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UNDER AGED KIDS! by DG Wilson July 2008

Oh my goodness! What a problem! Here is my situation. I never have enough money let alone wealth that my family needs. It just never seems to come. And when I moved into this new neighborhood in Bed Stuy I find that there are too many kids that want a tattoo! Do you know what they want? Their names, mothers' names, GRAND mothers' names, siblings names and often, way too often the people they love are passed! So I feel bad you know?

Plus I am in need of their money! See they have some dough in their pockets and often their parents that I WANT to tattoo don't have any because they gave it to their kids! OR they stole it out of their purse...but guess what I STILL need it. So there I am with a kid that is of age....so they say....most even produce ID that says they are of age WITH cash in their hand I basically NEED to tattoo them... BUT I can't. WHY? Because I can't control what OTHER people say about it! Even though a tattoo is one of our last freedoms it too is getting nibbled away. If the kid wants the stupid tattoo in a bad place who are we to judge them?

Besides the other side that I sympathize with is the simple fact is that NO ONE really cares about them or their tattoo. I mean really, think about it. If a kid wants his mom's name on his body who are we to judge that love? What if he wants "Death before Dishonor" tattooed...maybe he really feels that way you know? But we all worry for them that they are making a bad decision because WE know that we change as time goes on...and a teen just has no real concept of that fact. Basically they CAN'T understand because they haven't fully developed their frontal lobes so we see things that they cannot but they have the heart, the drive, the need to test themselves and to make a statement.

That is another part of it too. Their statement. We worry that they will ‘never get a corperate job.' Well guess what...they never will anyways! The TATTOO of their mothers' name will not change that, it won't make them suddenly unqualified for a CEO position because they are "BLACK!" The TATTOO doesn't hurt them, the SYSTEM discriminates not my art.

And that is the prime worry of the mothers out there. They want their children to do better than they so they want their child to get a ‘good job' in a corperate position. But the simple truth is that the society that hires people and places them into those jobs discriminate against the color of the skin and the people within! The job is not available anyways. The mothers know this deep down but still resist out of a need to get the children a better life.

This struggle with their freedom of bills is what takes the mother out of the childs' life! That is true! The single working mother is often working at least two jobs to make the bills and provide for their children. That takes them away from the home right? So the children are left to raise themselves and go to the streets to do so. THAT creates the need to strike out at the system that takes their parents away becasuse they face terrible troubles there and need to learn without their parents the way to survive the streets. The news that they hear about the reality of life, that the people working the day jobs are chumps and that drugs are the only way to good money makes the kids angry. They want to believe in their parents yet they see the struggle, hate and fatigue it takes to work those jobs whereas the streets lull them with "easy" money that has gambling like risk attached.

So their tattoos that they want when they are young are not only illthought but also placed on parts of them that are supposed to create a reaction out of society. The kids think that by shocking their parents, neighbors etc that they have a bit more power. It is a statement to them that says that the kid knows he is not going to a corperate position and embraces it! At the same time it is almost a slap in the face to those that care, it says to them, YOU didn't make the world a better place for me yet, I am not going to be treated as an equal but an outcast.

This of course means that they get their tattoos in a shocking place like their necks. Ah, but today even the necks are mainstream and not shocking enough. So these kids want to tattoo the tops of their HANDS! Can't get wait to see them take it the next step and start tattooing their moms' name on their FACES!

You see, the kid misses mom who is working so hard to try to provide for the kid, so the kid goes out to the streets. There he learns that the way to make money is through illegal means. Being a kid and unable to think through consequences they might skip school or drop out to make money the easy way. They are saying that they are not a part of mainstream society and never will. To further make that statement to their friends, family and those of that proper society they get tattoos in shocking places.

Now back to me. If I were to judge each and every tattoo, I would do very, very few! MOST people want something stupid! A strawberry? Come on! What does that mean?! You LIKE strawberries? You TASTE like strawberries, you WANT to eat them? What does it really mean? Or Cherries for that matter, what is the point? You know only women get them right? So what is that...them trying to TATTOO THEIR VIRGINITY back ON?! It really doesn't work that way! Or are they trying to say that they NEVER lost it?! Come ON! I have tattooed it about 5000 times and I KNOW most of the girls were NOT virgins! So how can I judge a kid that wants a tattoo of his moms' name on his neck? He isn't going to get a job for the big wigs...well maybe in the MAILROOM but a cool tattoo would help him get the job not lose it! Plus he is trying to make a real statement, a social statement about his life and his expectations of it.

BUT no, tattooing the kids IS WRONG because they just DON'T always want their mothers' names! Rather they do want something that seems cool to them...at THAT age! But I know that they are going to grow up, and "LAUGH NOW CRY LATER" or "NO RESPECT" or their zip code...just may not be as cool when they get older! Especially on a hand! Even a neck is too much for people today. They DO judge you by the way you look and it is important not to give them any fuel! So a tattoo on the neck just says that you are NOT going to get respect. A tattoo on the hand...that is just insane! I couldn't even cover that up! You can't make it go away and it will ALWAYS be seen! Do you really want your street name on your hand for ever? What if you move?

So tattooing the kids that are 18 is still sometimes a mistake, I mean really I turn away more than I tattoo and it affects my family, but at least my conscience is clear...I mean really tattooing your BOYFRIEND of THREE MONTHS on your neck is just NEVER a good idea! But YOU try talking to these kids!

You know what they do? They just go out to a LESS good artist that will tattoo them and get a terrible job just where they wanted! They might even get sick! So there I am with a kid, money in hand, wanting a tat...I still have to turn them away.

Why? Because we are no longer free to make our own bad decisions. We are only free to follow the bad ones that society forces us to follow!

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