Tribal tattoos - I believe it can be disrespectful to have them if you're not in that tribe. Their meaning... usually what initiations one has gone through or their accomplishments, I'd assume.
A tribal tattoo is more a style when it's put on today and not generally associated with a tribe or family.
Tribal tattoos symbolize membership in a group, family, social, or whatever. At least they used to, nowadays anyone with a cool design in their mind can get one, which makes them more a decorative thing, I suppose. Still, some people have them with the original purpose in mind.
As others have said, loses meaning when one is not affiliated with a tribe, and would look incredibly silly on non-tough-looking people like myself.
