Inking the work industry

» Why we must look past the stigmas of workplace tattoos

Yasmim Canabrava
The Peak

Ro reports show that

n estimated one in five
Americans, as well as Brits, have
tattoos. Although these numbers
have increased from previous
years, the attitude towards
tattooed people seems to have
remained the same. According
toa Harris poll, one quarter
of American, non-tattooed
respondents believe people with
tattoos are “less intelligent” or
“less healthy.’ Likewise, almost
50 per cent of interviewees
said inked people are “more
rebellious.” Such thinking
reinforces the idea that inked
people are not suitable for most
occupations.

Since the beginning of the
human race, tribes throughout
the world have marked their
bodies to display power and
accomplishments. When these
practices began in the Western
world, people were tattooed for
similar reasons. Gang members,
ex-convicts, and sailors wanted
to show off their experiences by

undergoing the painful process of
gous P P : from the crowd.

marking their skin.

While history is filled with

: tattooed gents and ladies who

: weren't the best apples, how

: many people do you know with

: tattoos? My guess is quite a few.

: Maybe you haven't noticed the

: over-the-counter lady’s butterfly
: tattoo on her ankle, but that’s

: a tattoo, just like the ones Rick

: Genest, a.k.a. “Zombie Boy,” has.

What some people fail

: to understand is that tattoos

: are no longer a radical body

: modification. The only difference
: between a tattoo you can and

: can't see is its location and

: the motives behind it. While

: some might argue that a tattoo

: placed in a visible location could

: imply something bad, at least

: two formal studies suggest that

: tattooed people have virtually

: no difference in personality from
: non-tattooed people, other than

: a slightly increased need for

: harmless self-expression.

Therefore, the notion that

: inked people aren't normal

: people trying to live their lives

: like you and me is not only false,
: but detrimental to those who

: made legal decisions to become
: more unique, to pay homage to

someone, or just to stand out

Certainly, in recent years

: the focus on self-expression has

: become a recurring theme in

: generation Y’s agenda, and thus

: modern companies attempt to

: adapt their environment to fit

: their worker’s needs. The best

: example of a body art-friendly

: company is Google, which doesn’t
: hold a policy on tattoos in the

: workplace.

Although businesses are

: bound to become more “worker

: friendly,’ as it’s a well-known fact
: that a happy employee is more

: productive; minimum-wage

: workers are excluded from the

: discussion on tattoo-friendly

: work environments.

: The range of jobs for tattooed
: and unskilled workers is thus

: incredibly small, since a majority
: of minimum wage jobs require

: customer service. Employers

: often avoid hiring inked people

: for fear of negative repercussions
: from their clients, who maintain
: prejudiced views on tattoos.

? While it’s true that one has to

: bear with the consequences of his
: or her actions, to ink your skin

: is far from illegal and shouldn't

: be punishable by society. With

: the increased immersion of

: inked people in everyday jobs,

: customers will see beyond these
: stereotypes, and hopefully lessen
: the stigma of body art.

 

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Criminal injustice

» Societal benefits of moving the criminal justice system from retribution to rehabilitation

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

Ve few groups of people
are more marginalized
and challenged than convicted
criminals. On top of mentally
reintegrating themselves into life
on the outside, they may have
to deal with stigma, possible
probation, and the scarlet letter
known as a criminal record
visible to anyone who needs the
information, namely, employers.
Business owners have
the right to pick and choose
whomever they feel would be
an asset to their company, and
nothing sets off internal alarm
bells like a former cat burglar
behind the point-of-sale system.
Sex offenders have it twice
as bad. Although it is most
definitely in the interest of the
public, there’s no denying that
a (generally) lifetime brand as a
sexual predator is harsh on any
human being, particularly on the

drunk guy who took a piss behind :
: practice; it’s human nature.

: But realistically, would it not

: be best for society as a whole if

: we focused on taking negative

: experiences and creating better
: functioning citizens? No matter
: what, human beings deserve

a dumpster and ended up being
categorized with Jerry Sandusky
and Ted Bundy.

One of the things that has
been proven time and time
again over the course of history
is that it is incredibly easy to

: dehumanize. Whether it’s due to

: war, bigotry, or, in this case, social :
: expectations, people dehumanize :
: those they consider undesirable:
: because it makes it easier to treat
: them like shit. I think there are

: too many glaring issues with the
: criminal justice system in the

: first world to name, but for me it
: boils down to one line: above all, :
: rehabilitation of offenders should

; be the top priority.

There are all kinds of issues

: that make that idea really

: unrealistic to just pull off. First

: and foremost, there are simply

: some people who are so sick

: they can’t be rehabilitated. Serial
: killers, for example, generally

: have something very wrong with
: their brain that stifles empathy

: or causes a deep pathological

: need to kill. Second of all, it’s all
: too natural to want to see serious
: offenders be punished and suffer
: for their transgressions.

Basically, all this is

: what makes my sentiment

nigh impossible to put into

: to live in a better place than

: your average prison. Most of

: them suffer from third-world

: conditions, horrible treatment

: of prisoners, as well as prison

: culture—an atmosphere that

: promotes gang life, rape, and

: human trafficking, among other
: things. This prison culture is, by
: all accounts, nearly impossible

: for authorities to counter with the :
: current conditions.

There isn’t a short-term
solution outside of fairy tales, but

: as each generation becomes more :

: socially progressive than the last,
: I can see us putting our heads
together and coming up witha

: solution that, as of now, people

: are hard-pressed to care about.

: I'm not condoning leniency on

: the real sickos out there, but

: if someone has the potential

: tobe treated, we owe it to that

individual to try. Even if they're

: on their second, third, or fourth
: chance, they’re still human and

should be treated with dignity.

   

Image via thinkstock

You can argue all day that

: the system makes life horrible

: for those who deserve it, that

: they deserve a tortuously lengthy
: sentence or capital punishment

: for what they did. I like to think

: we're better, bigger people for

: treating criminals like humans.

: We don’t need to stoop to their

: level and harm other people to

: satisfy a primal desire for justice.
: An eye for an eye makes the

: whole world blind.