Tattoos

[alan2703]

Jeff taken in that context of perception you are correct but  is that not something we all deal with or are guilty of ourselves some of the ones I have had directed about the things I do, all volunteer firefighters are drunks (we are not),all people that ride those big Harleys are criminals( we are not),all hunters are just killers and have no right to own a firearm, there are others. I guess we all should be judge by our ability . Sorry for the rambling just finished with a wonderful diversity training class few nights back at my volunteer fire department,(

[LMSANS]

 

 

I don't see why tattoos are seen as a bad thing in any profession. Seriously. Like, as I'm sure every one of you guys who actually have them can tell anybody, it takes a lot of work to keep them cared for right after you get them-same with piercings. If some dude can take care of a permanent picture that was literally forced into his skin using a needle, I'm pretty sure he can take care of a ball game.

Piercings, self mutilation, tattoos, it doesn't matter to me. I would be much more comfortable calling a game with a totally tatted up guy who passed his rulings test than a guy who was ink-free and didn't. Maybe that's just me being a GenZ but it's the truth.

It's not about the capability of a person, it's how they come across to others, ...perception, etc.

(And PLEASE, do NOT say anything to me about "slamming" people w/ tattoos, I'm not. I don't feel this way, but I believe others do.

I'm simply saying that I believe if there's an issue with umpires or anyone else w/ tattoos, the perception issue comes up. Look at it like this .... much like perception would be viewed if someone showed up with an untucked shirt, dirty shoes, and wrinkled clothes. This would make people think that means he/she is a bad umpire.

However, not as much anymore as 'ink' is more and more accepted.)

I could be wrong, but that's my .02 Well see that's what I mean. Tattoos get a bad rep and it's stupid. If an umpire was showing up on time in a clean uniform, I don't think I'd even really notice. Now that I think of it, the umpires in Juneau that don't have tattoos are the not so great ones. Coaches with tattoos are not in such a predicament. Frankly it's judgmental to ban visible tattoos on anybody. I mean obviously if you have a tattoo of something particularly lewd or gruesome you should cover it up because you're around kids but things like memorials, family members names, tribals, etc aren't harmful.

Just my thoughts.

 

Welcome to the world as it is.  People are judgmental.  Until we reach Utopia, and the human condition has evolved to the perfect mindset, people will be judged based on appearances or opinions or other stupid things.  What Star Trek never shows is how the Earth went from the '60s to the Federation society.

[Thunderheads]

That's exactly what I'm talking about @Rulekeep.,....and agreed

@alan2703... I know what you mean

[Rulekeep]

I don't see why tattoos are seen as a bad thing in any profession. Seriously. Like, as I'm sure every one of you guys who actually have them can tell anybody, it takes a lot of work to keep them cared for right after you get them-same with piercings. If some dude can take care of a permanent picture that was literally forced into his skin using a needle, I'm pretty sure he can take care of a ball game.

Piercings, self mutilation, tattoos, it doesn't matter to me. I would be much more comfortable calling a game with a totally tatted up guy who passed his rulings test than a guy who was ink-free and didn't. Maybe that's just me being a GenZ but it's the truth.

It's not about the capability of a person, it's how they come across to others, ...perception, etc.

(And PLEASE, do NOT say anything to me about "slamming" people w/ tattoos, I'm not. I don't feel this way, but I believe others do.

I'm simply saying that I believe if there's an issue with umpires or anyone else w/ tattoos, the perception issue comes up. Look at it like this .... much like perception would be viewed if someone showed up with an untucked shirt, dirty shoes, and wrinkled clothes. This would make people think that means he/she is a bad umpire.

However, not as much anymore as 'ink' is more and more accepted.)

I could be wrong, but that's my .02Well see that's what I mean. Tattoos get a bad rep and it's stupid. If an umpire was showing up on time in a clean uniform, I don't think I'd even really notice. Now that I think of it, the umpires in Juneau that don't have tattoos are the not so great ones. Coaches with tattoos are not in such a predicament. Frankly it's judgmental to ban visible tattoos on anybody. I mean obviously if you have a tattoo of something particularly lewd or gruesome you should cover it up because you're around kids but things like memorials, family members names, tribals, etc aren't harmful.

Just my thoughts.

Welcome to the world as it is. People are judgmental. Until we reach Utopia, and the human condition has evolved to the perfect mindset, people will be judged based on appearances or opinions or other stupid things. What Star Trek never shows is how the Earth went from the '60s to the Federation society.The Federation wasn't a Utopia. The Bajorans were still opressed by the Cardassians and there's an entire episode about judging people based on which side of their body was which color. The Romulans opressed and judged the Remuns. The EMH was judged, the Maquis were judged. Everybody judged Sela, Romulans and Starfleeters. Odo and Quark were judged. O'Brien judged Bashir and he also judged the Cardassians. Picard judged Q. Everybody judged Barclay and Riker and Geordi judged Cochrane. A lot of people judged Worf on the Enterprise and on DS9. Trills were judged. Adorians were judged. Vulcans were judged. Trelane was judged. There was still a lot of judging. That's the beauty of Star Trek-they didn't have the perfect mindset but they still made those great technological leaps. It's less perfect mindset and more evolving to completely work past that intial judgement. Which to be perfectly honest most humans NOW could do if they tried a little.

[bds53]

I, personally, do not have any issues with tattoos whether they are visible or not. When I assign youth ball, I ask that all vulgar tattoos are covered. That includes nudity, skulls, etc. Anything that could cause undue attention is not allowed. Tasteful tattoos are of no concern, ever. I live in an ultra conservative area, though. It depends on what is socially acceptable where you live.

[Pete Peterson Sr]

I found a topic on this subject here from a few years ago, but wanted to ask an updated question. Are any of you umpires successfully umpiring (at the HS or lower levels) with visible tattoos? Do any associations make you cover them up? I don't mind wearing a cover up sleeve, but am just curious about others experiences.

 

Please no "I don't get tattoos" bashing type responses.

 

Thanks!

Pete Jr has several visible tattoos. He works his college schedule with compression-type sleeves to cover them. In HS ball, he picks his spots for the sleeves. At the state umpire camp a few years back, he directly asked the asst. director of the state association if the tatts would have any bearing on his advancement, and was told "Absolutely not". He worked his first state finals series in 2013. He wore his sleeves during the series.

[Hawkman]

I've seen a few guys with visible tattoos, not an issue where I live. For the record I'm 52 years old and got my one and only tattoo for my 50th birthday, a tribute to my 8 years of service in the U.S. Navy. It isn't visible unless I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt. I work for a police department, have six kids and just recently two grandchildren. All kinds of people have tattoos and I think they're pretty socially acceptable anymore. If you can work a good game and take care of business, tattoos aren't an issue where I work.

[johnnyg08]

I think it 100% depends on the type of ink that is visible.  

 

If the ink is not obscene, vulgar, etc...

 

Then the umpire should simply worry about getting his/her calls right.  That's what the teams want.

[Replacematt]

Ironically enough, my next one is going to involve a large rat. However, the symbolism has nothing to do with baseball and it will not be visible, anyway.