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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 'inßeSrart ; *• if Jr***® r * 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 Welcome UWG to “Moe Monday” (Thru Thursday) Burrito, Chips & Drink Only $5 With Student ID 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