Episode: 3121
Title: HPR3121: Opposing Views on Tattoos
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr3121/hpr3121.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-24 17:16:19

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This is Hacker Public Radio Episode 3,121 for Monday 20 July 2020. Today's show is entitled
Opposing Views on Toos. It is hosted by Windigo and is about 31 minutes long
and carries an explicit flag. The summary is
Windigo and Mrs. Hunter Hume discuss their views on Toos.
This episode of HPR is brought to you by An Honesthost.com. Get 15% discount on all shared hosting
with the offer code HPR15. That's HPR15. Better web hosting that's honest and fair at An Honesthost.com.
Music
Hello. This is Windigo.
And Mrs. Hunter Hume.
And we are going to talk a little bit about Toos this evening or whatever time it is wherever you are.
So first a little bit of exposition. Mrs. Hunter Hume is my Mrs.
So we've been together for 15 years.
It will be 16 in November.
Which is ridiculous.
Correct.
But it gives us a lot to talk about like the subject of Toos for instance because we are very similar in many ways.
And we are absolute polar opposites in many ways.
And Toos is one of the opposing issues for sure.
So you can start with your position on tattoos if you'd like.
Yeah.
My position on tattoos is that they are a form of art.
A little background. I'm an art teacher and an artist.
And I believe that they're an outward expression of your creativity.
They're permanent art that you can walk around and put on display for others or if they're under your clothes, then they are private for you.
And they're there forever.
And I'm not fond of them. I don't like them.
I don't care if other people have them, but it's not for me. They're just not my favorite.
I don't like the idea of the permanence. I don't like the idea of injecting things into my body.
I don't know. It's just not my jam for sure.
Is it because you think the ink is foreign?
The ink is foreign, but that's I don't think that's 100% it.
I think part of it is that it you can't really have a tattoo without saying something.
Like if it's under your clothing, I suppose it's private to you, but still there's it's a permanent message that you will always see.
And I personally, I'm not I don't think I have a strong enough like self identity to permanently make that decision because like this, you know,
I've made lots of changes in my life.
And I've if I look back on myself five years or 10 years ago, I'm in an extremely different place.
I mean, an extremely different person. You have a daughter surprised there.
That was not something I saw coming.
So I feel like, you know, if I got a tattoo when I was 20, it would be a barcode or binary or
something like a HTML joke.
I think binary you've been very cool.
Because that's universal.
What do you mean it's universal?
Like anyone who sees the binary on your skin, you have an immediate connection to you and under it and understanding.
Plus it'd be meaningful to you. It's not like binary is going away.
No, that's true. It well, I don't know how quantum computing takes off.
But and that might be part of it too.
I don't want people to be able to make that jump jump.
I want to air of mystery or something like for the audience, this honey human is making a extremely skeptical face.
I get of you with an air of mystery after you've been together for so long is the little honey.
I know that.
What if it's in a place that's only for me?
You don't know who's seeing my blood.
So we should, I think we skipped over a part.
But you are enthusiastic about tattoos or like tattoos, I suppose.
What's your like elevator pitch statement on tattoos?
I would say I'm enthusiastic.
I would say wait on an idea and sit with it for a long period of time before deciding to get it permanently tattooed on your body.
If I had gotten tattooed when I was 18, I would have giant angel wings down my back.
There's anything wrong with that.
But I waited until I was 26 to get my first tattoo.
That's what I was getting at. You have tattoos. You've thought them out.
And they're, you should describe your tattoo so that we know what we're talking about.
So my first tattoo, like I said, I'm not 26, I got it.
I have reverse pigmentation, so white spots on my skin.
And I got a tattooed on one of the white spots.
And it's in the shape of a snowflake six sided snowflake.
This is on your shoulder.
Yes, on my shoulder.
On one of those white spots.
I had a necklace that I used to wear all the time that had the snowflake on it.
I wore it as a symbol of just being unique and one of a kind.
But also we're from a very snowy cold area.
So kind of represented home as well.
So I put that on my shoulder in that spot is also kind of a remembrance to embrace the parts of you that are unique and make you an individual.
And not to be hiding or ashamed of them, just kind of honor that.
It also kind of represents home to me as well.
Then when I was 28, I got equal lateral triangles on both of my wrists.
They are three fingers down from the direct wrist at the pressure point for motion sickness.
And the equal lateral triangles change meaning depending on the direction you see them.
So upright they represent power and male and mountains and fire and all those very strong elements stability things along those lines inverted.
It means the opposite means water and female and cave and instability.
So depending on how I show you the tattoos changes the meaning of what they mean.
They also are directly the same size as the other tattoo.
So if you had put the two triangles on top of each other, kind of like a star of David, they match with the third tattoo.
That's right, because there's triangles present in the snowflake.
Correct. There are three triangles present in the snowflake.
And then I now have three tattoos.
In case you can't figure it out, three is my favorite number.
And there's an asymmetry to it as well, but also a symmetry.
I'm really into geometry and how beautiful it is and the symbolism behind it.
Cool.
So I don't know a lot about the cultural tattoo representations.
I feel like it's definitely present in most of the countries I've heard of.
They're definitely taken different ways, depending on the country.
But we've got an international audience at HPR.
We need to explain what a tattoo is.
We just jumped the shark.
We assume that everyone knew what a tattoo is.
So it is ink that is pushed into your skin just below the dermis level.
So that it's in there permanently.
It's not going to wash off or, you know, come off as your skin.
Renews.
And it's a painful process.
Kind of.
I thought it was going to be way more painful than it actually was.
So it becomes kind of a right of passage as well.
So when you see someone else with a tattoo, there's an underlying understanding of,
I know what you went through to get that.
So that's kind of interesting.
Did I miss anything?
There's different like kinds of abstract symbols.
There's pictures that you people do portraits of deceased loved ones.
Yeah.
There's lots of different cultural significance to tattoos.
They can identify your tribe.
Yeah.
And there's also different kinds of physical tattooing.
There's a stick in poke, which you have the ink separate.
And you use it like a needle.
Heated a needle and you stick and do it that way.
That's usually associated with prison tattoos.
Or done at home.
Then you have in I think a lot of Asian cultures.
They use a needle on a stick.
And then they hit it.
And it hits and goes into the skin over and over and over again.
But here in the type that I have, you have a tattoo gun.
But we are no means by experts on tattoos.
I'm sure that some of the audience is probably.
These are all just our personal experiences.
Correct.
Probably like that's not what it's called.
Sorry folks.
So yeah, it was a needle.
Attached to a machine that had electricity.
So it stabbed it over and over and over and over and over again.
There's also color inks as well.
And usually when they do color, there's multiple needles.
So they can use like almost like brush strokes.
My tattoos are just black ink line tattoos.
That's what I wanted.
That's the style that I like.
I was always kind of afraid that the color would fade.
But with just straight lines and black ink, I thought it was going to be timeless.
And there's also different types of ink.
Not only color, but you can get like glow in the dark tattoos.
You can get glow in the dark.
You can get also white because not everyone's skin tone is pale.
You know, you had a dark skin tone.
You could get a white ink tattoo.
Yeah, two of us speaking are of the pale variety.
Yes, we are.
And they even have ones now that can help people with diabetes detect when their sugar levels are low.
So that's actually a very functional tattoo.
Yeah, it's interesting because I'm not like, I don't think I'm super opposed to the pain aspect.
I don't think it'd be great, but I give blood.
I'm not afraid of needles.
That doesn't bother me in the least.
The ink bothers me a little bit.
What does a soy basting?
Can you do that?
Like, I know that you can print soy basting on paper.
You can get tattoos.
I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility.
If it was a plant basting, would you be more open to getting a tattoo?
No, I don't think so.
And that's, I can think of ways around like the reason I brought up glow in the dark tattoos
because it's completely invisible unless it's dark out.
So there's so many different ways to conceal a tattoo and make it.
Make it less obvious.
But I don't, I can't think of any combination of tattoo properties that would make me want one.
But even if you got a glow in the dark one, you'd still have almost a raised skin.
And it might be like slightly scarred looking.
Oh, I don't know that.
It wouldn't be like, it wouldn't look just as it, you could tell that there was something.
It wouldn't be decodering invisible ink style.
Not yet.
I'm not saying it's not a bow or abilities yet, but not currently.
Yeah.
No, I can't think of anything because I, whatever I think about tattoos,
I think that I would either a have a stupid idea or be want something functional.
And I can't think of anything super functional that I want tattooed on my body.
Not even wedding rings.
No, absolutely not wedding rings.
Why?
Because I like normal rings and.
You could lose a normal ring.
I can lose a normal ring.
He's laughing because he's already lost a normal ring.
That's lost like one ring in our 15 on to 16 years together.
And if you got kidnapped and they stole all your jewelry.
One thing they could identify you with is if you had a tattoo of a wedding ring.
Okay.
I don't think that kind of contingency contingency plan is something I'm going to factor into my tattoo decision.
It's if if I got kidnapped and they needed to identify me.
What if the kidnappers chopped off my finger so that I couldn't be identified?
Okay.
They can identify dental records.
Why don't you want a permanent declaration of your commitment to primary?
I think it's because I'm a jerk.
And I don't feel like I need it's.
It's like the flag from a conquering force.
It's not that you're like conquering me or anything like that.
But it's like that is the final symbol the cherry on top.
It's like we already did all the conquering.
I'm not concerned about the symbol.
We've been together for 15, 16 years.
Okay.
What if I passed away and in my will.
You're going to do something like this too.
I made it a request request.
That you got my hand print tattooed on your heart or my thumb print on the skin above my skin above your heart.
Oh, I don't know.
So that's.
I would give it continual remembrance of me and our love.
And once again, it's like.
Do you think I'm going to forget?
Yeah, you forget everything.
I don't think I'm going to forget you if you pass away.
So.
Yeah, I feel like it's the symbol isn't as important as the fact that we have the love that we share and that we're devoted to each other.
And I don't know.
I would.
I feel like that would be the most serious.
I consider getting a tattoo.
There's also a part of me that is an atheist.
Things she'll never know.
Haunt you.
Yeah, you'll get chest pains at night.
Just her.
Yeah, it's me grabbing you from beyond the groove.
It's trying to touch your hand print and you can't find it so you press harder and harder.
That's great.
I mean, you can get one around here.
Around my neck.
Yeah, even better.
So maybe my first tattoo will be a protective ward against the spirit of my lost love.
Do you think if your cultural roots had more of a connection?
Like if you were born in a Maori tribe.
Do you think you'd be more open?
Because it would connect you more to your roots, your tribe, if you want.
Probably because there's, there's got to be some like subconscious part of me that things tattoo equals like that guy's on TV or something like that.
Even though that is never held true in any of my life experience.
Like I've known bad people who've had tattoos.
The majority of people I know who have tattoos are good people.
The majority of bad people that I know that have tattoos is because they're more on not because they're a bad person.
Like they just got an impulse of tattoo and more thinking about it.
I think that's it.
Maybe you've seen so many regrets, if you will, that that's become a fear now instead of a celebration of great tattoos.
Yeah, so I think my first exposures to tattoos was my cousin Nick is a very, very colorful character.
He works at Renaissance Fair and his tattoos, he has like an evil clown on his arm and he has the words beer and porn tattooed on his knuckles.
And I love Nick, but he was never somebody to base your life around.
He was an a role model.
Well, none of your parents have tattoos.
That I know of none of my parents do either, but both my sister and I have multiple.
Yeah, and I'm kind of more old-fashioned in a lot of ways.
Your brother has tattoos.
Gaiman?
Yeah, and he didn't tell anybody, but I don't think that would like I'm not afraid of what people would think necessarily.
I don't think maybe I am.
I don't know.
I just, this is one of those areas that I don't know if we are ever going to come to a compromise on because I don't understand your resistance.
And you do not understand my acceptance.
Oh, so here's another thing.
I think this is going to be a good conversation for a long time.
Also because you want us to get these tattoos.
You want the wedding ring tattoos because you just a single line around the ring finger.
Yeah, which I will concede is not a crazy request.
It can even be underneath your ring.
And then if you ever lose your ring or misplace it, it's still there.
It's also still there as a reminder.
Yeah, so another another thing is I think it's a very personal decision for me.
And I feel like it's something I should be 100% opt in for.
Like I shouldn't want to get it.
I shouldn't get it because you would want me to have one if that makes any sense.
Yeah, like if I'm going to get a tattoo, it's my body.
It should be for it should be my decision and.
You shouldn't do it for me.
I guess, yeah, yeah.
And you should be my own impetus.
My tattoos are not for anyone else but me for sure.
It's funny because I'm a teacher and the ones on my wrist are very visible.
And it ends up having starting conversations with my students.
Yeah, because I'm an art teacher, it's not really a surprise.
Yeah.
Also, it's a Neapolateral Triangle, which is like the art science math side of me.
But when I first got them done, there was a kid who told me I was in the Illuminati.
And that I was going to help because I had tattoos.
And that was a fourth grade kid that said that to me.
Yeah.
So while it is a very personal thing for me, these are my tattoos.
And that's there for me.
There is other people seeing them.
Yeah.
How did a fourth grader know what the Illuminati was?
I don't know.
It was like that.
2010s.
He's got a questionable set of influences going on.
It actually has become kind of a running joke in the school where I was currently teaching,
where students asked me what they meant.
I told them if on the day their homework was due every single person turned in their homework on time.
Their homeworks were sketchbook assignments.
Then I would tell the class, that class, what the meaning of my tattoos.
And for three years that I was teaching there, middle school, it never happened.
So kids would come up to me and be like, you got to tell me, you know, what they're running the tattoos about.
And I said, when your class does all the homework on the day that it's due, I will tell you a class.
And it still has not happened.
It keeps screwing us up.
They're not doing his homework.
It became, I didn't mean for it to become a thing.
I just thought it would be a funny way to like connect with my students and then it ended up being several years of not being known.
I still have former students who I socialize with who don't know.
And they can look it up themselves because it makes them do research into, you know, sacred geometry and things like that.
And then they come back and they're like, doesn't mean this.
Doesn't mean that.
And I'm like, I don't know.
Does it?
So, you know, another teachable moment.
But it does become a conversation, you know.
And I always tell my students, you need to wait.
Do not get the tattoo right now.
I don't care if you're 18.
You need to sit with this idea for several years.
You're going to shift.
You're going to change.
Your body's going to change.
Yeah.
So, don't ever get in a place where things are going to stretch.
You know, I love my sister.
But some of her tattoo decisions have been questionable in my eyes.
Yeah.
So, another aspect of tattoo is that some people take them very seriously.
And some people have absolutely no value place.
Well, I'm sure they have value on them.
But it's not a serious affair.
Like, I have my brother, Jayman's friend Dustin.
He has several tattoos.
He has a tattoo of the Tiananmen square scene,
a man standing from the tanks.
He also has a bunch of dragon balls and characters,
which is that kid in a nutshell.
He's got very good values.
It does not take things very seriously.
And his logic behind the tattoos.
I guess he just have some.
A lot of thought put into them.
But his logic is when he's.
Old and decrepit and, you know, stuck in a place he doesn't want to be.
He can look down.
And his stupid dragon balls.
He tattoos will make him laugh.
I think they're very personal.
What people get them for a lot of them for remembrance.
I think people get it to honor.
I mean, that's why you see the stereotypical heart with mom.
Yeah.
I think.
If.
And possibly when I get another tattoo,
it would probably be a piece of our daughter's art.
Yeah.
There's something about the innocence of children's scribbles.
And to have that as a capture that moment for her and have that permanently in my body.
I think it would be.
Beautiful.
Plus it would make her feel cool.
Like I did that.
Hopefully something that maybe not when she's in middle school.
That's safe.
Let's let's not even go there.
Middle school.
I'm not ready for me either.
She's only two.
Yeah.
No, every time I think about what tattoo I would get, it's.
It's a stupid tattoo.
Or it's a tattoo that has no purpose.
So I don't think I would get it in the first place.
Just I can't think of anything.
The only real idea I've ever heard is your wedding ring tattoo idea.
And there's something that makes me very hesitant.
That's obviously not like my commitment to you.
Because we've got a daughter and we've been together 16 years.
And I'm not going to be like.
Well, we get 17 and getting cold feet.
So I don't.
I'm going to, you know, put on the record here.
You don't have to worry about that.
Okay.
Just something about the tattoos rubs me the wrong way.
I don't.
I don't understand.
And I don't think I can.
And I don't think I will.
And I have to be okay with that.
Yeah.
No, I don't think I understand.
It's just kind of a good feeling.
Something that's like, yeah.
It just makes me hesitant about it.
It's like in.
You know, you've been with me long enough to know that I'm just weird about things sometimes.
Yes, you are.
You get these ideas.
And you hold onto them so tight that nothing is going to sway you.
And it's not like big ideas.
They're like.
Airport security.
Okay.
So I'm going to get the public support on the HPR for this one.
What do you mean by airport security?
That might be another episode.
Oh, there's a man named Ken Fallon who's very happy with you right now.
Okay.
So I think I can't think of anything else that I that would be interesting to say about tattoos.
Is there anything you want it to like end on?
Conclusion or.
I think they're beautiful.
I think they're personal.
And I'm proud of mine.
Yeah.
And I agree with every single one of those statements.
I can see them.
I just.
Just not for me.
Do you think I would be less me if I didn't have them?
Like if you met me and I didn't have these tattoos.
Would you like me less or love me less?
No.
No.
No.
No.
And I.
The more I think about it, I don't think you would be less you.
Unless you got them removed.
Because now that now that you've got them, they're a part of you.
Yeah.
And they're permanent.
And it would be almost weird.
Without them.
Even though they're not like they're very small.
They're only like a quarter size.
Yeah, centimeter.
The wrist tattoos and.
Maybe an entry career.
They're the same size.
Oh, yeah.
I had him trace this one to make these.
So that they would match up.
They're all the same.
Cool.
So yeah.
And they're.
They're very tiny.
I don't know.
We've been together for a long time and you've got these very early on in our relationship.
Yeah.
You've met when I was 21.
22.
22.
Wait.
No.
Was it 21?
Because.
Yeah.
It was.
21 because.
You're.
We met right before my birthday.
Like.
And you'll weaker too.
Yeah, not even.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But this is neither here nor there.
So.
Imagine if I had been 18 and made my tattoo decision.
And then you met me at 21.
Ooh.
Right.
Well, what would you.
They would have been full angel wings on my back.
Just these.
Oh, really?
Wings down my back.
Yeah.
I thought it was going to be the coolest thing.
I've always wanted to fly.
And I thought that would be as close as I can kind of get.
Now I'm glad I didn't.
Yeah.
I had no idea how I would have reacted to that.
Would you think you would have been less attracted to me?
I don't know.
It would have been something that put me off initially.
But you kind of have a way of like changing my perspective on things.
So it might be maybe.
Maybe I would have changed my perspective on tattoos as a whole knows.
And when I got my tattoos and we were together, I didn't ask your permission.
Oh, of course not.
Well, I'm just clarifying.
Not everyone knows us that.
Yeah.
I would.
We were already in a relationship when I got my tattoos.
And I knew that you didn't love them tattoos in general.
Yeah.
But that wasn't going to change whether or not.
Not in my because like I said, they're mine.
No, I don't think our relationship would work if you were like,
I'm not going to get these because he doesn't like them.
That's not me.
No, I don't play that way.
No, we have very strong personalities and we're pretty equal in things so that like.
I want to think we're balanced.
Yeah.
No.
That's why we're having this discussion.
Correct.
Because if it was any like if there was an imbalance, you wouldn't have tattoos or I would be getting one.
Correct.
So this is just one of many places where we have this.
That's why I think we balanced each other in length now.
Mm hmm.
You know, I think it's good.
I agree.
It's good for HPR.
We're getting some interesting podcast material.
I hope.
We'll see.
I hope you guys find this interesting.
Yeah.
Feel free.
Here's my shill moment.
Feel free to record a response.
If you find tattoos, detestable or fantastic or completely middle of the road.
Or what?
It's a repulsive.
Repulsive.
Yeah.
Attractive.
Mm hmm.
That is.
Just throw that out there.
Yeah.
Striking our safer work rating out right off the.
Oh, sorry.
No, it's okay.
It's just a flag we can set.
All right.
So I think we're going to wrap this up.
This has been Windigo and.
This is honey him.
And we'll catch you later.
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