Terrorist Tattoo’s

Where do I start? I’m always a bit ambivalent about body art. Sometimes I really love seeing tattoos if they’re well conceived and beautifully realised. But, more often than not, I see lads who have names tattooed on their necks, or lasses with some misshapen geometrical shape masquerading as stylish. Oh please! Thankfully a trip to the States gave me some perspective and a different outlook. After taking advantage of some USA car hire and heading through Manhattan, New York I saw how, after 10 years, the devastation visited on the city by terrorists still had a powerful impact.

Good tattoos are usually of some meaningful artwork, symbolic or emotional, perhaps of sports teams or armed forces. But I had never seen tats being used as a memento mori. It never occurred to me that people would immortalise these events on their own bodies.

Tattoos today are becoming so commonplace and socially acceptable that barely anone bats an eyelid when they learn that the Prime Minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, has a dolphin on her ankle. Indeed, as Ozzy Osborne once remarked to his daughter Kelly, ‘If you want to be different, don’t get a tattoo.’

This guy has the Twin Towers surrounded in a smoky haze with ‘RIP’ to the top and ‘9 11 01’ at the bottom. It certainly made a big impression on me.

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This one commemorates the emergency services and the fatalities among their ranks while rescuing office workers.

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The Boston Globe carries a moving gallery of commemorative 9/11 tattooed Americans for whom the event was particularly significant.

While I found these images so poignant, I was disgusted when I later came across this next image.

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Not long after I returned to the UK, the death of Osama Bin Laden was splashed all over the media. To my disbelief the following weeks saw his supporters getting their own tattoos: portraits of Bin Laden himself.

Interestingly he’s depicted with a benevolent expression.

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None of the tattoos seemed to show the hardnosed image we’ve came to expect on the media. I like to be open minded but the thought of ‘one man’s terrorist being another man’s freedom fighter’ a bit too much to stomach.

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Prior to events of May 2nd, Americans also bore tattoos depicting images of intent.

The Grim Reaper dons the Stars and Stripes

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Russ Abbott – not the actor/comedian- designed this gruesome and slightly prophetic image.

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Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, is still convinced he’ll continue to see good and bad body art back in the UK; but he’ll always consider tattoos that hold a deep personal significance to be the best.