“What they don’t know, won’t hurt them.”
An old adage passed on from generation to generation.
One that many people take into account when they notice a flaw or abnormality in someone’s physical appearance.
After all, if they are happy and oblivious, is there any point in telling them?
Some wouldn’t think so, others, however, are not so sure.
A friend of Redditor Less_Wing_646 recently made a cosmetic change.
While they were very happy with it, something about it caught the original poster (OP)’s attention.
Leading them to wonder if they should say something.
Unable to make up their mind, the OP took to the subReddit “Would I Be The A**Hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
“WIBTA if I told someone about a mistake in their tattoo?”
The OP explained why they were unsure of whether or not to speak up to a friend of theirs:
“I just saw someone I know post a photo of their tattoo on social media.”
“It is a nice tattoo, but has an obvious mistake, which shows that they only tattooed it for aesthetics and don’t actually know much about it.”
“Think along the lines of misspelling a word in another language that you don’t speak, or getting a tattoo of a chemical compound but getting the elements wrong.”
“It is obvious to someone who knows the theory behind it, but to others it just looks nice.”
“On one hand, I feel like there is no good thing that can come from telling them.”
“They are excited about the tattoo and would be upset if they knew it was wrong.”
“It is also not easily fixable unless covered up.”
“On the other hand, I think I’d want to know.”
“And also, there is just that part of me that really has to tell them about it .”
“Not to be mean, it just bugs me to see it, and I really have to refrain myself from telling them.”
“Maybe I’ll wait until the new-tattoo-honeymoon-phase is over?”
“WIBTA if I told them about it?”
The OP later returned in the comments section, telling them exactly what the mistake on the tattoo was:
“It’s sheet music, but the rhythm isn’t correct.”
“Someone who can read music knows it’s wrong.”
“It’s not completely wrong (sounds similar because the tones are the right ones), but not correct.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The OP found little to no support from the Reddit community, who all but unanimously agreed that the OP would, indeed, be the a**hole if they told their friend about the mistake in their tattoo.
Everyone agreed that saying anything about the tattoo would definitely be a mistake, that would only upset their friend, especially after the OP clarified what the “mistake” on the tattoo was:
“It’s sheet music?”
“YWBTA.”
“Just let it be.”
“‘It just bugs me to see it’.”
“Then dont’ look’.”- Remote-Passenger7880
“YTA for burying the lede and not just saying in the OP that the error is in a piece depicting sheet music.”
“You let people think it was potentially something really embarrassing or offensive so that it skews votes your way.”
“Nobody is going to be examining her tattoo in depth trying to figure out which song it is – they’ll say it looks lovely and ask, and she can happily say the song title and her story/reason for getting it.”
“And THAT’S the important part about the tattoo, not the accuracy.”
“I read sheet music and understand musical theory, and would not want to ruin this person’s enjoyment of their body by correcting them.”
“Let it be.”- LadleMonster
“It’s a mistake in the notation of a musical rhythm?”
“‘And also, there is just that part of me that really has to tell them about it. Not to be mean, it just bugs me to see it and I really have to refrain myself from telling them’.”
“You sound like one of those people who has to announce the smallest fault in anything they see.”
“YWBTA – let it go.”- wesmorgan1
“YWBTA Nobody is going to be playing a song from someone’s tattoo.”
“You’re just showing off.”- retournee
“Don’t tell them.”
“Also it is sheet music mistake, they probably will go their whole life not knowing about.”
“YWBTA.”- SoccerProblem3547
“‘There is no good thing that can come from telling them’.”
“Read it as many times as you need to.”
“It doesn’t matter what you would want.”
“YWBTA.”- ImpossibleReason2204
“Sheet music?”
“Man, I’ve played piano for 10 years but damn you sound pretentious YTA.”- saucybishh
“YWBTA.”
“You could have just said its sheet music, there was no need to be mysterious and dramatic.”
“I’m a bit skeptical of how incorrect it is given how you’re on about it anyways.”- clambroculese
“Tattoos ARE aesthetic.”
“Pointing this out serves no one but your ego.”
“YTA, and you know that, it’s so clear from the last paragraph.”
“You’re DOUBLE TA for seeking approval here for what you know is an a**hole move.”- Anakin-vs-Sand
“YWBTA.”
“I have tattoos with mistakes and they’re a tiny bit annoying, but I can tell you right now that if someone pointed out a mistake I hadn’t noticed or known about, I would be pissed.”
“You’re presumably an adult, you can keep things to yourself.”- Ranger_368
“YWBTA, at least to the person who’s so excited right now.”
“I would leave it alone.”
“If it’s pretty obvious, someone they know is going to tell them, as opposed to some stranger online.”- That_Bee_Baker
“YWBTA Just like everyone else has already mentioned.”
“I hope the person never sees this post.”
“The mistake sounds like it’s a tiny detail that 99% of people wouldn’t even notice, and it’s not worth ruining someone’s happiness over.”- moveyourheart
“It’s ‘refrain from’ not ‘refrain myself from’… so, do you think I recommend you indulge in petty corrections or not?”
“YWBTA.”
“Fear not tho; plenty of school marms will delight in ruining the tattooed one’s delight, all while unknowingly embarrassing themselves with equally inane mistakes.”- Virtual_Action_8606
“YWBTA.”
“I wouldn’t want to know.”- Aware-Sock123
“YTA, don’t do it.”
“Are they a musician?”
“If so, they will likely find it by themselves eventually.”
“Hopefully then you can all have a laugh about it.”- GiberishInGreatScale
“YWBTA.”
“You say the notes are correct and the rhythm must be close.”
“Don’t look at the tattoo if it bugs you.”- katznpiano
“Wait wait wait.”
“IT’S A RHYTHM MISTAKE!”
“It’s a mistake in sheet music, but not even a total one.”
“Just rhythmic.”
“So it’s arguably an interpretation?”
“Or from a different version than yours?”
“YTA but I almost want you to point it out and be told you’re mistaken, they’re using a really specific version lol.”- padfoot211
“YTA- if it’s not a super obvious mistake/error, most people won’t even notice.”
“It’s not your place to point it out unless you are a close friend.”- merliahthesiren
“I have two degrees in piano performance and a PhD in music history.”
“YWBTA.”
“Leave it.”- MusicologyMaven
“YTA.”
“It’s sheet music, get over it.”- actualchristmastree
“YTA.”
“Don’t say anything.“- ViolentLoss
“If someone would do this to me, I will forever despise my tattoo, honestly.”
“I’d see the mistake each time I look at it.”
“YWBTA.”
“If you say it, you say it for 5 mins of satisfaction, but the receiving end will probably (negatively) remember it for years which really actually does make you an a**hole.”- Silversn0w_
“As annoying as it is this is not something fixable so thee is nothing to be gained by saying anything.”
“Bite your tongue.”
“YWBTA.”- Individual_Metal_983
“The general rule to apply is ‘can it be fixed in less than five minutes?'”
“If the answer is yes, mention is (spinach in teeth, zipper undone, etc.)”
“If the answer is no, then you don’t mention it.”
“For this, the issue is that she wouldn’t be able to fix it easily, and she would then live with knowing it was wrong/not quite right, and that some people know this already.”
“Some people would want to live in blissful ignorance for as long as possible and maybe never get their pleasure ruined.”
“After all, if she learns in two years, she’s had two years of happy before she has to decide if she wants/need to change it.”
“Some people want to know now because they get more stress/anxiety from thinking about how others perceive their mistake than the mistake itself.”
“So, they want to know now so they can fix it asap.”
“It sounds like you are more the second type of person.”
“And so you are projecting that she would feel the same.”
“But you know your friend best, and you should be able to stop and think about how she’s been around you up until now to know which one she is more likely.”
“I suspect the first type because you are asking strangers about it.”
“For you, YWBTA if you tell her, if she’s the first type.”
“And you would be fine if three years from now she comes to you and says, ‘I just found out this says WRONG thing!'”
“And you can look at it and go ‘OMG, it does! What are you going to do?'”
“You don’t say ‘yes, I know’ because that will lead to a whole thing.”
“Just acknowledge that it does and turn it around to her and her feelings and helping her cope.”-The1Eileen
The OP later returned, sharing what they planned to do after reading all the responses:
“You are correct, thank you :).”
“I was too caught up in how much it bugs me, but I need to get over myself.”
“And yes, I know that too much little stuff bugs me.”
“I am serious about wanting to be told if I were her, but again, that is about me.”
The OP might not be the only one who notices that their friend’s tattoo is not technically correct.
Even so, all that matters in the end is that this friend is happy with the tattoo they chose.
As one doubts a musician will be using that tattoo as sheet music.