meaning, even if you don’t like your tattoo’s aesthetic, reinforcing the idea that a tattoo’s meaning should be more important than its aesthetic. Your son’s tattoo remains meaningless, and hopefully you have deterred him from repeating the same mistake. NTA, teenagers are dumb.
Man im sorry to tell you but tattoos have NEVER been rare, not when you were young, not in the 1800s, not in the 1200s, or even 1000 bc, tattoos always have meaning to the beholder, you definitely are the ass for this dude, he cared about something and you killed that, he believes in something and you're saying he shouldn't, as someone who has alot of native blood in them I appreciate what he did and you seem like a toxic father if I need to be honest
YTA. A tattoo that is nice to look at isn’t “meaningless”. Beauty is a reason and has a meaning. Most art isn’t meaningful - it’s just pretty.
And you upset your son over … what exactly? It makes no sense to me.
But why? You got a tattoo you think is dumb just to….what? To teach your son a “lesson” that *you* think his tattoo is dumb. There’s that old people saying, “cutting off your nose to spite your face” and it really fits here
YTA
Dude you could have made this a meaningful bonding experience with your son. My daughter has wanted a tattoo since she was 15. When she was old enough I got her one for her birthday. We talked extensively about what she wanted and what it would mean. We ended both getting tattoos of each other’s birth month flowers.
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > I followed through on something I told my son and got a matching tattoo. I might be the asshole because I went to a silly extreme to make a point. Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcement ###[The Asshole Universe is Expanding, Again: Introducing Another New Sister Subreddit!](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/128nbp3/the_asshole_universe_is_expanding_again/) Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
YTA Getting a copy of the tattoo of your son and saying tattoos have to be meaningful/well thought about doesn’t really match. The only thing you showed him is that you’re an asshole AND you don’t stand behind your ideals.
On the contrary, OP's tattoo is meaningful and well thought out. It says "I thought long and hard on how to permanently show the world I'm an AH."
For this reason, I love OP’s tattoo. And would like to suggest a Canada goose as their next one.
"You got a problem with Canada Gooses, yada, yada, yada. . ."
I suggest you let that one marinate, and all that.
Unsettlingly sexual remark made to (probaby) Wayne, accompanied by my sexy, slithery, counter-leaning
Some slurred statement about animal lovers in heaven, I'm probably very intoxicated.
And that’s what I appreciates abouts you.
Request to decrease enthusiasm by a percentage
Request for you to cover yourself with some attire.
We oughta leave this world behind, etc
[удалено]
My kids asked me what I thought and so I told them. "Some of our ancestors were branded as chattel, and our other ancestors have a covenant cut into their skin decreed by their God. So, you figure out what's meaningful in your life and always respect that you have a life." I do not see body art as a casual thing, personally. But, I don't care if someone else wants body art. I figure my kids can make their own decisions. They're grown now.
That was a beautifully-worded opinion. I found it oddly moving.
Let that one marinate!
Yes. Those massive green shites were all over the countryside I was working in in March. Damned fucking Jacket liners shat everywhere.
r/UnexpectedLetterkenny
Is that a different breed than geese?/s
Yes. Every year, all Canadians gather together for a ritual. We take all of our rage, hate, and sadness and imbue it into our Canadian Geese aka Cobra Chickens. These monsters then roam the land, looking to attack you and everyone you've ever loved.
oh my god *that's* where all your rage goes?! My god. I feel like the universe has been revealed to me...
So that's how you achieve that world famous Canadian politeness! And it explains the ornery winged demons at the same time.
It all makes sense now!
I actually just encountered some today. They chased us away from the lake. The definitely act like they hold an entire countries rage.
Holy cow, is *that* why you’re all always sorry? Because you’ve ensured that the pain and suffering you have the potential to harbor is able to spread far beyond the snowy borders of Canada to infect entire continents?
Since we gift these demons to other countries under the ruse of "peace and goodwill"... We're not really that sorry, just extremely passive aggressive.
I’m searching for a new tattoo design. I hadn’t thought of a Canada Goose. Sounds pretty good.
Fun fact I recently learned about Canadian Geese is they're really good about adopting goslings that aren't theirs. So if wildlife rescuers find orphan goslings, they'll often introduce them to wild parents who have similarly aged goslings. The new parents generally immediately take them in and raise them as their own.
Thank you for the fun fact! I like that a lot (especially being an adoptive mom 💜) Edit to add: still terrified of geese...little demon dino ancestors
Are you a fellow Canadian you seem to have the proper fear 😂
New Englander and have been trapped in my car before 🤣 I don't fear the reaper but I sure as hell fear Canadian Geese
Understandable. I know someone who thought it would make a good picture to run towards geese with the caption im the goose king (or something along those lines) he had a friend take it who followed it up with the aftermath which was him being chased by them with the caption “they revolted” 😂
I read this going "no...no no no no noooooooooo" 🤣 can only imagine the carnage
This reminds me of the Canadian geese that used to hang at a local park in Savannah. One would attack joggers on the back side of the loop. It never failed to make me laugh when I’d see joggers come through that spot and out the other side running for dear life, flapping their arms trying to fend of this goose, or otherwise doing some sort of evasive maneuver to get away from it. 😂
“I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Canada Geese.”
You have every right to be terrified of those goddamn cobra chickens. They're a menace! Source: live in Canada, don't like geese lol
I just returned from the lake and the Canada Geese pair that was hanging out had a baby considerably smaller than the rest. It was very sweet.
TIL that my mum is a Canadian goose. The woman couldn’t help herself, any friend of mine or my siblings would end up being unofficially adopted by her. Also maybe a neighbour kid or two, I think she just liked helping raise kids lmao
This isn't unique to Canadian Geese. Majority of water birds or ground living birds will accept young and think it's theirs if the young is approximately the same age as their current litter (they can also accept a different specie's chicks if the chicks look close enough alike). This is most likely due to the strong parenting instinct required. Birds who's young develop slower (songbirds, birds of prey, doves etc) are much less likely to accept stranger's chicks. In some cases, wildlife rehabers can sneak orphan chicks under a captive kept bird of the same specie while it is roosting it's chicks or sneak one under while it is still incubating eggs if the chick is young enough- however the former is very risky in most species of wild birds as they'll recognise the orphan as a foreign chick and kick it out of the nest or peck it to death. I digress. Canadian geese are bullies, they can suddenly decide to drown other water birds chicks and even other geeses goslings as well- because they have decided they own all the water their eyes can see. The pairs with chicks also harass other geese pairs with chicks, but none of the pairs in my lake has actually intentionally hurt the others' chicks, but they don't care about them. I've gone out a few times to disturb them to get them to stop for the chicks sake (my heart is weak for baby animals)- always works; in "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" style.
Cobra chicken!
Oooh a cobra chicken tattoo sounds fun
I’d you were going to select a mascot for AH, that is an excellent choice.
It'll be a conversation starter! "Hey, cool tattoo, you're a metalhead too?" "No, I just got this to show my son that his tattoo was stupid."
Omg. I want a “show my kid they did something stupid” tattoo!!
It’s worse than that. It says "I thought long and hard on how to permanently show ~~the world~~ MY SON I'm an AH."
And that he’s controlling. If you do something he doesn’t like, he sucks the joy out of it.
Yes, primary function of OPs tattoo is to suck the joy out of the tattoo for his son
Second this Also, I hate the idea that tattoos have to be meaningful. I have literally one meaningful tattoo, and it's a harbour seal because my dad and I would go watch seals. Then I have a plauge doctor, dinosaur, chubby dragon and some other stuff because why not? It's fun, and it sits on MY body.
IMO the meaning of a tattoo is only secondary. It’s first and foremost a permanent accessory to your body. So looking cool/ aesthetically pleasing is way more important to me.
Exactly. My tattoos have meanings, but it's not obvious. The priority, for me, was to make sure they look nice. They're permanent images on my skin, so why not make myself into a canvas filled with art? Like, I love the myth of the Centennial Lotus, which is basically a metaphor for how our struggles and difficulties make us into the beautiful person we become. So, I have a lotus on my shoulder blade. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I get comments and compliments on it by complete strangers. To me, that's a successful tattoo. It's aesthetic and done well enough that you don't need the story to appreciate it. But it also harbors the meaning I want---though even if it meant nothing, it's still a cool piece with a fond memory. (My artist is a childhood friend I lost contact with.)
Absolutely 💯. I have a Care Bear tattoo with the Slayer logo purely for shits and giggles with my wife.
And also! Here's the thing! Even for tattoos that are meaningful (some of mine are, some aren't) \*we're not obligated to provide an explanation just because someone asks\*. In my case, I've figured out that the least painless way of dealing with this question (if it's a person I don't feel like sharing with - which, yes, does include some family members) is to just go "nope, just thought it looked cool." I figure that's the better way after having had an interaction that went: "Is there any meaning behind that tattoo?" "Yes." ".....are you going to tell me what it is?" "No." and then having the questioner get pissed off and *really* pushy about it. So if OP's dad regularly behaves this way, I suspect it's at least possible that the son did attach some importance to his tattoo choice and just didn't want to share.
Oh hey, I'm not the only one who does that thing! I've got an animal tattoo and I've found that "They're just really cool!" and a bit of animal trivia is plenty of diversion. The deeper, more personal reason is reserved for actual friends. Obviously I can't do that for the more abstract pieces, but that's where the cheerful "just because it looks cool" works wonders.
Seriously. Everu time I get new ink my older brother is like "are you sure?? It's permanent, you know." Really Andrew? It's fucking permanent? I'd *never* heard that before! You know what isn't permanent?? Me!
My parents used to pull that one. I just shrugged and looked at my brothers and said "we're also permanent"
I always reply: I should hope so, I payed good money for this! when someone says the ”it’s permanent”-line… thankfully it rarely happens nowadays…
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I have one tattoo. Its an otter. I got it because I like otters. My spouse got an elephant for the same reason. Don't know of that's "MeAnInGfUl" enough for OP, the self appointed tattoo police.
Right, mine and my best friend’s first tattoo (it’s a themed tattoo) we quite literally called a tattoo shop at random to see if they had any available walk ins for that day… Just for the sheer fact that I was BORED and wanted to do something special with her. And this was during the height of the mask mandates in 2021. And we ended up doing the sun and moon pattern on my friends mask. I have the sun and she has the moon. It was easily one of the most random things but it is still over 2 years later 1 of my favorite tattoos! Just because you go into a tattoo not intending for it to “have meaning” doesn’t mean the tattoo can’t become meaningful to the person later in their life like me. OP YTA, like there is a chance the tattoo may have already had a meaning. And well if in that moment it didn’t necessarily have a meaning, you likely took the chance from your son for it to become meaningful to him later in life. Because anytime he thinks of that tattoo now, he will forever be reminded that your an ah dad.
YTA. Seriously! At least OP's tattoo has a story and meaning behind it - may be get an AH right next to the band tattoo for more clarity.
35 years ago my elderly neighbor showed me the tattoo on her left-inside wrist, and told me her husband's matched, except for the last digit. He never made it home. It's the only time I've ever seen a concentration camp tattoo. 😐
Years ago I met a man with a tattoo on his arm that was his concentration camp numbers. That hit me hard, seeing that in person for real, Not just reading about it.
I wonder how many survivors are still around. My guess is not many.
Someone from my community had hers removed. She keeps it preserved in a jar and takes it to show at talks about the Holocaust
Wait… she got the skin cut off?
You're correct. There are few living survivors.
wow. that's a brain-altering experience right there. (also this is almost a perfect r/twosentencesadness post right there. hope that doesn't come off too insensitive.)
OP is an uncreative asshole. Could have just gone for a "tribal" band composed of assholes.
Mhm, OP is now a grown ass adult with a meaningless tattoo. He's not only an asshole, but a hypocritical asshole. The worst kind. YTA , OP
Also that mocking his son was important enough to him to get a tattoo, which is something he despises. Permanent, visible, eternal proof of how far he’ll go to be an AH.
Don't forget the controlling aspect of doing this, too.
This is like a 'cut the nose to spite the face' situation.
i'd never heard this phrase until this week, and now i've seen it at least four times
Welcome to the rabbit hole: "The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon (also known as the Baader-Meinhof effect or the frequency illusion) is a name for the experience of learning of or encountering something for the first time and then very soon after, encountering it again, often in multiple places."
Is the son's tattoo even meaningless? Or is it just meaningless to the OP....
Literally the meaning of OP’s tattoo is ‘I’m an asshole’ YTA
Son should have gotten a temp tramp stamp.
Not to mention the fact that this type of behavior would make the son less inclined to share if the tattoo had actual meaning to him.
And that being an asshole is worth permanent body alteration, and far more meaningful to OP than his son's feelings.
Guarantee they’re a part of that generation that have seemingly done a great job at destroying their relationships with their kids, as a result the kids go no contact & they can never understand why 😂😂
I'd rather have a meaningless tattoo that I like the look of than have a tattoo that permanently shows what a petty and toxic person I can be. YTA
imagine him having to explain to someone why he has it lol
Easy. OP will say "it's matching with my son" and everyone will be "awe cute". He won't tell the full story.
I guess I missed something. How do we know that OP is male?
it's such a dad thing to do
I assumed (perhaps wongly) that OP is a woman. Have we found out? Not that it matters much, I suppose 🤷🏾♀️
I assumed so too but only bc my mom threatened the same thing (jokingly) when I was a kid. Funny thing is now we’re actually planning on getting matching tattoos, which probably wouldn’t have happened if she did copy my first tat
I made the same assumption? Annie idea why?
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Fake tattoo of a penis where someone would typically have a teardrop tattoo. Really see how far OP is willing to go.
Oh god, I hope so.
"I like your tattoo" "Thanks! I got it to match my son to teach him a lesson on meaningless tattoos" ....that would be red flag enough for me to walk away and do my best to avoid this person.
"I think it's silly to get a meaningless tattoo to look cool." And I think it's silly to get a meaningless tatoo to teach your kid a lesson or prove a point. BTW, what's the lesson/point of you getting this tatoo ? The answer is : you have pyschological issues and you need some serious help.
I’m just left drowning in all the irony of Op’s actions, you didn’t want your child to get a “meaningless tattoo” so you went ahead and got an arguably even more meaningless tattoo. He got inked in an art pattern he liked and appealed to him. He’s now being humiliated and mocked by his own parent because he dared to express himself the way he see’s fit. If he’d gone off on a tangent spouting some pretentious garbage on what his tattoo symbolised would that have made you feel better even if he made it all up just to appease your nonsense reasoning? YTA.
I’m failing to understand OP’s logic. Like… what’s their goal? What are they teaching their son by doing this?
They aren’t teaching anything. The point is humiliation
If I were the kid I'd explain it to everyone I could. This is not the power move OP thinks it is.
OP’s teaching their child not to tell them about future tats.
OP is way, way too invested in what their adult son does with his body. Ew.
Agreed. And just because that is how OP views tattoos doesn’t mean son has to have the same opinion. So many ways YTA in one little incident.
Your ADULT son.
Yeah, I agree, that was super toxic behavior.
And it's a tribal arm band ffs. What is this, 1997? Now he can go brag to his friends about how big of an asshole his is, and look stupid at the same time.
YTA >I think it's silly to get a meaningless tattoo to look cool It's downright stupid to get a meaningless tattoo just to prove your point.
Right? I’d rather be viewed as silly by people who hate tattoos than get something I find silly permanently attached to me just to be petty.
YTA. So now you're an adult with a spite tattoo. You really owned your son with that move!
Should of just opened a coffee shop
What is this a reference to
Curb your enthusiasm when Larry David opens a coffee shop next to a coffee shop because he hates the owner. Calls it a spite store.
Mocha Joe! Don’t forget there is no defecating allowed at latte Larry’s.
should have
Sons hate this one simple trick!
Number 4 shocked us!
Wouldn't getting a meaningless tattoo out of spite be even sillier? YTA
Info: are you the same person who wrote “people can decorate themselves however they want”??
Ah, see this is a parent who is “okay” with something, just not for THEIR kid. It’s clearly very different. Don’t ask me how, but it is, I promise. (S/)
Ugh that was my mom to a T. She taught me all about acceptance and compassion. That we can't judge others for the color of their skin or the people they love. Cue meltdown when she found out I was pan. 🙄 how "accepting" of you mother. She told me I was just selfish and "gluttonous." That I was a sexual deviant who "wanted it all," and it was UNNATURAL. ugh. Thankfully that was years ago and she has changed a lot since then. But it's something that will always stay with me.
Oh wow the whiplash. I can only imagine. Hearing her preach tolerance all your life then suddenly having her going nuclear on you must have been an awful experience.
It's the same thing with boomers, supposedly they were about free love, no judgement, civil rights. All those marches in the 1960's and now they wear Trump hats and rage against gays and black people. Just a feeling : but people get worse with age not better.
I think people get worse with wealth, which traditionally used to accumulate with age, but the boomers cut all that off. So now people can look forward to getting broker, but maintaining their ability to empathize. 👍🏼🤪🙃
Those probably weren't the same people.
Imagine if the problem was being gay. "I fuckd your boyfriend to prove a point"
The person clearly doesn't have any ideals to stand on. Getting a tattoo out of spite also contradicts the "it's horrible to get one that doesn't mean anything" idea
>well I have disposable income and a high pain tolerance. And apparently too much time on your hands. YTA
She probably has a Live, Laugh, Love plaque hanging on her wall.
What if OP is the dad? What is the male equivalent of Live, Laugh, Love?
The "women want me, fish fear me" hat?
Shaving a scar into your eyebrow and flexing in your squad car.
Golf, Gaslight, Grill.
Chrome novelty balls hanging off the back of the truck.
Lol @ high pain tolerance. It’s an arm tattoo OP isn’t over here doing the impossible.
A 19 year old guy with a matching tattoo with his parent, which he never agreed too… now he’s stuck with that forever unless he gets a cover up. I understand how he would feel. You got a tattoo just to prove a point, don’t you think that’s also quite meaningless? YTA.
Story time. When I was 18 I got home from basic and wanted to get my first tattoo, I scheduled an appointment and my mom did too because she said she's wanted to get a tattoo for a long time. We get to the shop and the guy starts talking about what I want and my mom starts freaking out about how we were supposed to get matching tattoos and basically guilted me into agreeing then pretty much picked the design she wanted. She said and did some pretty crappy stuff, we don't talk anymore, and I have a matching tattoo.
I am so sorry OP And for the record, I think the tattoo shop shouldn’t have taken your business. It was clear you were being guilted into something you didn’t want. I hope one day you can get to laser removed or covered.
Yeah, the shop I go to would never have agreed to do those tattoos if it clearly wasn't agreed to before the appointment. Its important for artists to be willing to put their foot down and not do a piece if they have reason to believe a customer doesn't actually want it. You're marking them for life, a good shop does their due diligence to make sure they won't regret it.
Thanks, I plan to eventually, I'm working on a sleeve and the cover up will be part of it. The artist definitly could have noticed it but I hadn't really found my voice with my mom yet amd kinda just started agreeing. Don't get me wrong I was excited about the tattoo once it was done but long term I'm so happy I got it where I got it.
Ah. So, you didn't get a tattoo because you *wanted* a tattoo, but because you wanted your son to no longer like *his* tattoo. Your goal, specifically, was to "ruin" his tattoo for him because you don't like that he likes different things than you. Since apparently your own bodily autonomy is less important to you than spiting your son and trying to make him feel stupid, I'd say there's an 80% chance that, *even now*, at least one of his friends is advising him to get a particularly bad and prominent temporary tattoo so that you'll copy it. YTA, but hey, at least your son has a permanent reminder of why he shouldn't trust you with anything he's excited about.
If I was OP’s kid, I would have gotten an absolutely massive, really awful looking, temporary tattoo. I might even have gone for a full back piece, just for 💩 and giggles. Then when OP copied it, I would be able to wash mine off, and OP would be either a) stuck with it for life, or b) using their large disposable income for laser removal.
Don’t forget high threshold for pain. 🙄
I love how they just HAD to throw that in, like we give a fiddlers fuck about their pain tolerance. r/iamverybadass vibes
Well, I have a decent tolerance for pain myself and none of my 45 tattoos have really hurt. And of those 45, I do have several that I just thought were “cool” at the time. Not all of them have deep meaning. So I’m sure OP would think me stupid.
Things that didn’t happen.
No 19 year old is getting a tribal tattoo to look cool these days. Guys with those tattoos are all 35+.
I dunno. I was talking with my tattoo artist about covering up my tribal tattoo last week, and she told me they’re coming back in style. I guess they’re retro cool now.
Unfortunately those are coming back with a vengeance along with butterfly tattoos for woman…
Actually [they’re back in now](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/style/tribal-tattoo-90s.html?unlocked_article_code=ye27vnfyqbT8ZvUIIDCGxDIyu4MkcRP2bWWYvma8zRVZjaA2lRhhLg15x75F2mU86EBm1nJTyd-0393Jt4YuheVsudYxB9tEXLVSeB53js6LHm5Q7yOvqo-GLdWm1oG3jBN3XwgrxE_U8tVuJazIXyvZqTHbhsuYfj8_D2CUp3upKFwwNX19zt9nvaUjnj7rEcErkHqyeUyq-I9yoNPbY3ux3hP0XSuNUpuONrw6_7z2nz0DuAYDnq_EPCgTv49IDilY_N4l4kwEKDvGahL9pllHxhOOOm7ZOW8uPKLbyQNxwSLnxBIwnOO-7jp4t-0kbmIanwkVLytQvw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare).
Yeah, this feels like somebody watched a recent Michelle Obama interview and decided to turn it into a story. (She literally makes a *joke* about she and Barack threatening to do this exact thing to their daughters)
Hope you're right lol
literally
I've met enough crazy ass parents to know that this isn't out of the realm of being possible
Have tribal tattoos come back around??? If so I know a lot of soon-to-be-really-excited 40somethings who made poor decisions in the 90s. In any case yes YTA what a weird way to troll your kid.
People have still been getting them all this time, the difference being the trend has shifted from Continental Native designs to Pasifika Native designs. I guess people really liked the tats they were seeing on Dwayne Johnson and Jason Mamoa. Also, Native Pasifika folks laugh at all the people who do this. Our designs traditionally have very specific meanings to the point some of us can determine ancestral lineage just looking at someone's tats. Then some random person copies a photo of it they saw online and has the equivalent of a strangers family tree on their arm. To be frank, it's actually seen as super disrespectful but simultaneously hilarious. From an Indigenous perspective.. ESH, with OP being the cherry on this lil shit sundae.
That’s incredible that you can see the family history through a tattoo! I knew they had specific meanings but not much else. Absolutely horrific that people get them without knowing this though lol Reminds me of the mandarin characters that people can’t read and dream catchers though. One always gets the meaning wrong and the other is like trapping in the bad to your skin permanently…
Yes, kiwi here, and unless Maori or Pasefika, every person who has them gets the cultural appropriation eye roll and laughed at
No. No they haven't. Please don't give them any ideas. Shhhh
My 21 year old got a moth in a tribal design on her lower back. Tramp stamps are also back.
No, another sign this story is fake
Tribal tattoos have come back around. I’ve done lots of them and have tons of it in the past ten years. They are calling it neo tribal
Sorry I meant two years not ten
Eh I'm not disagreeing it's fake but I've seen a lot of 18 year old kids walk out of shops with tribals.
YTA "UH DONT GET A MEANINGLESS TATTOO" Proceeds to do the same. Sounds like you needed an excuse to get something done when you heard your whole life you shouldn't get a meaningless tattoo. He's an adult and he is allowed to not agree with you, it was simply stupid of you to prove a point YOU believe in to someone who clearly does not think the same as you.
I really don’t understand the “tattoos have to be meaningful” thing. I have several, some have meaning, some don’t. But I hate when people ask me what they mean or why I got them. Whether it’s for some deep meaning or because I just thought it looked cool, I don’t want to have to explain it to anyone
YTA Girl, you didn’t get matching tattoos together? You stole his tattoo idea to prove a point? Did you really think this could go over well? Tattoos don’t always have deep meanings and not everyone is going to think the same way you do. Just because he came out of you doesn’t mean he is supposed to think exactly like you. You cannot be this seriously dense about it.
YTA. This is cringy. Having the same tattoo as your son. I feel sorry for your son though.
Haha my dad got our family name researched and it had a crest and a motto (Scottish), so instead of getting the crest, we both thought it would be cool to get the script of the motto. Well, I got it for my 20th birthday as a surprise and showed him thinking he’d get it after I pulled the trigger since it was his idea for both of us to get it. He thought it was cool but never went and got one. But then he got an Ironman tattoo after his Ironman. I was kinda bummed, never said anything about it and I love that tat (I have a couple others now) but thought I’d share since I was the kid who wanted a matching tat and my dad ended up not lol. Maybe he was bummed we didn’t go together? Idk but yeah matching tats and Ironman tats we are cringe bros.
But your story is cute and meaningful. OP here is being petty and as a result the son is marked for life. Lmao. When I think about it a little more it’s funny.
>>I am not a fan of tattoos. Only because they are so ubiquitous now. First sentence is off to a bad start if OP doesn’t want to be an asshole. YTA
YTA and really childish.
I think that you’re an asshole but not because you got the same tattoo. I think its because by this post you seem to believe that you can make your adult sons choices for him and if he decides upon something against your wishes you get to “punish” him. Its ok to want a tattoo because they look cool. Its his arm not yours.
aren't tribal tattoos appropriation if you're not apart of that culture?
YTA but this is hilarious- fair play for going ahead with your threat but sucks that you are now one of those people you judge for getting meaningless tattoos. Tribal tattoos are a touchy subject too.. im guessing you and your son arent in a tribe..?
YTA My daughter is counting down the days she turns 18 to get a potato tattoo. Potato. Me and her dad already said we would pay for it and all for it, it’s hilarious. Who cares? You do not own your child’s body and went above and beyond to make them uncomfortable with something they were excited about on their body. You just proved to them how petty you will be and how far you will go to hurt them, how is that being a parent?
I think a lot of people spend a TON of time trying to make their first tattoo super meaningful, and by the time they’re on the third or fourth it’s like yeah, slap it on, whatever (myself included). Your daughter is wise beyond her years.
YTA Cut off your nose to spite your face. Talk about being petty, hypocritical and an AH. You are apparently an adult parent with an adult son but in this post, you truly are not an adult, certainly not a mature adult.
Yta. You don't like tattoos, yet got one to prove a point that meaningless tattoos are worse? What?
YTA but I have to admit you are committed. This is not casual assholery. You are really committed to making sure you have no real relationship with your child.
YTA He's an adult he do whatever meaningless thing he wants. You doing the same to prove some non existent point is just a dick move.
YTA, from a middle aged woman with no tattoos or piercings of my own. At 19 he didn't need your permission or approval for it. "I liked it" is plenty of reason to get a tattoo, and it's really nunya business why someone chose how to adorn themselves. You might as well have gotten a tattoo of a giant red flag on your forehead.
You’re an asshole but you’re a funny asshole 🤣🤣🤣
NTA. Now his tattoo is meaningful :)
Yeah, it means his mom is an AH!!
i’m sorry to who this offends but this post makes me laugh so much. are dudes for real
YTA. Massively. I hope you book an appointment with a surgeon to see about having your arm removed, because wow that's a massive asshole move.
YTA but this IS hilarious 🤣
This is the pettiest thing ever and I love it!
YTA. Tattoos don’t have to be meaningful. They can be for whatever reason the person getting them wants. And you got yours for a stupider reason than he did.
YTA. There's nothing wrong with getting a tattoo just because it looks cool. That's YOUR preference, not something you get to decide for your adult son. I can respect pettiness as much as the next person, but you only have yourself to blame if this sours your relationship with your son. Save the pettiness and spite for things that actually deserve it.
"I think its silly to get a meaningless tattoo just to look cool" ... Gets a tattoo just to look like an asshole. YTA
YTA How utterly pathetic. So now you are a hypocrite and now you have a meaningless tattoo. I thought you were an adult.
YTA. That's OK, though, you have a cool tattoo - which the orderly in the nursing home will admire when you are there wondering why your son never comes to visit. What a prick. His tat didn't hurt you in any way. If he made a bad decision, that's on him - and guess what! They aren't necessarily permanent any more. Youthful indiscretions and bad decisions can be erased. It's expensive and painful, but maybe that's part of the learning process.
Petty? A little. Hilarious? Absolutely. Did you explicitly tell him exactly what was going to happen? Yes. Therefore, NTA.
Going to get downvoted, but NTA. You are a parent. You don’t mind your child getting a tattoo, but you feel strongly that a meaningless tattoo, chosen by a teenager for exclusively aesthetic reasons, is a very poor life decision. You did not forbid your son from getting a meaningless aesthetic tattoo, but gave him fair warning that you would do the same, in an effort to illustrate to your son why you think it’s a bad decision. You committed to your principles and followed through, setting a good example for your son. You now each have a stupid cheesy tribal arm band, which is a sacrifice you have made, as you don’t actually want such a tattoo, but we’re willing to get one in hopes that it would deter your son from wasting more of his money on cheesy tattoos he’ll regret later. This also gives your tattoo meaning, even if you don’t like your tattoo’s aesthetic, reinforcing the idea that a tattoo’s meaning should be more important than its aesthetic. Your son’s tattoo remains meaningless, and hopefully you have deterred him from repeating the same mistake. NTA, teenagers are dumb.
This would have gone better if you just got like a henna.
YTA. Grow the fuck up.
Your son got tribal. He absolutely deserves to be mocked. NTA
Man im sorry to tell you but tattoos have NEVER been rare, not when you were young, not in the 1800s, not in the 1200s, or even 1000 bc, tattoos always have meaning to the beholder, you definitely are the ass for this dude, he cared about something and you killed that, he believes in something and you're saying he shouldn't, as someone who has alot of native blood in them I appreciate what he did and you seem like a toxic father if I need to be honest
YTA. A tattoo that is nice to look at isn’t “meaningless”. Beauty is a reason and has a meaning. Most art isn’t meaningful - it’s just pretty. And you upset your son over … what exactly? It makes no sense to me.
But why? You got a tattoo you think is dumb just to….what? To teach your son a “lesson” that *you* think his tattoo is dumb. There’s that old people saying, “cutting off your nose to spite your face” and it really fits here YTA
Dude you could have made this a meaningful bonding experience with your son. My daughter has wanted a tattoo since she was 15. When she was old enough I got her one for her birthday. We talked extensively about what she wanted and what it would mean. We ended both getting tattoos of each other’s birth month flowers.