Tattooing may have a rich and multicultural history and be a sacred art form to some cultures, but alas, we do not live in one of those cultures. The negative connotation is not derived from my personal opinion alone, but from our culture.
Not exactly - if this subject were so taboo, there wouldn't be television shows about tattooing (Miami Ink, anyone?) on a television channel that deals primarily with learning and information. Our society, like it or not, embraces tattoos as a self expressionists art form here in the year 2007. Tattoo's no longer mean that someone is a former convict, or a marine, or that they're drug and alcohol addicts. Heck, two people I know (who are happily married, work together with me holding a steady job) are straight-edge (there goes that drug and alcohol problem!), and they're inked up one side and down the other. And you know what? I look past that - I hired them both based off of their qualifications, not their appearance. If we can't get past the way someone looks - be it skin color, tattoos, piercings, hair style, style of dress - then our society, our country, is far worse off than I anticipated.
Sure, it may be ill-informed, but that doesn't make my disclosure of this negative connotation in our culture an ill informed "opinion"; it's a simple statement of how things are in our society (the above quote shows how the Disney Company itself recognizes this stereotype about tattoos). You may say no one minds the visible tattoos in your office (good point, by the way, anecdotal evidence is usually the best way to refute an argument), but how do you know if people are silently judging them? Perhaps they've been passed up for a promotion or more 'face' job because of the tattoos.
Disney also won't let you have a full beard, goatee, or long hair, so I'm not sure you want to use them as a reference point for corporate america - (heck, just on those criteria alone I can't work there!)
And I think the quote you mention above actually displays the fact that Disney looks for a more cookie cutter, average person who can immediately relate to anyone who walks into the park - be it tattoo freak, college student, retired couple, working class hero, etc. The important thing to remember about Disney, be it through the parks, movies, or Walt himself, is equality. In those magical parks, watching those movies that move us, or thinking about our 'Uncle Walt' who used to tell us all these great stories - it didn't or doesn't matter what you look like that's important, but rather who you are that is. I don't ever remember watching reruns of the Wonderful World of Disney and hearing Walt say that you shouldn't get Tattoos, or white kids and black kids shouldn't get along - but I do remember him talking to me and my friends, and making us feel special no matter what.
Personally, I work for a 'white collar' Fortune 500, and I can tell you right now we don't discriminate for tattoos. Heck, one of my peers has full sleeves and we're at the same level in Senior Management. I've seen this at almost all jobs I've been in - blue or white collar. The stigma that tattoo's promote an evil sub-culture, or that they promote alcohol or drug abuse is absurd.
