We went to Downtown Disney, again, to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, it was a rather chilly day today, after a week of heatwave. Most people were pretty covered up, but we caught some visible tattoos.

Our first gentleman was in his twenties, and sported two full sleeves. The Revelator asked his about his reasons for his tattoos, and he responded that he didn't have any particular reasons or special significance for them. He is in the motorcycle industry, and felt that his tattoos signified him as part of that group. We asked him to show us his favorite tattoo, and he showed us this tribal-esque design. They are "513," which somehow symbolize Orange County. We're not sure what these numbers have to do with OC, but according to him, they do.

Revelator: Personally, I would not have gotten this tattoo. I'm resolved to keep my tattoos above my elbows, first off, and secondly, I don't like tribal designs. In order to symbolize my pride for being from somewhere, I might get a California related tattoo. I am pretty proud of California, but not being from Murrieta, for instance.

Our second example is on another twenty-something young man. It's a snake, a Copperhead, specifically, wrapped around a tribal design, placed on the inside of his right forearm. We asked him his reasoning behind the tattoo, and to him, it symbolizes his Southern heritage. His grandmother is from Alabama, and this tattoo is for her. The Copperhead is native to the South. For this young man, snakes represent evil things, like predatory instincts and general badness, but also good things, like his family and their southern heritage. He said the tribal design was "kind of a new age thing that he got when he was 18."

Revelator: I have a "heritage" tattoo, actually. It is a blue star with a white X across it, for the Scottish flag. My dad's father was from Scotland, and my family was estranged from my dad's family for quite some time. When we were reunited, I got the tattoo to symbolize both my family's heritage, and also the unity of family that you can't deny. So, this young man and I have something in common with our tattoos. I wouldn't need to change anything about his tattoo, because I've already got one!

Our last subject was a woman in her thirties, maybe, with two children and a huband. Her tattoo is a simple band design with hearts and butterflies around her ankle. She did not have a reason for it, nor a story or any real significance. Her husband cheerfully added that it was "a drunken night that night." So, a tattoo on a whim.

Revelator: Not sure what to say about this one since I don't think tattoos should be meaningless or on a whim. I go through several weeks or months of planning before deciding on new ink. I do like the placement, I think ankle tattoos are an easy way to have a tattoo that can be easily covered, but still be brought "out to play," as it were. If I was going to get an ankle tattoo, it might be text, like my parents' names. I am not wild about that placement for myself though.

The general consensus is that people get tattoos for a variety of reasons. Heritage is certainly a popular one. The one we found most interesting was on our first subject. His tattoos seemed like a cultural marker, that "Yes, I belong to this kind of group," like a rite of passage or a mark of belonging. It's a primordial kind of motive, but one that's very interesting.