I don't mean to be rude and try to stir things up, but most of the people that give me weird looks are Muslim women. If you've been to a Muslim country, you would know who they are. Women with hair dresses.
I swear, one time, I was standing in an ATM line. It was a long one. in front of me was this middle aged woman wearing a head dress, with her young son. They were in front of me, in line, but THEY WERE FACING ME AND STARING AT ME! For quite some time, too. It was really really awkward. She had this look in her face that said, "I know something's gonna happen pretty soon. I bet this boy is up to no good!"
Seriously, she was there judging me with her eyes, giving her son a good example of being impolite, staring me down as if I was ready to do something criminal
Another time, I was also in a line. This time for groceries. Some little kids were running around. One kid, a boy, came up really close to me and started pointing at my sleeve tattoo. I'm usually good with kids so I smiled back at him. As soon as I smiled, his mother came and pulled him away, saying "Don't go near that bad man!"
Hmmmm....
It's not always like that. I didn't mean to give off the wrong impression on Indonesia and its people. Those two incidents happened when I was living in Bandung, West Java. Where local culture is still thick. Most people lived simple lives, and most are not so open minded.
When I moved back to Jakarta, things have started to cool down, and I don't think I have gotten the same looks I got before a lot. The looks that I got here were more curious and inquisitive. Not harassing or judging. Maybe because Jakarta is more "westernized" and its people more open minded. Probably also because the tattoo trend is continuously growing here. A lot of people are more forward in their curiosity and asked me plainly about my tattoo, which is fine. I love my tattoos and I am proud of them and what I do, so yes, I welcome questions and I will answer them with a light heart. As long as those questions aren't provocative or prejudiced.
So, what is it like being a heavily tattooed Indonesian and living here?
1. you will definitely stand out
2. depending on where you are and who you are around, you might get stared at
3. you might get associated with thugs
actually it's not that bad, once you get used to it.
bhaha.. nice one dre.. me as a human canvas sometimes also being starred at with that kind of look.. esspecially if i use body-fit t-shirt that made my tattooes crawling from behind the sleeves.. somehow, i agreeing that usually those looks are came from that 'ninja'.. but what happened to me was i had those starres more heavily right when i moved to singapore. people in busses or MRTs always give those creepy look to me.. (again) like u said, those ninja haha.. but nice one dre, i just commented that to avoid those kind of looks u should have 'ganteng2in diri'. people like Ekza and Mamenk with their tattooes always make girls wet.. so it might be ur bad luck man to get starred at like that, cos know since im getting fatter, im getting more handsome as well.. therefore, i make girls wet and started to loosing those looks slowly day by day.. hahahahaha apasih.. taiah, giting.. haha nice one dre gw tunggu postin2 lo berikutnya..
ReplyDeleteokey to the serious stuff now.. despite all the fact as being masberto (masyarakat bertatto) and all of the 'how society look at'cha with yerr tattooes', sometimes it always make me sad when i found that every person that commit crime always or at least have a tattoo. it also happened when i was living behind the bars of pesanggrahan. when i was there, i always gave a good look to "kijang baru".. every "kijang baru" got to have tattoo dude.. damn, it even hurts my feeling esspecially within those situation.. haha.. moreover, those shit influenced my family way to get rid of my tattoos. "come on, stop tattooing, yer going to look like some of criminal". fuck man... i'll say, what are you doing here in blogspot is good man.. yer gonna change people perspective about tattoo.. as i plan to work on lifestyle multimedia business back in indonesia when i graduate, yer name might come out first within area of art, esp tattoo.. LONG LIVE MASBERTO
ReplyDeleteYes, maybe because the tattoo culture first flourished within the lower class society. Sometimes within the low-est classes. Criminals, punks, gangs, the Yakuza, prisoners of war, and such.
ReplyDeleteIn short, I'm saying that criminals and gangsters have ruined the perspective in which people view the tattoo culture.
That SUCKS!
But tattoos give you a sense of belonging.
Why? Because tattoos have meanings. And because tattoos have meanings, people who have them are proud of them.
Some people have certain memories that they want to immortalize with a tattoo.
Some people may feel a connection with a specific piece of art and want to get that tattooed on them.
Whatever the reason, it is important that you have a special connection to your tattoo.
Within the mainstream community, you achieve a sense of belonging and gain your pride by "leveling up" in the mainstream community, doing mainstream activities, and achieving mainstream goals. (Mainstream meaning = "what you are TOLD to do") Like, doing good in college, having a successful career, or joining a classy country club. And they usually reward themselves afterwards by drinking champagne, go on vacation, or buying a new sports car.
In the criminal world, gangsters gain their pride and sense of belonging from doing criminal activities, "leveling up" in the criminal world, and achieving certain criminal goals. BUT, they usually mark their accomplishments by getting a TATTOO.
Anyways, it's time to get over it. Tattoos aren't just for gangsters anymore. Times are a-changing. You should too! In these changing times, we need to change the way we think, also.
Most people who have said tattoos are bad haven't even the slightest clue what the procedures are, the culture background, or even what a simple tribal design looks like. They don't know the art that can be created with a tattoo machine. They just dismiss tattoos as a derelict culture. Then they preach it to other people.
But, just because some people say that something is bad, it doesn't mean that they're right. You can find out more about it. Dig deeper beneath hand-me-down gossip and preachings. and then judge for yourself.
Tattoo is an art. It should be perceived as an art.
How DO you look at art?
There is no right or wrong in art;
only right and left.
You can only see the beauty behind something ONCE YOU HAVE OPENED YOUR EYES.