Okay – I may get some gripe out there for this question.. and perhaps I could easily Google it myself and spare the ‘Oh my gosh Renee, you’re incredibly dumb’ replies- But I decided to open it up to the masses for a more popular opinion.
What is up with the Anchor tattoos? At first, I was all ‘that’s cute..”
I get it. I mean, the concept. Refuse to sink, get back up, keep trying, etc. It’s motivational. Inspirational.
But will you help me make sense of it?
WHAT THE HELL DOES AN ANCHOR DO TO KEEP YOU FROM SINKING?!
It keeps you in place, right? Or am I just totally ‘boat-stupid?’ In that case, If anything, an anchor weighs you down and keeps you from going places. Hmm. I’m still not getting how the anchor helps keep you from sinking. It’s not like it repairs a broken boat after it crashes into an iceberg or keeps the boat ABOVE water in any way,shape or form.
And people are getting this TATTOOED on their bodies. Yes – we have ALL seen the dumb tattoos, I’m guilty of getting the cliche pink heart on my ankle when I was 18 before I turned it into a piece of art. These are beautiful, artistic, etc, but it still doesn’t make sense to correlate the anchor with refusing to sink. So maybe this question is for those individuals – why does it make sense to you? It baffles me.
Deep thought for this Thursday, eh? š
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Okay now go buy some things: š ā¤
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MittenMadeWoodcrafts?ref=hdr_shop_menu
or
or
http://stores.ebay.com/mittenmadewoodcrafts
^^ There’s only like 10 things on the ebay site right now. It takes about 24 hours for all of them to show up. So if you don’t see what you want on there to make an offer, check back tomorrow and everything will have been uploaded! š
Laugh Up My Sleeve 
Re the anchor – depending on your generation. Old Geezers would either be Navy veterans or big fans of Popeye. For younger folks it denotes stability in rough water. And then there are others who just picked it out of a book because it looks cool.
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The anchor tattoo design might symbolize for some people that no matter how stormy and rough things get out there and how much the factors around you try to uproot you, you need to hold on and keep doing what you are supposed to. Maybe anchor tattoos are dedicated to the near and dear one who played this role in their life. Providing you the strength and wherewithal to hold on no matter what comes your way by being there through it all. Be steadfast and strong like an anchor. Just some thoughts.
Shine On
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I was about to leave an explanation but saw that “2015chronicles” did a great job of explaining it. The anchor isn’t meant to be about not sinking, it’s meant to be about staying grounded.
… That being said it’s everywhere now and I have never been a big fan of getting a tattoo that everyone has. It certainly saps away a lot of the meaning.
(Not counting navy tattoos etc.)
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oh gosh yes! I absolutely 100% understand the navy meanings, (Popeye made me giggle), and that the anchor itself represents being grounded, staying steady in disastrous ‘waters’, etc. My, um.. lack of understanding was more aimed specifically at the quotes, banners, and tattoos that pair that anchor with ‘refuse to sink.’ Maybe it means the same thing and I am just taking it too literal and really have to understand that the anchor and it’s symbolism is separate from the words ‘refuse to sink.’ haha.
Thank you all so much for your responses! š
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I have one that says “I refuse to soar” on a pair of wings. š
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hahahahah!!!!!!! That made my day. That’s how much sense it makes!
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Yeah, I usually associate the anchor-as-symbolism as staying rooted to something important. Probably the reasoning here is either “I refuse to sink (like a boat, and an anchor is associated with boats)” or “I refuse to sink (the way an anchor sinks)”. I agree the juxtaposition here is a bit weird.
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I believe that “i refuse to sink” means the person is the boat going through a storm…you drop the anchor to secure your boat during a storm…so the anchor helps during a storm therefore the boat wont sink (or hopefully wont) because the anchor is securing it… ?? That’s how i see it.
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In the “medical” world us HELLP syndrome survivors it stands for” come hell(p) of high water i refuse to sink” and then the anchor..
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