ISLAND VOICES, CREIGHTON W. GOLDSMITH
Tattoos' stigma lost on children

When tattoos were primarily the domain of bikers, prison inmates and yakuza, nobody seemed too concerned. They made it a little easier to pick out society's "thems." But look around Hawai'i today and you'll be astonished at how many kids are foolishly branding their backs, arms, legs and necks.

After all, kids see that tattoos are acceptable to their heroes — movie stars, sports figures, etc. But has there been no public outcry about the lasting stigma attached to tattoos in the mainstream media?

I'm told that today's young people use tattoos and body piercing the way my generation used long hair as its trademark. O.K., but at least we weren't permanently stuck with displaying an adolescent notion of what's "cool."

I worked with two fine men who grew up in the Depression era and fought in World War II. Both had tattoos on their arms that brought such shame that they frequently wore long-sleeve shirts even on the hottest days of summer. They literally took that shame to their graves.

I have a problem when children can get a tattoo without parental approval. Should we let the children decide?

I would expect our legislators to pass laws banning parlors from tattooing kids. I would also expect our criminal justice system to enforce those laws. I would expect our Department of Education to teach the dangers of tattoos and cost of removal.

Removal is costly and doesn't work all that well. It may remove some pigment but it generally leaves scarring. Google reports 32,100 Web sites for the search "tattoo removal."

It's time for parents to get angry. The Wall Street Journal reported about a Phoenix mother who discovered a tattoo on her 15-year-old daughter. She called the police and her state legislator. She got legislation passed making it illegal to tattoo a minor without a parent present.

We need a chapter of Mothers Against Tattoos on Kids in Hawai'i. The first question I'd like asked would be to Gov. Cayetano: "Why did you veto a bill that would have allowed the health director to revoke, suspend or deny the license renewal of any person licensed as a tattoo artist for misconduct or other violations?"

It's past time to take the needle off our kids' bodies and give it to the body politic.