Thursday, October 30, 2025

Thursday Tattoos

 Halloween edition:

From the Guardian, a very topical article, Tattoo fixers on removing Nazi symbols: ‘You don’t know if they’re changing or hiding’ "Senate hopeful Graham Platner covered up his tattoo once he learned of its Nazi associations. It’s a problem so common there are free programs for it." That's a lie, he knew what it was.  
Kate Widener, an advanced esthetician and owner of Undo Tattoo and Laser in Gresham, Oregon, averages about 70 tattoo removals a week. Of these, she wagers “25%” are part of her free removal program. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” she said. “I’ve seen it all, including some pretty bad ones. But they just pop in, pop out, and soon it’s gone.”

Some of Widener’s clients say they are coming in only out of discretion – they are still racist, but don’t want their co-workers to know. “I have one guy who comes in only for the tattoos on his face, and he’s keeping the rest from his neck down,” she says. “Thirty-plus [swastikas] on his neck all the way down. So there are a lot of people hiding who they really are.” 

“There’s a big concern of: [are they] changing or hiding?” said Dustin Ortel, who oversees the free Ink-nitiative program at Removery, another national tattoo-removing chain. Since 2020, people every year submit applications – bolstered by letters of recommendations from parole officers or counselors – and about 300 are chosen for the procedure.

Ortel says he is a good judge of character and helps people who are genuinely changing. “I have a great gut feeling, and going through our paperwork and seeing the advocate letters, you really get to see where the person is coming from compared to the markings on their skin.”
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Barbara Eden up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.

















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