Tattoo Bias and Economies of Thought

    "Nothing in the world is more hazardous than accurate ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Martin Luther King Jr.

    The term 'triad' is said to have been coined by the British after assuming control of the colony. The name was derived from the frail Chinese triangle iconography venerable by the gangs signifying the unity between heaven, earth and man. And even most Hong Kong triad groups calm have their roots strongly in Mainland China. Throughout the 19th and 20th century the triads' presence in Hong Kong grew alongside the territory's reputation as an international business and shipping hub. Like any industry, the triad groups were separated by set of specialty and geographical spot. There are unexcited many active groups throughout both Mainland China and Hong Kong. It was fair in 1993 that the well-known 6 acre 'Walled City', boasting a population of 33,000 under triad rule, was demolished. Today the number of active members in each of the top groups is estimated to range between 20,000 and 100,000+.

    The two most recognizable forms in triad tattoos are the dragon and the phoenix. These generally aggressive images work in tandem within the mythology. The dragon image is held to signify the 'yang' or gloomy side of the 'yin-yang' balance. Far from a beast to be feared or hunted as in Western mythology, the Chinese dragon traditionally symbolized satisfactory luck, power and control over various elements. Of these traits power is the most celebrated reason unhurried the acquisition of dragon tattoos. On the other side is the 'light' or 'yin' element represented by the phoenix. A fire bird consistently reborn from the ashes, the phoenix symbolizes regeneration. And to that extent the phoenix also stands for a kind of power over the mortal coil. Again, the dragon and phoenix are the most recognizable pairing in triad tattoos. The other combination is the dragon and tiger. The reason for this second grouping derives from a variety of cultural sources including particular etymology of local dialects, myths slow illustrious Chinese leaders as well as the perceived internal struggle between the inclination towards marvelous or awful (with each animal representing a determined proclivity) .

    The consume of these images and mythology by triad members is not in request. Many triad members will have such tattoos. However, the unsuitable concept is that these tattoos are worn by the triad organizations themselves. Any mammoth categorizations of those who wear these tattoos automatically being a triad member of any repute are deeply mistaken. The subtle differentiation being that those who publically prove these tattoos are either a separate class of triad members or simply tattooed individuals.

    Generally speaking there are two types of triads. The first is locally referred to as a 'troublemaker', the 'young and dangerous' type. These 'troublemakers' are generally concerned with street squabbles over territory, drugs, petty crime and intimidation. Due to their public profile and propensity for show, this type receives the most attention. The second type is colloquially referred to as the 'black-band' society. mighty like any major crime organization their ranks are controlled with militarily precision and its members can be professionals from a variety of fields. Throughout the largest groups lawyers, bankers, business owners, politicians and policeman can be included in this second category. There are two rules governing the second type, to never cause effort and to never be identified as a member. The gang's income and business structures require the preservation of a status-quo. To upset this through any petty crime, unauthorized intimidation or showboating would be short sighted and absolutely detrimental to operations. The first type has allowed for the novel negative stereotyping of the tattooed in Hong Kong. They have a propensity for very tremendous tattoos yet, due to miniature financial means, will usually only complete the outline of the allotment. The second type, should they have any tattoos, would not present them in the same map. At an organizational level, leaders of various fractions will not allow followers to be tattooed. Such tattoos would map too distinguished attention whilst allowing for immediate identification. In a business where anonymity and discrete operations are of critical importance it would be imperfect to catch that there is some displayed, physical arrangement of membership categorization.

    The thought of an economy of concept is simple, it is a mental shortcut. If one was passed by three people on the street and then asked to report who passed, answers are most commonly economies of conception. A response could be "Two guys and a girl passed by". Another could be "Two business men and a woman walked by", and so on. From personal grooming, types of clothing and even their stride; a plethora of readily available information is frequently overlooked. Due to the sheer amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basis it very rarely serves any purpose to go into further detail than this. And in the absence of any extenuating circumstance, for the everyday person remarkable of this information would indeed be useless to maintain. One's more complete attention is devoted to the environmental aspects that are of immediate disaster or spend. Economies of view benefit multiple purposes and allow for mercurial navigation of unusual day life. Yet if these economies of idea are taken as inherent truths they invent the foundation for most every type of discrimination.

    To racially profile, reflect, dismiss or otherwise unfairly discriminate is to uphold an ill-formed economy of idea. A striking example of this being the 'Craniometry' and 'Eugenics' movements most famously employed by the Nazi's. These supposed 'sciences' consisted of taking physical measurements of various body parts. The subsequent ratios between the measured sections were then said to prove the subjects' value as a human being. So the length and shape of one's nose could be musty as evidence of intrinsic inferiority or cognitive capacity. Again, an ill-formed economy of concept enables discrimination as investigation or gracious concept of the facts is rendered unnecessary. This mental process (or lack thereof)  with varying levels of complexity and specific cultural pressure applies to all racial profiling, stereotyping and prejudice.

    To go out of the somewhat morbidly shameful nature of the previous example, general economies of view are applied to most every aspect of life. These are internal defense mechanisms that allow for posthaste categorization of the information saturated world we are share of. And not to carve this logic to the Socratic line of continual investigation ending in the admittance we actually know nothing with certainty, mental economies of understanding are comparatively topical shortcuts. remarkable like the snap judgment of someone's supposed indicated wealth through a subjective calculation of the note of their clothing, the shortcuts in inquire here are ones that can be reduced or removed entirely with minimal worry.

    To discover that public displays of dragon and phoenix tattoos do not necessarily explain a factual inclination or connection to organized crime is a fresh opinion to many. As with any behavior, obscene actions are of course rightfully questionable. Yet tattoo art, in and of itself, can be an art design unruffled by the most educated and favorable people across the globe. To know that there are tattoos and on the other raze of the spectrum there is tattoo art will allow for modern, slightly more good mental economies of notion to produce. To automatically fright, discriminate or dismiss the tattooed would be allowing ill-formed economies of notion to grow and negative stereotypes to propagate. In a world where the rate of tattoo adoption is growing exponentially, we must understand that when properly performed tattoo art can be as varied, complex, gorgeous and as detailed as the people who wear it.

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