If you want to wear a tattoo, the message better be mean.
Or that's what wearers of menacing-looking tattoos seem to say. Like members of the underworld, or those who just want some association to create a gangsta persona.
But it's quite the opposite for some ex-convicts in Denver. Turning over to a new leaf, they want all links to their criminal past wiped out.
A Reuters report said a tattoo removal clinic in the US city is providing free removal services to the ex-cons. For at least one repentant ex-con, he wanted the name of his ex-wife removed too.
But famous athletes are still continuing to brandish their tattoos, whether they are politically correct or just a gaudy work of art.
For many people, it's better to go for a safer, motivational message, rather than be mistaken for someone who needs correction.
chen@sph.com.sg