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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
-First Amendment, United States Constitution
Getting inked: Confronting errors in judgment
By Dana Edwards
Staff Writer
dejaententu@aol.com
Part 3 of 3
Getting a tattoo is
a significant personal
decision; it is an undying
symbol of your choice, an
image to wear for the rest
of your life. However, if
the symbol chosen to bear
is Winnie the Pooh on
your neck; it may be time
to think about the future.
Tattoos, as integrated
as they are into our society,
are still unconventional
in the workplace. Some
restaurants and other
service industries require
employees to cover
tattoos with additional
clothing, band-aids, or
makeup.
As trendy as tattoos
are to get, anew trend is
also emerging; removal.
Most people are forced
to hide their tattoos,
however, for the truly
regretful; there are new
options for tattoo removal.
Social and political descrimination by any other name
By Jacob Lovell
Staff Writer
jlovell 1 @my.westga .edu
I am thinking of an
offensive word,a name that
you might call someone
who has a different kind
of lifestyle from you. The
kind of people who are
called this name have been
harassed and shunned in
society, as a whole, for a
while now. They are often
treated very differently
than other people who
aren’t this way. The word
is three letters long and
begins with ‘fa-’.
Do you know what the
word is? If you guessed
the word, ‘fat’, you are
correct.
Asa fat guy, I often
find humor in the rallying
cries of various groups
that claim to work toward
equality. I see silly folks
walking around campus,
carrying signs with curse
words on them and wearing
tape over their mouths for
some reason.
I see people at the
homecoming parade,
carrying around flags for
their cause and talking
about their sexual practices
in public (thanks for
Disclaimer
The opinions in this section do
not reflect the views of the
University of West Georgia, the
staff of the West Georgian, or the
Mass Communications program.
The newest technology is
laser tattoo removal.
The procedure
is simple. A highly
concentrated beam of light
passes through tattooed
skin, which is absorbed
into the pigments. The
light is converted to heat,
breaking up the pigments
into little particles, which
are eventually carried
away by the body’s
lymphatic system. The
process leaves a lesion on
the outer surface of the
skin, however, the cells
usually shed after two
weeks.
It may sound
wonderful, but there
are shortcomings. Only
certain colors are able
to absorb the laser
quickly: blue, black and
red. Purple, light green,
orange, and baby blue are
not as easily treated, and
can require multiple visits
to get the desired effect.
The treatments for a
normal tattoo are spaced
out between six to eight
weeks, which means up
to five visits lasting up
sharing!). I suppose it’s
because folks like that have
been discriminated against
in some way. Legally , they
can not get married to each
other, and socially, they
are not accepted with open
arms by every last person
on Earth.
It is difficult to take
exclusionary groups on
campus seriously as they
demand school money,
facilities use, and constant
attention for their pet social
classes. 1 say this because
their causes are, generally,
already won: Here at this
school. President Sethna
issues a letter, every year,
talking about how UWG
does not discriminate.
Inside of the front
cover of the UWG
Undergraduate Catalog -
well before there is any talk
of degrees .classes, or other
subjects that directly relate
to an institute of higher
learning - there is a policy
compliance disclaimer that
states that UWG “does not
discriminate on the basis
of race, color, national
origin, creed, religion, sex,
age, disability.” In article
V, Section 2, of the UWG
Policies and Procedures,
that list is expanded
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Photo eourtew ofww w google com
Laser removal for tattoos may be painful, but for
someone who may simply regret a drunken mis
take, it’s a blessing.
to 30 minutes each. The
pain is considered to be
low, and is described
as feeling like a rubber
band snapping against the
to include “sexual
orientation” and even
“veteran status”. I notice
that weight and body type
are not included.
Aside from the fact
that these groups are
beating a dead horse, I also
find it entertaining that
there is no “fat guy support
group” on campus. This
is an issue with society
as a whole, however.
Politically correct culture
refuses to debate the origin
of sexual orientation
- you’re probably born
with it, but you should be
accepted regardless. The
same cannot be said of fat
guys.
It is acceptable to
discriminate against fat
guys, you see. We fatties
are a lazy folk, and we
could easily change if we
wanted to, so say those
that wish to justify their
apathetic or insulting
attitude toward us. We're
disgusting and immoral
because we are a tax on the
health system (what with
our unhealthy lifestyle
that will cost you money
someday, somehow) and
so forth. It’s OK to be gay,
but it’s not OK to be fat.
Were there to be an
Opinion
skin. There are small side
affects that may occur,
such as swelling.
Earlier methods of
tattoo removal consisted
overweight support group
(which 1 am not in favor
of), it would undoubtedly
be for the purpose of
changing fat guys.
Whereas Lambda doesn't
exist to change people from
being GLBTBBQLOL,
groups like Weight
Watchers or Jenny Craig
are specifically designed
to change me from being
the ugly person I am into
someone more acceptable
to society .
It is for these kinds
of reasons that it is my
contention that society
is against fat people
more than any other
group. Further, such
embedded discrimination
is impossible to avoid
because being fat is not
something you can hide. 1
cannot jump into a closet
to keep people from
discriminating against me.
If I decide not to tell
people that I’m fat at a job
interview, it won’t matter
because they already
knew before I said a word,
and have already drawn
conclusions about how
I'm lazy and will cost them
more on their insurance
plan. Even if there is
pretty good evidence that I
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Only $5
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of dermabrasion, which
is essentially sanding
the tattoo off, or skin
grafts. Skin grafts require
a section of skin to be
removed from another
part of the body and
surgically adhered to the
tattoo site.
Laser removal
procedures can cost
anywhere from several
hundred to several
thousands of dollars,
a price which some
Americans are willing to
pay.
Chris Edwards, a
fourth-year student at
UWG, is not one of
them.
"It costs lots of
money, it's supposed
to be twice as painful,
it requires tons visits,”
Edwards said. “And I
don’t deal well with
pain.”
“1 got the first tattoo
(the words C’arpe Diem
around the ankle) because
it had a cool meaning
behind it. Years later. I got
the second one because
I wanted a tattoo that I
9ft.
Photo courtesy ofwwwsnl.com
Chris Farley, of SNL fame, and Patrick Swayze,
of Dirty Dancing fame, dance off for a spot as a
Chippendale’s dancer in the infamous SNL skit.
Farely was synonymous with comedy that usu
ally brought his weight into the spotlight.
am not hired because I am
not thin, it won’t matter
to the law, which would
prosecute against race,
disability, and other kinds
of discrimination, but not
for that.
The social
consequences of being
fat are worse than this.
I would think that few
homosexuals can say that
they have been unable
It
actually liked,” Edwards
said.
Edwards has one
tattoo that he likes;
the other he has since
regretted. However, with
careful planning on his
part, he said that both
tattoos can easily be
covered up because of
their locations.
Whatever the reason,
most people with tattoos
they dislike are stuck
with two options; pay
hundreds of dollars to
remove it, or cover it up.
No matter where they are
employed, where they
live, or where life takes
them, the tattoo, or lack
thereof, will follow.
“It’s part of my life
I can’t change, and I
want to remember who I
was, and who I am now,”
Edwards said. “I don’t
want to get my tattoos
removed, because when
I'm 80, I will be so old
I will forget 1 even have
one.”
So remember tattoo
enthusiasts: getting inked
lasts forever. Kind of.
to enter into a sexually
active relationship
simply because they are
homosexual. Further, I
doubt any homosexuals
have ever been dumped by
a significant other because
of their homosexuality.
That would be absurd. I
also doubt most blacks
have racist feelings toward
See Fat page 4