TATTOO: THE MARK OF REBELLION
The Bible, from cover to cover, and over and over, condemns rebellion. YaHUaH considered rebellion so serious ñ He compared rebellion to witchcraft. And may I remind you, witchcraft was punishable by death!
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, . . . "
1 Samuel 15:23"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
Exodus 22:18
And if there ís one message the tattoo cries out ñ loud and clear ñ it ís rebellion.
Throughout history tattoos have symbolized rebellion. Thereís nothing normal about a tattoo. A tattoo screams of unabashed rebellion and deviancy.
Every tattoo book, and every article, I researched, both old and new, openly affirmed the deliberate rebellion symbolized by the tattoo. Book after book, article after article, sung the same song ñ tattoos are open rebellion. Itís worth noting ñ all the following quotes are from pro tattoo books.
“Since body art is still not mainstream, having marks on your body that you put there on purpose shows the world your rebellious and unconventional nature”.
(Jean-Chris Miller, The Body Art Book : A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body Modifications, p. 32)“In this culture, a tattooed person is still looked at as a rebel, as someone who has very visibly stepped out of the bounds of normal society, . . .”
(Michelle Delio, Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration, p. 75)“Unquestionably tattoos are socially unacceptable.”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 179)
TATTOO: A MARK OF DISGRACE OR REPROACH
Steve Gilbert, in the very popular, pro-tattoo book, Tattoo History: A Source Book, documents that even the word “tattoo” means “. . . a mark of disgrace or reproach”.
“The Latin word for ëtattooí was stigma and the original meaning is reflected in modern dictionaries. Among the definitions of ëstigmaí listed by Webster are a ëprick with a pointed instrument,í . . .í a distinguishing mark cut into the flesh of a slave or a criminal,í and ëa mark of disgrace or reproach.”
(Gilbert, Steve, Tattoo History: A Source Book, p. 15)
In fact, for most of it ís slimy history the tattoo was used to mark the criminal, adulterers, traitors, deserters, the deviant and outcast. The tattoo was a dreaded mark of reproach and disgrace.
“Adultery, also, was punished in this way [tattooed] in some parts of Britain, and ëbad charactersí were marked BC. . . In 1717, branding was abolished in the Army and replaced with tattooing. … with the letter ëDí deserterí”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 162)
TATTOO: THE MARK OF THE ëSIDESHOW FREAKí
As late as the early 1900ís, the tattoo was so far “out of bounds” of normal, civilized society, the tattooed was mainly found freaking people out as an attraction in the circus “freak show”.
“By 1897 tattooing had reached the United States, where it immediately became a circus sideshow attraction.”
(Laura Reybold, Everything you need to know about the dangers of tattooing and body percing, p. 17)“The popularity of tattooing during the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century owed much to the circus.”
(Gilbert, Steve, Tattoo History: A Source Book, p. 135)
TATTOO: THE MARK OF INDECENCY
Tattoos are so rebellious and disgusting to most people ñ they compare a tattoo to filthy pornography ñ “dirty, indecent and subversive to morality”.
“In a society that considers nudity as dirty, indecent, and subversive or morality . . .ó it is not surprising that decorations to the body are allocated to the same category.”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 179)
Even in the barbaric and immoral ancient Greek and Rome, the tattoo was considered “barbaric” and used primarily to mark slaves and criminals. Itís interesting, they promoted slavery and other forms of depravity ñ but felt tattoos were barbaric. What does that testify of todayís barbaric Christian tattooing craze? Is the next step in Christian depravity ñ slavery?
“Respectable Greeks and Romans did not indulge in decorative tattooing, which they associated with barbarians. The Greeks, however, learned the technique from the Persians, and used it to mark slaves and criminals so they could be identified if they tried to escape.”
(Gilbert, Steve, Tattoo History: A Source Book, p. 15)
TATTOO: THE MARK OF DEPRAVITY
Criminals, drug addicts, sex perverts and social outlaws are the overwhelming majority of the tattooed. Statistics, both old and recent, clearly reveal tattoos are largely worn by the rebellious and deviant.
“In addition to being a form of self-destruction, the tattoo seals the wearer off from the rest of normal society forever. Itís not all that surprising to note that the largest number of tattooed in Japan belong to the underworld, and in America tattoos are most prevalent either in jail or hard rock bands.”
(Danny Sugerman, Appetite for Destruction: the Days of Guns Ní Roses, p. 40)"It was ancient Japanese tradition to tattoo convicted criminals. . . "
(Laura Reybold, Everything you need to know about the dangers of tattooing and body percing, p. 15)“A study of young offenders on the West Coast of America concluded that delinquents tattoo themselves significantly more often than non-delinquents, and that the inclination develops at an early age without any thought for the future.”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 113)“In the Borstal institutions [criminals] it has been estimated that the incidence of tattooing can be as high as 75 per cent.”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 113)
Comprehensive studies performed in Denmark, revealed the following enlightening statistics concerning tattoos:
42% of homes for short-term detentioned were tattooed
60% of homes for young men with behavior difficulties
72% of prisons for young men
52% of prisons population
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 114)“The same Denmark studies also disclosed less than 4.8 in the general population were tattooed.”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 114)
Investigations by law enforcement officials also came to the conclusion that:
“the presence of ornamental body tattoos could serve to indicate the existence of personality disorders which are liable to manifest themselves in criminal behaviour”.
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 117)“Therefore, many authorities link tattooing with aggression, i.e. anti-authoritarianism, and it cannot be disputed that gangs and delinquents, juvenile or otherwise, display massive evidence of aggression”.
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 114)
According to study after study, a tattoo so personifies and establishes a “rebellious atmosphere” that one of the most important steps in prison rehabilitation is the removal of the tattoo. According to many serious studies, a tattoo is linked so strong to criminal behavior and delinquency, that without question, the mere decoration of the tattoo inherently contributes to the criminal behavior pattern.
“This [tattoos] is one of the problems behind prison rehabilitation. Hence the reason why some plastic surgeons associated with prison service are prepared to spend an enormous amount of time removing tattoos, especially those on exposed areas. . .”
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 181)
The famous architect, Adolf Loos, who also studied the connection to tattoos and crime, blatantly wrote:
“Tattooed men who are not behind bars are either latent criminals or degenerate aristocrats. If someone who is tattooed dies in freedom, then he does so a few years before he would have committed murder”.
(Adolf Loos, 1962 Ornament und Verbrechen. Samtliche Schriften, edited by F. Gluck. Vienna: Herold, 1962, cited at www.into-you.co.uk/contents/misc.htm)
TATTOO: THE MARK OF PERVERSION
Studies have linked tattoos to homosexuality, lesbianism, and gross sexual perversion.
"To be fair to those who maintain that tattooing is linked to homosexuality, investigations conducted in a New Zealand Borstal for girls revealed that of the 60 per cent tattooed, 90 per cent admitted to lesbian behaviour during corrective treatment. . .
Yet further analysis indicated a ratio of aggression to
