Gang Tattoo

As we have seen, tattoos have traditionally been associated with criminals in many societies. It is true that many gangs represent themselves with tattoos. The markings show the permanence of each member’s dedication to the group as well as warning others to beware. Different parts of the world have developed different gangs. In the twentieth century, we saw the rise of biker gangs such as the Hells Angels. The Hells Angels are now a motorcycle club and have a website and merchandise. They are known for having many tattoos and are involved with the security for many tattoo conventions as well as concerts. The Big Red Machine, as they are known, have chapters throughout the United States and throughout the world. Their famous logo is called the Deathshead, which is the profile of a skull with wings. The Hells Angels and other motorcycle clubs are very involved in the tattoo industry, and many members are often tattooists or shop owners. Street gang members also are often tattoo collectors. Many will have the logo of the gang tattooed on themselves. It became so common for gang memberss to get gang-related tattoos that law officials have been studying the designs for years. Many police officials study these designs so that they can determine who is involved with whom. This is especially important for corrections officers, as many gang members are incarcerated. The violence is so bad that gangs are separated in jail. Gangs are generally race oriented, which, in turn, determines the designs of gang tattoos. White power gangs often have Celtic or Viking designs. Designs from Northern Europe or Nazi Germany, which depict a cultural origin, are used to represent the various white supremacist groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood. Whites are a minority in the prison system and don’t necessarily have a home turf or neighborhood like African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos. Hispanic or Latino gangs tend to have tattoos with Christian themes such as crosses or praying hands. They also have developed a particular style of tattooing from their culture. They often have a Latino pin-up girl wearing a Stetson or fedora hat tattooed in a thin-line style and in black and gray. Jack Rudy, a tattooist from California, made these tattoo designs popular. Now Mr. Cartoon has made that style more popular by tattooing many hiphop artists such as Eminem. In the California correctional system,a group of Mexican Americans came together to create one of California’s most notorious gangs, the Mexican Mafia. This group split in two to create the Surenos (southerners) and the Nortenos (northerners). The Surenos usually have tattoos with the letter 13, which can represent the letter M, as it is the thirteenth letter in the alphabet. La Ema,which is Spanish for M, shows respect to the Mexican Mafia. The Nortenos, who broke away from the Mexican Mafia in the late ’60s, are based in Northern California. Both Latino gangs get tattoos to represent where they are from, such as an area code. They will also get a teardrop by the outside corner of their eyes to represent a murder committed or, more recently, to represent a fallen friend while they were in prison. Another Latino gang that is growing immensely in size is the gang known as MS-13. MS stands for Mara Salvatrucha. Mara refers to an army ant, while Salvatrucha is Spanish slang for Salvadorian. The group generally consists of Salvadorians but has been reported to include other Central Americans as well. The members will have MS-13 tattooed on them, or they might have a tattoo of devil horns, as the group took the horns hand gesture from early rock and metal shows. Many also have been seen with facial tattoos.Most gang members will get words tattooed on them, which represent their gangs and where they are from. Old English is the most popular lettering used for all gangs. Many of the Latino gangs will use a very beautiful and decorative script. This form of lettering is very popular among tattooists. Good script is a sign of a good tattooist.During the regime of the Soviet Union, a very complex, symbolic form of tattooing came about in the Russian prison system. As in most prisons, the ink was made from burning the heel of a shoe and then mixing it with urine to liquefy the dark soot. Many symbols have been created to show a person’s rank in the prison and even to show if that person had screwed up. Grins are tattoos forced on prisoners who don’t pay their gambling debts or who mess up in other ways. The image is usually of a sexual nature meant to be embarrassing for the wearer. Here are other symbols: Spade: A thief. Club: A criminal. Diamond: A stool pigeon, a mark that is placed by force. Heart: Sex symbol and a passive homosexual or a prison sex object. Barbwire: The number of barbs in the wire shows how many years in the sentence. Butterfly: Shows a trustworthy individual or an escape artist. Crown: A king or head of a family. Dagger with blood: A killer or one who will help with a murder. Tattooing in North American prisons is illegal. Being caught can lead to a loss of privileges or of parole. There is no way of sanitizing anything and many diseases may have been transferredinmates leave with fatal incurable diseases, a program is being set up where professional tattoo shops will be placed in prisons. They will be up to health-code standards and staffed by prisoners. This will enable prisoners to learn about a profession as well as get clean tattoos.