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Tattoos emerge from spiritual past to become art
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Written by Stormy Kage, Features Editor
A machine that punctures the skin 3,000 times a minute releasing tiny holes of ink into the top layer of the skin is only a modern technique of tattooing.
Prehistorically, humans used bones dipped into dye and wooden hammers to pierce the skin. According to vanishingtattoo.com these impressions, known as tattoos, were symbols of religion and protection.
For instance, merchant sailors practiced this form of self-mutilation as a ritual to prevent from drowning at sea. The Burmese believe this incision done over the heart would prevent from getting a bullet wound during war.
However, these spiritual forms of art have seemingly turned into a modern craze, and according to wvnstv.com, nearly every high school teen has a tattoo for reasons that vary.
Senior Linda Seraphin said she wants a tattoo because it a form of self-expression. But, senior Tevin Bradley, who has four, said he has them because each has a significant importance.
“I got mine when I was 16 because it was cool and everyone had one,” junior Shodrick King said.
Many tattoos are one-of-a-kind and there are endless amounts of appealing designs to choose from. However, research done by Dr. Bob Haley and Dr, Paul Fischer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School stated on av1611.org, the “little” and “harmless” tattoo may just have a secret hiding inside.
Tattoos may be the number one distributor of Hepatitis C. According to av1611.com, 4 million Americans are chronically infected from the blood-borne disease. Nearly 10,000 people are killed yearly from it.
“You should not get a tattoo; it is a life or death situation,” sophomore Kadijaha McCoy said.
According to digestive.nih.gov, Hepatitis C is a liver disease. It inflates the liver causing a painful, red swelling and initiates other organs in the body to stop working. The symptoms include fever, tiredness, upset stomach, yellow eyes/skin, diarrhea, and easy bruising.
However, as Haley calls it, the “deadly tattoo” will cause Hepatitis C and often times the infected person will not know until approximately 10 to 15 years later.
Senior Bethany Kinder said she feels people should get checked for Hepatitis after getting a tattoo, however Bradley said he felt different.
“I am not going to get checked for it because I don’t think I have it. I will get more tattoos,” Bradley said.
According to av1611.org, “Tattooing, Body Piercing, and Branding Are on the Rise,” written by Mryna Armstrong and Lynne Kelly, features a 22-year-old guy who received a $45 tattoo and needed a liver transplant four weeks later.
Also, research done by Haley and Fischer stated that a person is twice more likely to get Hepatitis C from a tattoo than “shooting up dope.” The disease can live on surfaces such as table-tops and needles for up to two months, and there are no government regulations enforcing tattoo parlors to sterilize their equipment.
Tattoo artist puncture thousands of wounds into the skin and each tiny gash has potential to transmit the disease. According to digestive.nih.gov, skin disorders such as sarcoid, keloid scarring, and allergic dermatitis are also associated with tattooing.
Well-known tattoo artist Thomas Lockhart of British Columbia devotes his life to tattooing. According to vanishingtattoo.com he travels around the world to visit cultures who continue to practice traditional ink scaring, using metal, and sharp rock to permanently indent the skin.
For Lockheart it is a passion.
“Though the tattoo may only be skin deep, its significance can run as deep as the soul, Lockheart said on vanishingtattoo.com.
However, for others tattooing is a plague.
“Courtesy of your friendly commercial tattoo parlor, tattoos have been the single largest contributor to a nationwide epidemic,” Haley said on av1611.org.
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