Think before you Ink!

This week’s news about a city councilor who pilloried a constituent for objecting to his tattooed arms was notable not because of its self-righteousness, but because it demonstrates exactly what not to do if you’re a leader.

By now, the facts are well-known: a 95-year-old woman advised her city councilor to wear long sleeves in his professional appearances, to cover his generously inked arms. Instead of taking a tactful approach to responding, or perhaps not responding at all, this leader decided to go on the offensive. And offensive he was. He exposed her identity on social media, told her to mind her own business, and mocked her as small-minded.

He did one other thing that was equally ill-advised: he framed her suggestion as “body policing”, borrowing from the feminist pushback to body shamers who see women’s value only in their appearance. In doing so, he treaded on some sacred space that isn’t really designed for 40-something white guys.

A more temperate, leaderlike response might have looked like this: you write a nice note, thanking her for thinking of his best interest. Perhaps you invite her to your next in-district gathering. Maybe you even offer to visit with her to hear more about her perspective (wearing sleeves, of course). In short, good leaders turn every incident into a positive, community-building opportunity.

Instead, this elected official showed us that his constituent’s ink on a page made a bigger impact that the ink on his thin skin.