by Tirzah Hawkins

Created on: May 02, 2008

Discrimination of people who chose to have visible tattoos and piercing isn't just a workplace problem but a problem with our society as a whole.

As a food server I have had the problem of making assumptions about someone based on their personal appearance. A goth couple came into the upscale restaurant where I work with a young child around the age of four. They both had multiple facial piercing and visible tattoos. My first though was, "What are they doing in a place like this?"

By the time they left the restaurant, I felt really convicted concerning my attitude towards them. They, as well as their child, were some of the most polite and most tidy people I had ever served. They never faltered to say please or thank you and left me an appropriate tip.

This just goes to say that you should never judge someone by their appearance. Some of the rudest people I have served in my career came in wearing ties and business suits.

Because the majority of people do have an issue with people who choose to decorate themselves in such a way, business are limited in their ability to hire them. They don't want someone with such a negative image representing them. But this does not make these people any less capable or qualified than the average person. They do typically have less of an opportunity to succeed or attain a high paying job. Does this make it right though?

Imagine that you were dining at a five star restaurant. You had just enjoyed an exquisite meal, and the chef visits your table before you leave. Would your visit be any less enjoyable or would the chef be any less of a culinary genius if he had tattoos or piercings?

Maybe you went to a private screening of a spectacular movie and had the opportunity to meet the writer of the film. When you saw them, would they be any less brilliant because of tattoos or piercings? A person's outward physical appearance doesn't always have a bearing on their mind, intelligence or their heart.

In other cultures, people who do things we consider normal, such as wearing make-up, are discriminated against. Does that make it right for us to discriminate against those we choose to because they don't look exactly the same as we do?

People with multiple piercings or many visible tattoos are frequently judged by others who consider them strange, but they are the people who are less likely to judge you back. As they themselves are considered different, they may be more accepting of different people.

If people would just quit judging others by their personal appearance or other differences, the world would be a bit more tranquil place to live.

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