Why do strangers think it's ok to touch me?

Asked by elijah (8659) January 8th, 2009 from iPhone

I have a lot of tattoos. Often complete strangers will come up to me and start moving my clothing around to look at them. Now, these people are trying to complement me, so I really don’t like to be rude, but I don’t think it’s ok for them to touch me. No matter how nicely I try to explain it, they get offended. Should I just not say anything since they mean me no harm? Either way, one of us ends up feeling uncomfortable. I don’t like promoting the steroetype that people with tattoos are mean and crazy freaks, especially when a ‘normal person’ is making an effort to experience ( for lack of a better term) someone like me.