Tatted: Do You Really Know Your Historic Figures

(Miscellaneous Perspective)

Many people say that people with tattoos are criminals, thieves, gang members, rebels, etc. People with tattoos have for a while now been looked as being unsuccessful and unable to be productive. I don't really know how having your body tattooed would effect your mind and ability to lead and succeed, but some how that has become a common conception with people who have tattoos. I am going to take you back through history and I will be talking to you about a few very important people throughout time, who I bet you wouldn't have guessed to be tattooed, because they were such important and smart people. I am going to prove to you that the stereotypes about people with tattoos not being as intellectual as others is not true.

Now when you think of a king, what do you think of? Responsibility, smart, maybe money, big castle,  anything you want is yours. Well after researching and learning about King George V, King Alexander of Yugoslavia, and King Frederick IX of Denmark, when I think about kings I think of these Kings having tattoos and how many people say someone could never be in a position so high with tattoos.King George V who reigned over the UK, was the emperor of India, and was known as the Duke of York, actually allowed a local Japanese artist to tattoo a red and blue dragon on his arm. King Alexander of Yugoslavia was very well known for being a King and having a huge eagle tattoo across his chest. Finally King Frederick IX of Denmark was known for have many tattoos and also liked to show them off. Now to me these three men being smart enough, and having the responsibility, to be Kings shows that having tattoos does not effect your intelligence. I would bet that not to many people think of tattoos when they think of Kings because to many people it is the biggest shock in the world for someone important to have a little taste in art. Being a King is probably the highest position someone could have, just as being a president, and these three men are a perfect example of how having tattoos does not have anything to do with wits.

Anyone who still does not agree is probably saying, well your talking about other countries, but you haven't mentioned anyone from America. Well, I have a couple perfect examples for American leaders too and my first one is Teddy Roosevelt. Our 26nd president proudly bore his family crest but is was never certain exactly where the tattoo was, but it was said to be on his chest. Roosevelt showed great responsibility and understanding during his presidency. He had a very good reasoning of the domestic and international changes going on, as stated, "As president, the more mature Roosevelt concluded that the nation's real interests lay in a stable world balance of power. He was the first president to understand and respond constructively to both the domestic and international changes that had been created by the industrial revolution." To be able to see both of these different views and make this observation Roosevelt much have been a very smart and understanding man. Teddy Roosevelt was looked at as a man who knew what he was doing and who could make good decisions and choices, not as a guy with tattoos who was going to come into office and not know what he was doing. Another American historian, who was also known as "America's son", was John F. Kennedy Jr. who actually had two tattoos, one being a dagger on his right arm, and the other being a shamrock on his foot. Now this doesn't make any sense for people to be judging against tattoos and saying they don't resemble knowledge and well being but the "Son of America" has tattoos. To me this should be saying point blank and literally to everyone that tattoos do not effect the mental and intellectual abilities of a person. The final example of an American with a tattoo, and probably the biggest inventor and creator we have had is Thomas Edison. Everyone knows that he is well-known for his invention of electricity and the light bulb, but also the phonograph, and motion picture. Thomas Edison was by far the greatest inventor that America has seen and that's what he was looked at as and for, being an inventor, not a man with tattoos. He had five mysteriously placed dots on his arm in the shape of what would be on a die. People judged him for what he did to help, not on his tattoo and denying him as people these days would probably do. Another two people I will just briefly talk about is Winston Churchill and his mother. Everyone knows what Winston Churchill did and how he was a great help to WWI. He has the tattoo of an anchor on his arm and it is said that he got it to follow the tattooing tradition in his family, his mother Lady Randolph Churchill having a snake tattoo around her wrist and even having her nipples pierced.

As you can see there are many important, smart, and responsible, people and leaders with tattoos. All of these people were looked at for what they knew and what they did to make a difference and help. They were not shut down as people are these days for having tattoos. People need to stop judging on personal choice and start focusing on a person intellectual benefits and what they can do to help. People need to open back up and be more willy as everyone in the old days was. If Kings, Presidents, "America's son", and Inventors, can be tattooed and make huge differences for the better in the world, then common day people and ordinary people should too, along with other leaders. (982)

Citation:
Meyerson, Harold. "Foundering fathers: the authors of the Constitution were in love with gridlock. We've been paying the price ever since." The American Prospect 22.8 (2011): 12+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.
Video Citation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEdpKUtFmQ

Picture Citation:
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=x9f&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&biw=1584&bih=730&tbm=isch&tbnid=iSDygfZBdpv6eM:&imgrefurl=http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo/celeb-jfk.htm&docid=aeEXZqXqLDT2WM&imgurl=http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/images/tattoo_2/jfkjr.jpg&w=210&h=354&ei=0cPJTqf2EIvNtgeF0ZyxBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=332&sig=109600766584928147914&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=77&start=0&ndsp=42&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=14&ty=37