Why Would Someone Get a Tattoo?

I wonder why people think tattoos are a good idea? It's a waste of time and money, maybe it's just an aspect of the subculture for people that have a few dollars lying around and want to waste an afternoon. And what about when someone with a tattoo gets fat or old or both? The tattoo gets all deformed and looks even worse than when it was brand new. Piercings too, they are wrong, but what people want to do, they can do. But keep them away from the normal people, maintain the strictest dress codes for respectable businesses.

I think tattoos are a message, similar to people to smoke cigarets. They are trying to let others know they don't plan on living very long, doing what ever they feel like without feeling consequences. Perhaps that's why cigarets and tattoos are so common in prisons.