A man, presumably Singaporean, is angered/ saddened/ disappointed enough to open his word processor/ email, and pound out a letter to The Straits Times forum page.

His lamentation?

He cannot take it that young people in Singapore these days have tattoos.

Here is his magnum opus of a gripe:

Stem spread of tattooing trend in Singapore

Tattooing is gaining popularity among young Singaporeans.

In many public places, we often come across adolescents proudly displaying their tattoos.

In the past, tattoos were associated with triads, gangsters and shady characters. They normally belonged to the underclass and outcasts. This is why society in general is disapproving of them.

Also, we should take good care of our bodies. Sadly, this advice is not heeded by many in the young generation.

They have no qualms about permanently "scarring" their bodies with designs and text.

This trend should be discouraged.

A wiser method would be to switch to temporary tattoos.

When the novelty wears off later in life, these youngsters can elect to remove the temporary tattoos fairly easily and painlessly, rather than regret and go through the painful process of erasing permanent ones.

Joe Teo Kok Seah

The reactions to his piece have been more measured though:

A little reminder: A tattoo on the body, like a letter published on the Internet, is permanent.

Top photo via Wikimedia

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