OT: Spare the Rod...

Have any of you read this story? It's disturbing. Apparently, eight Polk County, FL teens, ages 14 to 18, were arrested for luring a former friend into a house and beating her senseless. Oh yeah, and while they ganged up on her, they videotaped it. They filmed everything but the two guys standing outside playing look-out. The victim, 17 year old Victoria Lindsay, had apparently badmouthed the girls on Myspace. To seek their revenge, the girls lured her into the Mulberry, FL home she was temporarily living in (which is where the story gets even more twisted) and beat her for 30 minutes so that they could post it on Youtube. That'll teach her!

The beating took place in the home of Mercedes Nichols, one of the attackers. Lindsay had been staying with Nichols for about a week because Lindsay had been having problems with her parents. Nichols' mom, Christina Garcia, has done several interviews since the attack, and claims that her daughter tried to warn Lindsay, and that an adult neighbor heard the warning. But during the 30 minute beating, neither Nichols nor the unidentified adult witness called the police.

This crime is disturbing. It hits close to home for me, because I live in Polk County. My siblings grew up in Mulberry. Oh, and one of the little twits is my cousin's ex-girlfriend (I tried to tell him she was trouble).

All eight were arrested and will be tried as adults. After the girls were arrested, they were LAUGHING ABOUT IT, and joking that they wouldn't be going to the beach for spring break after all. Twisted, very twisted.

I just watched an interview with Lindsay's parents. Lindsay is not in critical condition, but she definitely suffered major damages. She is recovering from a concussion, and has yet to regain hearing or vision on her left side. She also suffered several cuts and bruises. Meanwhile, her parents are blaming the Internet.

"For whatever reason, this Myspace, Youtube... It's gone too far. And what it's doing to our kid's... It's too much," said Talisa Lindsay.

"These websites that are creating a space for violent activity... As far as I am concerned, MySpace is the anti-Christ for children," claimed Patrick Lindsay.

The situation is awful. But is the Internet to blame? Is Myspace the anti-Christ? If so, does that mean I am satanic for having a Myspace account?

I would really like to see someone step up and tell parents everywhere to wake up and smell the freakin' coffee. Do you want to know why your kids are beating the crap out of each other? Because that's how they see you solve problems. Do you want to know why your kids are getting into trouble? Maybe it is because you don't keep decent tabs on them to know what they're doing. Where did these eight sets of parents think their kids were when this happened?

I'm not a parent yet, so it may be unfair for me to toss around these kinds of accusations. But I do know that when I have children, I will know where they are and who they are with, for the most part. And no, I will not spare the rod...

What Were They Thinking? 4/5/08

I regret to admit that I have been slacking. I have ignored my responsibility to bring you a new, crazy, WWTT tattoo each week. In fact, it has been something like 3 weeks. So to make up for it, I have 3 new goodies for you! I'll start with my personal favorite faux pas.

#1 Elmer Fudd

Okay, the obvious issue with this ink is the gross-factor of the plumber's crack. Or the sillyness of the cartoon character tforever engraved on one's body. But there is something else that really irks me about this tattoo. Remember this post? I get very irked by spelling errors. Especially when they are permanent. It shouldn't be "your," it should be "YOU'RE!" Geez. For the love of ink...

#2 Hogan Knows Best

Hulk Hogan is an icon. And watching his show, Hogan Knows Best, is one of my guilty pleasures. But this fan took it a little too far. Still, I think the Hulk would probably love it! "That's one handsome tat, BROTHER!"

#3 In Terrifying Memory

Oh, man. This is more of a reflection on the tattooist. What were THEY thinking??? This is really one of the worst tattoos I have ever seen. As a tattoo artist, if you can't do portraits, just steer clear of them. I would be really upset if someone butchered my tattoo like this, especially one with such sentiment attached.

Shoulda gone to Kat Von D!

One More Step in the "Disney-fication" of America the Naive

"You Americans think everything is freakin' Disneyland!"

As I chatted with a friend of mine the other day, we discussed how foreigners view Americans. The above is a quote her Puerto Rican friend used to describe us.

It's so true. In America, we like for things to appear wholesome and pure. Everything has a moral and a purpose-- our purpose. Everything makes sense-- to us. It's one endless stroll through "It's a Small World."

Life is not like a Disney movie. But we Americans are sure trying to make it that way. There are towns across the country based on this philosophy. The one that comes to my mind is called Celebration, a town near Disney World in Osceola County, FL. Their motto is "You've Got To See This Place!" No kidding.

In Annapolis, there are people wanting their own little Celebration. There are certain 'town centers' in the works that have the same wholesome (I use this term loosely) look and feel. The people here want to ban tattoo parlours, among other things.

Mr. Middlebrooks, at the request of the Glen Burnie Town Center
AdvisoryCommittee, introduced a measure last month that would ban new tattoo
parlors, billiard halls, arcades and fortune tellers (psychics, palm or tarot
cardreaders and the like) from the county's three town centers.

Apparently, they want to maintain a wholesome, family-friendly image. But as the author of the article asks, who gets to determine what is or isn't wholesome?

Why aren't tattoo parlours wholesome? Look around. 10 to 1, your teacher, your doctor, your lawyer and the lady sitting next to you in church are all sporting tattoos. It is becoming a huge part of culture, and tattoos are being widely accepted. They aren't just for bikers, sailors and convicts anymore.

"You Americans think everything is freakin' Disneyland!"

Well said.