Saw this at the DMV yesterday and it really freaked me out

[garybeck]

I was sitting waiting for them to call my number and directly in front of me was this.... I was lookinig at my phone for another reason and I literally didn't have to move a muscle to take the picture. I was 3 feet away from this guy.

He was just sitting there, like this was normal.

I don't understand how someone could a) want to put that on their body permanently, and b) put it in a place where people can see it almost always

Is this what our world has come to, this is normal?

I'm stuck between feeling sorry for the guy.... angry.... confused.... sad.... and admittedly, a little scared.

I am Jewish. I have never seen that symbol on person before. Of course I've seen pictures. but never in real life, an arms length away from me. when I took the picture I admit, I was scared he would see me taking the picture. i was going to post it on Facebook but I became fearful that somehow the picture would get back to him and he would track me down. I know these are probably irrational fears but seeing that symbol just kind of really messed with my head.

I wanted to share this experience and my belief that this should not be a normal thing to see, and figured that DU offers enough anonymity to feel I can do it safely.

for the record.... this was in the North East, in what is considered to be a very progressive, lefty area.

so let me ask you, is this normal? if you see something like that do you just roll your eyes and move on to the next thing? or does this strike you as disturbing and not normal? is this something you would mention to your friends later on and would you be still thinking about it the next day, as I am?

I guess all I can say is, if this is normal, then something really strange is going on in this world and I don't understand it.

[jberryhill]

1. Well, to be fair

Since he can't see it, he might have been told it was a heart that says "Mom", and it's been a really big practical joke among all his friends.

I've seen some interesting ink, and some gang tattoos, but not a swastika specifically. If I came across one, I imagine I would simply move as far as practical away from that person.

[dhol82]

2. I would say that this is an uneducated dickhead.

He would only be brave if he had a posse supporting him.
Sadly, this has become more common in dump’s America.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Normal? No. But it seems to be getting more common, or at least

it seems like people are more willing to flaunt this sort of thing than they used to be. I don't think a "normal" person is going to get a swastika tattoo on his neck (and I have to wonder what the rest of that tattoo says), but it's disturbing that he doesn't think he ought to be ashamed of it. Of course, he wouldn't have got the tattoo in the first place if he was ashamed of his motivation for getting it. Maybe someday he'll be sorry he did it.

[jberryhill]

5. I have to wonder what the rest of that tattoo says

White Power.

You can see a word ending in "E" and another beginning with "Po".

I suppose one answer to "what to do?" would be to ask, "May I see the rest of your tattoo?"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. I think that's it!

What do you suppose he'd do if asked to show the rest of his tattoo?

I wouldn't ask. I'd get as far away from him as I could.

[jberryhill]

10. I imagine he'd show you the rest of his tattoo

Or, it being the DMV, he might suggest that removing one's shirt indoors at the DMV is ill mannered and likely against the rules at the DMV, and perhaps might offer to show it to you outside.

If it was in a Wal-Mart, on the other hand, anything goes.

He paid a pretty penny for that tattoo, and I imagine he'd be happy to show it to anyone who asked.

[unblock]

4. Those tattoos have been a thing in certain circles in America since 1933

I imagine Benedict Donnie is making a lot of these people more comfortable in more revealing clothing, but the tats have been around for a long time.

I've seen quite a few over the years....

[northoftheborder]

6. Seeing that would have freaked me out also,

and I'm not Jewish. Haven't seen that around here, but I don't get out much. (Red State) I see plenty of body and arm tattoos, but I try not to look at them - they are very ugly to me. They may be all around, and I just hadn't noticed.

[enough]

7. Got your attention, which is probably the fundamental motivation. NT

[smirkymonkey]

9. I'm sorry, but that is just fucked up.

And you are right, there is not only just something really strange going on in the world, there is something very sick and dangerous going on in the world. These people need to know that they are pariahs and will not be accepted by the majority.

[Glimmer of Hope]

11. That looks like a Hindu swastik.

[SCantiGOP]

31. No, that is trademarked Nazi

And I’m almost certain that is White Power below it.

[BigmanPigman]

12. Some day when he is confronted with that thing

he is going to wish he had long hair or a turtleneck shirt to cover over it. I can imagine him getting more negative feedback if he ever "grows up" and goes to a job interview or on a date where the reactions will not be what he had hoped for when he initially got it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

14. That guy is "grown up" and has probably done a stretch

For robbery or assault. Ive yet to see anyone with tattoos like that that got them for decoration.

[BigmanPigman]

15. I guess I would want to stay far, far away.

However, the DMV by my home often has a line going around the block at every hour so I would be stuck staring at his hideous neck before I could flee.

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. You bet, a tattoo like that is as good a big sign around

His neck saying "I'm a sadistic monster approach at your own risk"

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. Most likely someone that has spent time in prison. You ask

Why someone would have a tattoo like that, they are mentally ill criminals. Dangerous people, stay away.

[DK504]

16. I think I would have to confront

him and ask him why he believed in fascism. I couldn't have kept quiet, especially having to live here in the South. I can't keep my trap shut any more, it's too much.

[Codeine]

18. That's a prison tattoo.

I've been told by some people with those sorts of tattoos that they get them as a matter of survival, a way to link themselves with AB for protection in a dangerous environment and that they don't necessarily reflect the true views of the wearer.

I don't know how true that really is. I suspect that even if they don't hold those views at first that by aligning themselves with the White Power movement in prison they probably begin to assume and adopt those beliefs over time.

[LeftInTX]

20. That's what I'm thinking

[garybeck]

22. If that were the case

He could have morphed it into something else when he got out?

[Mariana]

24. Or he'd at least make sure to wear a shirt that covers it

when he's out in public. He wouldn't be so careless as to let it be seen like that, if he were ashamed of it.

[Boomerproud]

19. DO NOT post it on Facebook. You have no idea what this guy is like.

I posted a positive review for "Fortunate Son" (book about G.W. Bush and his misadventures) and you wouldn't believe the emails I got-and this was years ago. You don't want to put yourself in an unsafe situation.

[LeftInTX]

21. I would have complained to the DMV staff

I would have told him that he was making me nervous and request that I have accommodations in a separate area.

I would not want to be around him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. It isn't illegal to have an offensive tattoo. They wouldn't have had to do anything.

If he made me nervous I'd just move to the other side of the room - it doesn't seem like the guy was actually doing anything wrong.

[LeftInTX]

30. I was thinking of being stuck in a spot at the DMV

Like if that person was in front of me in a line.

Yeah, no reason to complain if I would get the same service if I moved across the room.

[Lars39]

25. Gah!

Reminds me of when I walked up and stood behind a guy wearing an Army of God
t shirt. Wanted to back up and get away at warp speed.

[Hoyt]

26. It's more common, and our country is proud to let these losers arm up.

[vlyons]

27. He may be an ex-com

who joined a white prison gang for protection. Wearing a nazi tattoo may have been the cost of gang entry.

[shenmue]

28. Years ago, I was at the unemployment office, and I saw an asshole in a KKK shirt

[3catwoman3]

29. Might as well get a tattoo that says...

..."I am a stupid asshole."

[lunasun]

32. Wonder what kind of work he does. A lot of places that wouldn't fly