Tattooing, The Mask, And THE CODE

Here’s a story about life, death and commerce. People may wonder why I’m so adamant on social media when it comes to wearing a mask- is it for the common good? Is it personal responsibility over ‘personal freedom’? It is, but it’s also because about 70% of my social media world is comprised of tattoo people. Tattooers, tattoo artists, artist who tattoo as their day job, whatever. They work in that field. And many of them are with me on this. Protect the weak and the old, wear the mask, stop transmission, your ignorant confederate psychic powers cannot tell you if you’re a carrier so assume you are, etcetera. But some of you motherfuckers are not, so here’s a story for your ignorant asses.

Once, before your time, AIDS became something more than a ‘gay’ disease. It became a general population disease. You could get it on a Friday night kind of disease. And right on top of it, Hep C went from a ‘junkie’ disease to, you guessed it, a general population disease. And right then the tattoo world found itself under a magnifying glass. This is an industry with no leaders, but right then EVERYONE knew what had to happen. We had to educate ourselves so we could convince the general population, the customers, that we weren’t going to kill them. AND WE DID.

That ushered in the greatest period of prosperity tattooing has ever known. The late 90’s. And it happened right when general paranoia was at an all time high. This is THE CODE I’m referring to. And what do I see right now? A handful of self-righteous shitheads violating this all important rule. Do the math, dildo. If even 20% of your local customer base understands the concept of cross contamination and your perilous ignorance of it, they will doubt you. And that doubt is just as contagious as a virus. So you, loudmouth with civil rights, are not only fucking yourself up but you are fucking up the painstaking work of the hard working motherfuckers who came before you. And you need your fucking thumbs broken.

Knowledge comes in cycles. Tattooing is, for instance, a low resolution medium. It takes seven years to figure this out. Right now we’re in year five of one of these cycles. I’ve seen it before and I’ll see it again. The noodly detail in thousands of pieces will blur together. And who cares. The pens- they don’t seem to pack pigment. Will this technology stand the test of seven years? I think it still needs work, but that’s just me. But there is no cycle when it comes to maintaining the public trust. There is no margin for experimentation. There is no room for error. There is no room for anything. You toe the line. You keep the trust. You will be the most germ-conscious person in the room unless you’re actually in the hospital. And if you don’t maintain this trust? The wrong kind of people are watching. People like me.