Too much ugly ink

SUMMER IS HERE, and, naturally, tattoos are in evidence almost everywhere.

Do you tattoo? If so, why?

Trying to make a statement? Part of an emotional commitment? Remembering someone who passed away? Or did you just decide to get tattooed on a whim or a dare?

Whatever the reason, I don't get it. Still, it's obvious to me that others are into the tattoo craze and the movement seems to be growing, especially among young people.

A recent Northwestern University survey indicated that 36 percent of Americans 18 to 29 and 24 percent of those 18 to 50 have tattoos. Maybe these people are inspired by entertainers and sports stars who seem to be getting tattooed with increasing frequency. Think Angelina Jolie, Allen Iverson, David Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp, to name but a few.

And tattoos seem more elaborate and more personalized than ever. The days of walking into a tattoo shop and picking a heart or star or anchor design off the wall are long gone.

Now, tattoos are customized and include Asian-inspired art and phrases etched across body parts in simple scripts. Lindsay Lohan reportedly sports a white-ink tattoo with a "breathe" script on her wrist.

Tattoos of custom portraits or renderings of a personal object or symbol are also much in evidence. And with celebrities like Lohan and Jolie taking the lead, women seem to be getting tattooed at an accelerating rate.

I don't like it. And others are reacting the same way.

Some companies have now had to adopt policies that either prohibit or place restrictions on visible tattoos, body piercings and other body art. Even the Marine Corps has banned extra-large tattoos below the elbow or the knee lest these spoil the Corps' spit-and-polish image.

Who'd have thought it would come to this? It seems that some people have forgotten that less is more. But even some of the tattooed are having second thoughts. In one survey, about half of those who have tattoos say they now regret getting them.

Let's face it, tattoos don't age well, and the sentiments they express often turn out to be the product of a temporary bout of insanity - or passion. And speaking of sentiments, the Bible long ago weighed in on body adornment proclaiming: "You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead or incise any marks on yourself."

The idea is that your body is the temple of your soul, an instrument on loan from God to contain your essence and you should not deface it. Makes sense to me.

Yet many people don't seem to get the message. Which makes me want to ask: Why bother with a tattoo when there are kinder, gentler ways to make a statement, demonstrate your love, show your affiliation or remember a loved one? Besides, some of us would rather not see your tattoos anyway. There are enough in-your-face sentiments being expressed everywhere we turn. We don't need any more.

So here's my summer plea: Do the world a favor. Think long and hard before you get a tattoo.

And if you already have one, cover it up or consider having it removed. *

Daniel A. Cirucci is a local public relations consultant.