Tattoos used to be signifiers of membership to some fringe or outcast group, for example a motorcycle club or prisoners or an elite military squad. These were people operating right at the edge of what's considered polite and proper society. Membership to such group came at a cost that could not be paid in money. You needed to put in the time and display a willingness to follow the rules of the group, and be accepted. It could not be faked. But as the counter culture movement continued to grow and develop through the 20th century some people realized that they could claim the cachet of the tattoo by simply paying for it. And in a relatively short time tattoos became, in effect, as shallow and meaningless as any other fashion statement. Some money and some discomfort for a short time and now you are a proud possessor of a permanent statement about yourself that is literally and figuratively only skin deep. Any respect that a tattoo may once have bestowed upon the person is now completely gone. They are degenerate only in the sense that they are an indulgence. They signify nothing of meaning or significance about you beyond that you wanted and could afford one. Any sense of value or importance that you have as a result of your tats is completely unearned and the only thing that they say about your character is that you are too lazy to put in the work to actually earn respect.