Please translate before she gets tattoed...

[Itgetsthehoseagain]

Posting on AIBU because I know the traffic is good and I'm not sure where else to post
DD's intentions are to get the attached characters tattooed. I don't have a problem at all with the tattoo - she just wants to be absolutely sure that her choice isn't going to cause problems.
We have no idea what the characters mean, but we do know that they are from the Gorillaz (band) "Dare" artwork. I think that they might be Japanese, but they are horizontal rather than vertical so I'm wondering if it's the artist's interpretation of Japanese characters. I can't find much online at all.
Could anybody translate, please? in advance for thanks!

@Mrstreehouse

Oh FFS. It’s not cultural appropriation to have some band shit tattooed on your arm. The world has gone mad.

Yes, it is. 'The world has gone mad' is a comment I often come across by people who can't see they are exhibiting racist tendencies. Simply because we don't like cultural appropriation does not mean 'the world has gone mad'. It's about respect and cultural sensitivity. Yes, I know that is too much to ask these days.

Truly, if both Japanese and English culture never drew inspiration from one another, both would have lost out. They are contemporaries, speaking from a contextual/historical and artistic/cultural viewpoint.
Neither developed in a vaccume.

@Itgetsthehoseagain
According to my translation App, it says On the water

@NeonDreams

She may be too selfish and ignorant that she might not 'concern' herself with cultural appropriation, but Japanese people more than likely be offended. Of course, if she only thinks about herself, as it appears, especially as she wanted Japanese letters tattooed on her when she had to even ask the meaning, it says a lot. It's the lack of cultural respect that gets me. A tattoo is for life, not a fad. She sounds far too immature and impulsive to have one. She will regret it.

Oh give over

[quote NoNotYou]@Itgetsthehoseagain
According to my translation App, it says On the water[/quote]
I wouldn't rate your translation app, then (or ever use it for anything that matters).

If you read back in the thread, you will find many of us who actually read Japanese and Chinese confirming that the characters mean 'challenge'.

• NeonDreams

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Clearly cultural appropriation isn't a big deal to you, but it certainly is to me. It is very offensive.*

Offensive to YOU.

Doesn’t mean it’s offensive to everyone. I personally think it’s ridiculous to think that being inspired by, adopting or enjoying some parts of another culture is offensive. Using spiritual/ religious objects for fun could be offensive, yes (although as a catholic, I loved seeing kids in the icon bracelets and rosary beads)- but not language!

@Greenmarmalade The point you miss is that the daughter only liked the look of the Japanese lettering. She didn't even know what it meant! It's not like she was 'inspired by' the language. She didn't even understand it. She had to even ask what it meant, to make sure, before she got the tattoo. That is part of why I see it as disrespectful. All one needs is to Google people getting these strange symbol tattoos and find stories where many didn't even know what the symbol actually meant.

@Mrstreehouse As a black woman and a mixed race woman, I have a very good understanding of cultural appropriation, it is something that is very important to me. Instead of being offensive that you've been called out, I suggest you actually take the time to educate yourself on what it is, and why people of colour like myself feel very strongly about it. You should be careful about lecturing those of us whom this actually affects. You really have no idea, and your stubborn offensiveness is as bad as your willful ignorance.

NeonDreams, you rock. I completely agree with you.

Some people have no idea.

(Tats are chavvy anyway, whatever they say.)

@Mrstreehouse www.savedtattoo.com/tattooing-and-cultural-appropriation/

www.quora.com/Is-getting-a-tattoo-in-a-foreign-language-cultural-appropriation

"Kanji
Kanji is often used in tattoos for people who don't read the language. One popular instance was when Ariana Grande showed off her new Japanese Kanji tattoo that turned out to be misspelled. Without understanding what it is that's being tattooed, it can be a real issue for some from the culture."
cafemom.com/lifestyle/226198-tattoos-may-be-culturally-appropriative/352960-kanji

"Cultural appropriation describes the adoption of specific aspects of a culture that is not your own. A Kanji tattoo when the wearer is not Japanese and has no specific connection to Japanese culture is an example of cultural appropriation. While we could debate whether or not cultural appropriation is ever positive (e.g. the popularity of yoga, or the interest in Italian food and culture when HBO’s The Sopranos was running), there are negative consequences to cultural appropriation. When language and symbolism are taken out of their original context, the meaning is over simplified or completely lost. Tattoos that attempt to translate English into Japanese or Chinese characters are a perfect example of lost meaning:"
thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/04/13/lost-in-translation-tattoos-and-cultural-appropriation/

And there are many more pages that show how it IS cultural appropriation.

So, @Mrstreehouse , instead of getting very defensive and threatening me, maybe try and understand where People of Colour like myself come from. Whether you want to accept it or not, to us, it is cultural appropriation. And we find it offensive.

@Maggiesfarm Thank you. This is something very dear to my heart, and to many people like myself, and I won't stand for threats by racist posters or people who post out of ignorance then viciously attack me when I try to correct them. I've seen so much of this stuff, and it's made worse when you try and educate people and instead of being appreciative or saying 'thank you for telling me, I didn't know that', they attack you for daring to tell them. If a POC tells you something affects them and their culture, listen to them. Believe them. Don't double down and attack. It's hard enough for us as it is. I never used to be so forthright. It's only since BLM really that I've come out and fought my corner.

@ACPC

My dd is 12 and loves Gorillaz. The 90s/ 00s are the in thing. I was into all things Mod as a teen in the 90s. It doesn't really matter. Part of being young is doing daft stuff like getting a tattoo. Lighten up people

Same here and I agree!

@NeonDreams I am a black woman and you are totally out of order and hugely offensive.

@Mrstreehouse Sure. The one that is being totally out of order and hugely offensive is you. Wake up to yourself.

[quote NeonDreams]@Maggiesfarm Thank you. This is something very dear to my heart, and to many people like myself, and I won't stand for threats by racist posters or people who post out of ignorance then viciously attack me when I try to correct them. I've seen so much of this stuff, and it's made worse when you try and educate people and instead of being appreciative or saying 'thank you for telling me, I didn't know that', they attack you for daring to tell them. If a POC tells you something affects them and their culture, listen to them. Believe them. Don't double down and attack. It's hard enough for us as it is. I never used to be so forthright. It's only since BLM really that I've come out and fought my corner.[/quote]
Good for you.
Some attitudes from my fellow 'white' people make me cringe with embarrassment.

Best to ignore her from now on though, you have said what needed saying. Don't stoop to her level (I don't think you would). I think a lot of people would support you.

• NeonDreams

@Greenmarmalade The point you miss is that the daughter only liked the look of the Japanese lettering. She didn't even know what it meant! It's not like she was 'inspired by' the language. She didn't even understand it. She had to even ask what it meant, to make sure, before she got the tattoo. That is part of why I see it as disrespectful. *

Fair enough. But I don’t feel the same. It meant something to her and she was just checking it meant ‘dare’ before getting it tattooed.

Are tattoos themselves cultural appropriation?

I respect your opinion (although I disagree with it) and you don’t speak for all POC with your perspective. Arabic is one of my family’s languages- I love seeing people with Arabic tattoos.

es, my concern would be that given increasing discussion of cultural appropriation this kind of 'characters from the mysterious race' tattoo will be widely seen as racist in a few years' time

Never mind a few years time, it's always been extremely dodgy and kinda racist to take another language and culture and use bits of it without understanding it....and when you literally don't even know what the characters mean, it's just not ok.

Guess we'd all better stop reading books translated to English then
Stop going out for Indian, Chinese, Thai
Stop travelling or appreciating art from other cultures.. in case somebody somewhere is offended
BLM and the like has made people more aware of our unimportant differences instead of our important similarities
When you see the colour you are as the defining characteristic then you are the racist.
Let's keep talking until we can all move on together!

@ProfessorSillyStuff

Guess we'd all better stop reading books translated to English then Stop going out for Indian, Chinese, Thai Stop travelling or appreciating art from other cultures.. in case somebody somewhere is offended BLM and the like has made people more aware of our unimportant differences instead of our important similarities When you see the colour you are as the defining characteristic then you are the racist. Let's keep talking until we can all move on together!

Don't be a tit. And a racist tit at that.