Marks of evil
Tattoos, piercings should be seen as forms of expression
Pm sick and tired of people,
mostly older and closed- minded,
asking about the origin of my body
piercings or my tattoo.
In fact, three days ago I was get
ting coffee and minding my own
business (Karen’s Tractor-Pull
Fantasy Rides, Inc.), when a 40
something man looked at my nose
stud and said in the most monotone
and insolent manner, “My daughter
has one of those things, and I wish to
God she would get rid of it. I’ve tried
everything.”
“Well,” I replied in a haughty
manner, “did you offer to pay her?”
He wasn’t very happy. But hey,
it’s better to be pissed at me than my
little “fashion statement.”
After all, that’s what piercings
are for me. A fashion statement.
It’s surprising when we think that
these fashion statements have been
around for centuries. Tribes in
Africa used to pierce their noses to
guard against evil demons that could
fly up their nostrils.
And not that far back, painting
the ol’ finger nails was an atrocious
“fashion statement” causing people
to call the women harlots and other
naughty words.
I won’t even get into what socie
ty thinks of men who paint their
nails (damned devil worshippers and
faggots).
I wanted to scream at that man in
the coffee joint and say “Piercings
aren’t permanent - so check your
head, fool.”
I can make the argument that
piercings aren’t permanent, but wha
about the most evil body modifica
tion that exists - besides having stee
horns surgically implanted into your
skull and plastic surgery?
The evil has a name, and it is
called “tattoo.”
I have partaken of the tattoo’s
many pleasures in the form of a vine
that winds from under my kneecap
down to my ankle.
When my father first saw
it, he told me I looked like a
freak and I had ruined my
life.
a power
ful state
ment, sure, and
at the time I
thought he was being
a jerk, but what if
he’s right? Perhaps
listening to your par
ents should be a thing
of the past (after all,
we’re in college
now), but
some
times
they
make us
feel bad for
good reasons.
That’s the
scary part -
parents
sometimes
have solid
reasoning for the admc
nitions they give. I’m
just glad he didn’t call
my tattoo the
“devil’s mark
of anar
chy.”
I don’t feel like I’ve ruined my
life right now - but who knows
about the future? A good job that
t could be secured otherwise by not
having a tattoo does not enter nly
1 head, and did not enter my head a
year and a half ago as I submitted to
the needle’s power - for 10 hours
straight.
Do I want to be employed in a
place where the employers choose
what I look like over what I have to
offer them? Maybe.
I still circle
to the soothing idea that one should
just see what happens when it hap
pens. It’s too late now anyway - tat
toos simply can’t be taken off, but
that somehow doesn’t bother me.
If someone is the tattoo type of
person, the possible employment
and social scarring is a minor sacri
fice for doing something you love.
I can see where my dad is com
ing from. I see tattoos every day and
it’s not just because my place of
employment’s two locations are right
by two tattoo parlors.
Tattoos are quite prominent in
Lincoln and are often on the most
surprising bodies. Most are
small tribal butterflies or
Shawn Balarin/DN
roses,
but
still
provide a
sense of self
to the people
who get
them. A
body deco
ration of
any
sort
tells
a
story of
a person
ality - tat
toos just
happen to be
the most ’
risky.
In
Kimball (pop
ulation 2,500)
tattoos don’t
exist, except on
those labeled
by the mod
est, well-to
doers of the town
as the “scary folk who live across
the tracks.” I think that my father
doesn’t realize how incredibly com
mon they are for me and not for him.
However, I could have gotten a
tiny bee on my shoulder blade or
something rather than a tattoo that
engulfs my calf. But I got what I
wanted, and that’s the important part.
The common stereotype is that
tattoos aren’t for pragmatic people.
Maybe it means that I’m not prag
matic, but my life, other than the fact
that I have a tattoo (and that I’ve
annihilated a few hotel rooms), tells
me different. I believe I’m a sound,
solid individual - regardless of
image.
If it sounds like I believe that I
made a mistake in getting the tattoo,
you’re wrong. I’m actually trying to
advocate to the young students of
UNL to go support Hood’s Tattoo.
Rebel against your parents, or sim
ply partake in a ritual that so many
people enjoy.
Be warned, there’s no backing
out of a tattoo once it’s started, just
like there’s no crying in baseball.
Tattoos are also extremely addic
tive. I feel that I was in control and
did not make a “hasty decision” con
cerning the image I chose. It’s a sim
ple vine, but I designed it myself, so
it truly is a part of me.
The reason I advocate tattoos is
so you can pick out the geeks from
the coolies.
Don’t rag on people for having
tattoos or body piercings; respect or
disrespect people for their choice in
the art. Feel free to laugh at the jack
ass who has “Wanda 4 Eva” on his
arm or, my personal favorite, “Player
for Life.”.
Don’t, however, hassle or judge
people for marking up their flesh.
They’re their bodies, not yours.
Karen Brown is a senior English and film studies major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
Monumental love
Magnificence of Taj Mahal matches its intricate history
After getting past strict security, I
finally boarded the plane for my two
hour journey to Delhi, the capital of
India. Following a safe flight and train
ride, I arrived in Agra, die home of one
of the wonders of the world: the Taj
Mahal.
It stands as a truly magnificent
monument of love, built by Moughal
Emperor Shah Jahan.
It is said that Shah Jahan could
have any woman he wanted. During
his reign, hundreds of concubines and
women would come to his palaces and
do as he pleased. ‘ 1 •
But he had only one true love: his
beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. She bore
him 14 children, including one who
would eventually end Shaft Jahan’s
reign.
When Mumtaz Mahal was lying
on her death bed, while bearing their
14th child, she made the emperor
promise to build a tribute to her life.
Thousands of artisans were
employed and no expense was spared
to create this glorious 22-year building
project, which strongly reflects para
dise. The large marble dome represents
the vault of heaven. The square plat
form on which it rests symbolizes the
universe.
There are four pillars that stand on
each comer of the Taj Mahal. I noticed
that the pillars lean outwards - this is to
prevent the destruction of the Taj
Mahal. In case there was an earth
quake or natural disaster, the pillars
would fall away from her tomb.
Another interesting fact is that the
Taj Mahal is supposed to be perfectly
symmetrical. Emperor Shah Jahan had
planned a black Taj to be built across
the river identical to his wife’s, con
nected by a silver and gold bridge.
In 1958, his son Aurangzeb took
Shah Jahan prisoner in the Mussaman
Buij, a fort just down the river from the
Taj Mahal. Aurangzeb felt his father
was spending too much of the family
fortune, and it was necessary to end his
father’s foolish building fetish.
His son had the hands of the archi
tects and designers of the Taj Mahal
cut off, so that the beauty of it could
never be duplicated. From the fort,
Shah Jahan spent his last eight years
imprisoned, staring out a window at his
wonder.
Because only die foundation of the
black Taj Mahal was completed, it was
decided that Shah Jahan’s body would
be placed next to his wife.
Consequently, the Taj Mahal is not per
fectly symmetrical.
When I was at the Taj, I saw the
locals removing their shoes, so I did
likewise, out of respect I stepped one
foot and then the other onto the cool,
white marble. I climbed to the base
platform and headed into the Taj
Mahal.
The beauty that it possesses can
not be captured in photographs - I
can’t even do it justice with these
words. It is inlayed with some of the
most precious materials from around
the world. The color that the Taj Mahal
reflects is never the same. It may be
,
pink in the morning, blue in the late
afternoon or gray in the evening, but I
saw it in its most beautiful state - per
fect white just before noon.
Mumtaz Mahal’s body is placed
directly in the middle of the structure,
aligned with the dome that faces up to
the heaven. Shah Jahan’s was placed
just to the left of his wife. Inside it is
dark and cool. I had to use a flashlight
to be able to see the inlay and the beau
tiful designs.
When I made my visit to the Taj
Mahal, it was Friday - a holy day. The
mosque and temples in the area had
just let out thousands of people who
were gathering to pay their respects. It
was a wonderful sight, seeing so many
people honoring something so old that
means so much to them.
File photo/Newsmakers
Broer visited the Taj Mahal as part of his Semester at Sea, in which students learn while traveling.
Andrew Broer is a sophomore secondary education and English major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist
