Tattooing has gone beyond a direct relation to drug dealers, users and scumbags. If I could count how many coke dealers I know of that look like someone's accountant and how many God-fearing Christians I know who sit on a Harley and have full sleeves and Bible images marked on their necks.
Takes all kinds. The fact remains: tattooing is damn expensive (and most people forget, fairly permanent)--if you aren't getting the best, why would you pay a bargain price for sh*t work? The quality and choice of tattoo now signifies the origins, intent and lifestyle of the individual more than just the fact someone has a tattoo. Quite ingenious advertisement, really, helps clarify a picture of someone if they're your "tribe" or not. Guy with "WHITE POWER" on his forehead? Probably gonna keep him at arm's length. Works quite well, beats casual conversation with idiots sometimes--and I'm not aware of a passive-aggressive tattoo insulting me once.
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