As a society, we are too quick to judge people who have body piercings and tattoos. Although I personally don’t have any, and no one in my immediate family seems to have it, to my knowledge, there seems to be a negative stigma, which really shouldn’t exist. I have a few reasons to believe this, one is that I believe it is human nature, as we have noted with tribal people and many of our ancestors. Second, individuality must be harvested as something positive in our society, not something negative. Okay, then let’s talk.
Recently something came to my attention that is somewhat annoying, it seems that the FBI wants to find out what tattoos mean about a person’s personality and what kind of tattoos certain people with certain personalities are more likely to get. That seems problematic to me. No, I’m also not in favor of iris scans, fingerprints of the whole world, or all this Facebook recognition technology in social networks on the Internet. I know for a fact from reading research papers that the human iris changes throughout life based on your health status, your diet, UV radiation exposure, and all sorts of other things as well.
“What does your tattoo say about you? The FBI wants to know” was the title of an article that appeared in NextGov Online News on July 17, 2012 published by Aliya Sternstein that said;
“The FBI is working with law enforcement technology vendors and local law enforcement to interpret the symbolism of tattoos to catch criminals and terrorists. This will add to Iris and Facial Recognition, they already have fingerprint data. Mass collection of multiple markers biometrics, which could include vocal cues and handwriting samples, has angered immigrant communities who say the FBI and DHS are misusing the technology to deport innocent people.
Still, isn’t this a stereotype? It seems that we citizens are not allowed to stereotype, since that is considered a no-no, politically correct, and God help us if we make an inappropriate comment; Can you say hate crime? And yet, the government is instituting profiles and stereotypes of anyone who is different, treating them like they are the evil joker in a Batman movie. Why are we stereotyping and what does it all mean? Someone without tattoos could become just as much of a criminal as someone who does have tattoos.
Some people may say that those without tattoos are more integrated into society, and less likely to commit crimes, but as soon as we say that, we are attacking a minority that we badly need, that minority that believes in individuality. , and they are exercising their freedom of expression. That’s a good thing, that’s what America stands for, and we need more people who believe that. We don’t need a society that looks like the Borg, yuck, where everyone is the same, and no one dares to step out of line, or wear a bright color unless it’s Friday. Do you see my point? Please consider all this and think about it.
