I was sent a local news article from home about a group of Gallente boys sporting Matari tattoos, this happend on a local beach. Some matari took offense and the gallente boys would have been severly beaten had not local authorities been called, it suprised me somewhat as i thought this was a stupid fashion thing that had died out.
Is this still a thing amongst some gallente people?, to risk your life and limb because of some stupid fashion. Surely it must be widely known that matari people does not consider such tattoos for free use and will resort to more than harsh words. Perhaps some PSA need to be put together, so people realize that getting such a tattoo is putting yourself at risk.
What are your thoughts of this people, should we be more tolerant or continue to harshly educate those that really should know better?..
I dont care. Some matari are not tatooing themselves at all, then why only Matari have to wear these tattoos when some matari people are wearing non-matari pure looks? Its not a mark on your forehead that makes you who you are.
Reminds me of a guy I once knew in Lirsautton. He used to sell pretty colored semi-transparent T-shirts with strings of glowing Jin-Mei temple script on it, claiming that those are traditional wishes for happiness, prosperity and the like. Tourists from the core Gallente worlds fell for it in droves.
Of course, the glyphs actually meant āIām a horny monkeyā, āIām an idiotā, āScam me pleaseā, āStupid outsiderā, etc. And that guy wasnāt even a Jin-Mei, his girlfriend was.
I also once saw a Gallente party girl with a Pale Eye stamped all over her face. Cool, if a bit edgy, tribal mask-like pattern, why not?
Clueless people using othersā culture as a fad without knowing what they are really doing are great source of lulz.
Many take their clan identity very seriously, as these kids just pick something that looks cool. But to a Matari itās part of their being, Miss Jadewing has a good idea there.
It wouldnāt be to hard to make up some fake tattoos ands push those, instead of them choosing a tattoo that represents a clan.
It goes a bit beyond ācultural disrespectā if someone copies a name tattoo, for example. Depending on the person you could say it would be like stealing someoneās face. And since in our culture tattoos are earned, someone just inscribing tattoo that indicates someone as a person of importance, such as a military commander, on themselves is well, something Iām sure at least many can relate to us as a bad thing. āStolen valourā, I believe is a term Iāve heard used in the Federation.
Now of course we can argue that do such people deserve a sound beating for such offences, but Iām sure we can all agree that itās immensely disrespectful.
Iāve always had very conflicting thoughts on this one. Thereās no question that the people wearing these tattoos are idiots who could do with a life lesson delivered through pain. I understand itās their way of expressing admiration for the Matari way of life (a generous assumption on my part, I know), but itās also missing the point in typical Federation fashion. Furthermore, if anyone thinks getting beaten up for sporting a tattoo is bad, try wearing one in the Republic that you havenāt earned.
Thatās our way of life, though, and we have to remember life is different in the Federation. Speaking personally, I wouldnāt get physical if I find someone wearing our tattoos in Federation space. Simply because thatās not our nation and it doesnāt live by our rules, and trying to impose our values on other people through force would be bringing me a bit closer to a certain other nationās ways then Iām comfortable with.
The Federation gave us a lot, and I feel we can show a little bit of tolerance in return. Explain the significance, sure. Explain theyāre basically spitting in our face, sure. Beat them down? Not in Federation space.
If they take these tattoos into Republic space though, then theyāre in our society and I wonāt be quite as forgiving.
Anyone who disfigures themselves with such vile uncleanness is only barely worthy of their component proteins being immediately processed into fertilizer for non-foodstuff use.
All of it including the parts where arrogant kids get taught life lessons through painful experiences? I just canāt agree with that. On the one hand we want them to respect our ways, but we canāt bring ourselves to respect Federation ways. As far as I know, problems arnāt usually solved with violence over there, and there is value in respecting that. Itās no more our place to educate their youth through violence then itās their place to don our tattoos.
Now this is someone whom Iād gladly send off with several broken bones no matter what Empire weāre in. There are some people for whom an introduction to the dirt is pretty much mandatory.
I donāt feel the same way about youths who donāt understand what they are putting on their bodies, and I donāt think Matari should consider violence the first and only solution to every problem. Tempting though it may be, especially for us Brutor.
My solution, if a situation like this presented itself to me (which it hasnāt, Iāll easily admit) would be to engage them in the manner of their own culture: discussion. Thatās supposed to be how the Federation resolves things, after all. Iād talk to them, ask them why theyāre doing it, explain how I feel it disrespects me, and my people, and the things weāve survived. And who knows, maybe one of those āGallenteā kids is mixed-blood and trying to embrace a part of themselves that they never had exposure to or explanation of. More screwed-up things than that happen every day.
So Iād explain myself, and, barring any seriously extenuating circumstances, Iād appeal to their sense of decency and empathy. And then Iād explain that, having attempted to resolve the issue in the manner of their culture, if I saw them again and they hadnāt had those tats removed, Iād resolve the issue in the manner of my culture.
Had this happen once. My clan was working on the sewage system for a station out in Rens. While we were getting set up to begin the inspection we saw a Gallente girl sporting our clanās tattoo. Long story short she spent the next 18 hours crawling around the sewers with the crew. If you have my clanās name on you, you earn itā¦ Sheās actually a member of the clan now.
I actually can imagine quite a number of Gallente goth chicks strolling around with my Blood Wings on their backs because it looks cool. Itās like Morduās Eagle, but without heads and stretched a bit. Dark red tendrils that emerge from a spot that vaguely looks like a headless bird and end on your shoulders. I probably can sell the pattern to a few tattoo salons yet
A pity that I canāt make them go through everything I went through because of that little tattoo. Thatāll teach them something. Probably even more than getting a āValklear veteranā on oneās chest and then just end up nova-knifed for it in a dark alley.
As I said, clueless outsiders are a never ending source of lulz.
