[Noisebridge-discuss] [SPAM] Tattoos vs. behavior

[Gopiballava Flaherty]

On Jun 19, 2013, at 7:10 AM, Mitchel McAllister <xonimmortal at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Another suggestion is to order him to use a sharpie on the back of his head every day. The fact that this was proposed with absolutely no shame or embarrassment does not speak well of the person proposing it. The concept of telling someone to use a sharpie on their head is incomprehensible.

Perhaps part of the problem is that different people interpret the significance and message conveyed by the tattoo differently?

I don’t have any tattoos. Most people, I think, consider a tattoo to be something you get when you really, strongly believe in something.

Racist skinheads have a reputation for assaulting minorities.

So, if somebody has taken deliberate, painful and permanent actions to associate themselves with a group of people who threaten the lives of minorities:
I don’t think it would be unreasonable for a non-white person to take the tattoo to be sending the message, “I believe in white power and would take the opportunity to assault non-whites if given the chance”. 

I think that it is often difficult to agree about when somebody’s discomfort is rational and when it isn’t, or when being offended is an unreasonable response to something. I won't blame people for drawing a respectful picture of the prophet Muhammed (PBUH) because I think it’s as wrong as eating beef. It’s against the religious beliefs of somebody.

In this case, the tattoo is sending a message to people in the space about what this person believes and does. The message may be in accurate, but I don’t think the misinterpretation is unreasonable. So, count me in with the people who’d say that trying hard to cover it up would be a reasonable expectation.
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