All Too True! I would love to see Asheville stop promting itself as weird and alternative, it attracts too much rabble. BUT! Even with the lack of jobs, transit and housing, Asheville is still full of young freaks with their dreds, tats and ragamuffin attire. They must work and live somewhere.

Sirens from Asheville without tattoos and pierced body parts?  Not likely.  But then, it is based on a myth.

“Asheville is still full of young freaks with their dreds, tats and ragamuffin attire. They must work and live somewhere. “

Can they ALL be trust fund babies?????  Tats. dreds, and body piercings limit people to the types of jobs they can fill.  Who besides the parlors that do this sort of body work will hire people who look freaky?

Who besides the parlors that do this sort of body work will hire people who look freaky?

You’re joking, right? You ever been to Rosettas? Or basically ANY downtown establishment?

Only in asheville can i put food not bombs on my resume.

Nice, Brent.

I’ve been thinking of myself as a local beer cheerleader, but now I can imagine myself as a beer siren perched on the rim of an overpriced local pint (priced by the retailers/vendors, incidentally, not by the breweries—unless that’s where you’re drinking). Thanks for that, BB.

And seriously, DD, people looking “freaky” no longer limits their employment opps, at least in Asheville. Most of us value folks for their brains, experience, drive, and persistence. Tats, body piercings, and dreds are optional.

I thought I posted an afirmation to my sardonic
post ..... But it got lost. Yes Pffy,  I’m joking.

I go to Greenlife nearly every day, I’ve seen it all.

To quote one of the cashiers…everyday is Halloween around here.

Careful there, Poofy and Edgy… by saying that Asheville accepts people even if they look a little different, you’re dangerously close to saying something nice about Asheville.  Word gets out that you’re blaspheming like that and none of the cool kids will talk to you anymore.

people looking “freaky” no longer limits their employment opps, at least in Asheville

That’s not entirely true when you’re dealing with corporate owned concerns. The Carmike Theaters policy is one set of ear piercings only and only on females, no men can have piercings at all and they’re not supposed to hire people with tattoos. Whether it’s always been adhered to is another matter. I suspect the Regal policy is similar, but I don’t know it.

“people looking “freaky” no longer limits their employment opps, at least in Asheville.”

The Carmike Theaters isn’t the only company in the area that will not hire people with body piercings and tattoos either.  I am aware of several, including my own place of employment (which employs nearly 300) that do not permit visible tattoos or any body piercings other than one pair of earrings.  It’s hard to imagine any company that wishes to project an image of professionalism employing staff that look like carnival barkers.

People are free to do what they wish with their own bodies, but even in liberal Asheville, that closes a number of employment doors to people who opt for that ‘freaky’ look.

May BB can do a cartoon of the travails of an aging drooping thinning or bald, tatooed, stretched out piercing hole Asheville freak.  Who doomed themselves to menial jobs, so has to eat catfood due to a low income throughout the life of the tatooed, dredlocked, pierced hipster.

Wow. Guess I’m naive, but I just don’t get why tattoos or piercings would be an issue. Or how it can be legal to discriminate against people who have them.

No one is condoning discriminating….just sayin’....... image, gravity, and age are gonna happen.  Those things are reality.

Back in the 70’s soldiers who had gotten tatoos in Hong Cong when or R&R , were having them sanded off.  It didn’t look like a fun process.  Think laser does a fairly adequate job now, but it’s gonna be an expensive process.

“Or how it can be legal to discriminate against people who have them.”

It’s not illegal at all, as long as the prohibition is applied equally to both genders.  Adorning oneself with tattoos or body piercings is a purposely lifestyle choice, not something one cannot control like skin color or a disability.

“A study by Careerbuilders shows the perils of tattoos for aspiring professionals, and confirms the conventional wisdom that tattoos are a sign of immaturity, bad judgment and bad taste:

Over 42 percent of managers said their opinion of someone would be lowered by that person’s visible body art…
 
Three out of four respondents believe that visible tattoos are unprofessional…

In sum, tattoos send a message to corporate America that you are ignorant, low-income, that you have have bad taste, and worst of all, that you may have a criminal record. (note: even if untrue, that is often the perception).

Many tattooed people think that they are protected by their First Amendment rights to freedom of expression.  Unfortunately, this is not true in the workplace.  (note: many people erroneously believe that Constitutional rights apply to private employment settings-they do not).

Corporations have every right to discriminate against “optional” appearance-related traits, and many large corporations ban long hair, beards and visible tattoos.

There is a strong legal basis for discriminating against the tattooed, especially if the employers fears that having tattooed employees might hurt their professional image:

In the landmark court case Pik-Wik Stores, Inc. v. CHRO…

However, regardless of the legalities and rights of people to look like a convict, many states have “at will” laws.  These statutes allow you to quit at any time, for any reason, and allows corporations to fire employees at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all.” (note: North Carolina is an ‘at will’ state).

http://www.dba-oracle.com/dress_code_tattoos.htm

Let’s face it.  The only thing weird about Asheville is the fact that it is all white people everywhere you look.  People like to think it is diverse, but it’s not.  And as far as the “freaks” go.  It must be nice to live off daddy’s money and trust funds to support your lifestyle of “damning the man”.  Give me a break!!  Asheville is not weird!!

I guess for me, the wonderment over the current trend to self mutulate, is why would someone so aggresively limit their potential? And branding oneself to fit into the current fad, is going to hinder future potential in the workplace. That is a hard fact.

“...branding oneself to fit into the current fad, is going to hinder future potential in the workplace. That is a hard fact.”

Well, you know the definition of a tattoo-‘a permanent reminder of a temporary fad.’

It would be as well to note—since I dragged in theaters—that the Fine Arts Theatre has no such policy, nor does the Cinebarre, I understand. I doubt Asheville Pizza does and am pretty certain the Carolina doesn’t. This is something you’re more apt to find in corporate run businesses, I think.

“I doubt Asheville Pizza does”

As an occasional customer of that establishment, I can tell you they have no such policy (or it’s not enforced if they do).

“This is something you’re more apt to find in corporate run businesses…”

Surveys show this to be the case, with exceptions.  My employer, for example, is not a corporate run enterprise, but still has strict policies forbidding visible tats and piercings.

I agree with westasheville. Although I do enjoy AVL and will remain here for some time, it is one type of diverse and sure provides a comfortable environment for people to express themselves through the arts, and appearance. I have no problem with tattoos, but do wonder about the addictiveness it seems to cause in some.

Sad that a single set of earrings on a guy is considered bad, when the same piercings on a gal is pretty much expected.  Guess I’m not going to Carmike anymore.

Dionysis:  “a permanent reminder of a temporary fad”?  I’d have thought you were more open-minded than that.  All my ink is part of my faith.  Quite a number of tattoos have deep meaning that marks significant periods in the owner’s life.  There’s nothing temporary about it.  Especially with faith-based ink…that’s kinda the point.

“Dionysis:  “a permanent reminder of a temporary fad”?  I’d have thought you were more open-minded than that.”

I’m not sure I get your point.  I didn’t make up that definition, and have heard it for years.  Does being “open minded” mean self-censorship?  I didn’t say I agreed or disagree with it, only that it is a commonly used definition.  And while your tattoos may be deeply important to you (part of your “faith”, and I confess I have never heard of nor know anything about “faith-based ink”), that is hardly the case for most people who sport them.  I know many, many people with tattoos (some of them good friends), and not a one has ever said they wear them for “faith” based reasons.  Most will acknowledge they did so because it was ‘fashionable’ (and at least two of them now regret having done it, including one who has his ex-girlfriend’s name in big letters on his bicep).  I do believe you are in a distinct minority.

My thoughts on this is again is again wonderment. In a very competitive job world,  why would people purposely limit their employment potential? Forget about self expression… it forces the tattooed, dred locked, pierced folks into a a much smaller job potential, pool.

opps typos…sorry.

I choose to be different by not having long hair, tattoos or piercings.

First of all, the cartoon’s message about cost of living and wages in this area are spot on. I was born here in the 70s and I have seen Asheville become a dead-end job town with no hope of escaping to a higher paying job. My family has lived and worked here since the 1700s and we now at least own a small property, but between 3 incomes, we struggle to pay the taxes, not to mention every day living expenses.

Asheville is no where close to being a liberal city as many like to portray it. Sure things are better in that regard than they were before, but we have a long way to go before I could even begin to think of this city as progressive, let alone liberal.

Next, regarding piercings and tatoos - who cares!?! and if women are allowed to wear earrings but men are not, then that establishment is in violation of federal law that prohibits sex discrimination.

“you know why all the hippies are coming to asheville, right?”

“cause they heard there was NO work!”

Let’s face it.  The only thing weird about Asheville is the fact that it is all white people everywhere you look.  People like to think it is diverse, but it’s not. And as far as the “freaks” go.  It must be nice to live off daddy’s money and trust funds to support your lifestyle of “damning the man”.  Give me a break!!  Asheville is not weird!!

Yes, everyone who looks different than you has a trust fund, but everyone in asheville looks the same, and everyone is white. I love it when people like you post this meme. It makes me giggle.

But i have to wonder, if you don’t think asheville is a bit ‘different’, where have else have you lived?

Also, if you hate asheville so much, spartanburg is very not white and there are very, very few trustafarians there. You should move there post-haste

Because I look professional for my professional job, my tattoos and gauged ears are not what people see at first. Often I don’t think they are noticed at all, even when visible. The only thing that makes me worry about being doomed to eat, how was it put… eat catfood, is getting so sick or injured I cannot work & keep my health insurance.

There are plenty of professions/places to work where your contribution matters more than what your ears look like.

I for one got tired of all the drunks, prostitutes, drug dealers and crack heads who took over my neighborhood in West Asheville - so I moved. Anyway you like it!

This is a real keeper.  Well done Brent!  Where else could you see “unveigled” in a cartoon.