I just saw the photo above on the web.
I’m sorry, I know its a generational thing, I know, I know.
But I cannot stop myself from believing that anyone who gets themselves tattooed like that is an idiot. I always will.
The idea of the United States having the Secretary of Defense with those tattoos is almost too jarring for me to bear. Some are writing that the chest tattoo is a white supremacy symbol. Is it?
This is a big correction: I was hit with two equivalent photos claiming that was Matt Gaetz, and I posted this originally about the ex-Congressman. Gaetz and Hegseth do look a little alike.
For some reason, the idea of an Attorney General being self-branded like that bothers me a lot more than having a Secretary of Defense with them underneath his suit. Hegseth fought “infidels” in the Middle East. Heck, maybe those tattoos will endear him to the military. You know, like if he had a tattoo reading, “Indiannapolis.”
Ethics Alarms regrets the error (kudos to Jg in SF for flagging it.
But the bias remains.
And I’m afraid to think about what Gaetz’s tats look like...
Ethics Alarms 
That’s Pete Hegseth not Goetz and those tattoos are military vintage. . .
Yeah, that is the Knights Templar stuff.
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, actually. Or Kingdom of Jerusalem depending on which color you wore the cross in.
The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre are still around, of course. So if that’s a white supremacist symbol, there are about 30,000 catholic dignitaries who wear it under the Pope’s auspices.
Oh, and they’re not all white.
https://holysepulchre.ie/africa-and-the-order-of-the-holy-sepulchre-a-small-presence-that-is-growing/
I was thinking it was the Knights who say “Ni”.
The big one is a Jerusalem Cross, sometimes called the Crusaders’ Cross, & from that period.
Some leftist idiots online claiming it’s a swastika.
Wow. THAT was a big mistake. Thanks: the post is corrected and you get a kudo.
It is a little weird to tattoo the symbol of the kingdom of Jerusalem on one’s chest, but it is actually a symbol that the crusaders wore. He probably got it tattooed on him as a thumb in the eye to Muslim enemies of the United States.
The one on his chest is the arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, when it was a crusader state during the Middle Ages. I’m not aware of it being a white supremacist symbol today, though racists can adopt almost anything as a symbol, and the imagination of hyperventilating leftists tends to expand that collection to infinity.
The Jerusalem Cross (which as noted dates back to the 13th century Kingdom of Jerusalem) has been used by modern Christian Nationalists who want the nation and government to operate in accordance with their theology. It’s not used specifically by neo-Nazis or white supremacists, but some people have both ideologies.
I think it dates back even further than that to the founding of the kingdom of Jerusalem where the founders deliberately broke the rules of heraldry by placing gold on white in the hopes of getting people to ask why so they could repeatedly tell the story of The taking of Jerusalem in 1099.
That said, I’m just a hobby history person, there’s a page on Facebook and I believe a website called “Real Crusades History” where are you can get professional level scholarship. Deus vult!
P.S. I wear it myself occasionally, both as a lapel pin and as a symbol on a t-shirt which I wear to the gym with slogans like “Armed infidel.”. You can get all kinds of crusades novelties now. Wear your faith with pride! 🏴
On one birthday, I gave my son a pair of gold cufflinks with the cross.
I am not a fan of tattoos but unless they illustrate poor judgement in matters relevant to the job or are a distraction I don’t care. I might care if they were emblazoned on his face and neck unless he was a Maori warrior.
Speaking of that…see the next post!
“Gaetz and Hegseth do look a little alike”
As a woman I can confidently say they do not. Hegseth is a yes, yes indeed. Gaetz is just …. ew.
And fwiw, I sport a 3/4 sleeve tat on which I am often complimented (mostly by male tattoo connoisseurs who know great artwork when they see it.) I spent 8 years looking for just the right artist, and waited another two years to get an appointment with her. It definitely was not a drunk night on Bourbon Street butterfly on my ankle but something I deeply considered for a long time. You can see part of it in my profile photo. But I get that many do not care for them. And that’s just fine.
I have a lot of clients who have tattoos, some heavily, and I’ve gotten used to it. Not my thing, but that’s ok. However, I do have one who has tattoos all the way up his neck and, if memory serves, some facial rings and such. That is distracting but, again, you get used to it.
Then, again, it also occurs to me that, while I am relatively indifferent to the tats, unless it’s pointed out I don’t actually see just what is tattooed there.
That’s probably due to poor artwork. Hegseth’s tattoos are pretty run of the mill. There’s nothing sophisticated about them. There’s some really spectacular work out there but it takes time and commitment. Just my sleeve took 21 hours. I can’t imagine some of these massive back pieces on bigger guys: 60 – 100 hours likely. Maybe more.
I wanted to get the Rush Starman from “2112” tattooed on my shoulder but the tattoo artist threw me out of the shop, declaring he does not deal mental defectives with poor taste in music. Jerk.
jvb
Ha!!
Gaetz has always seemed sleazy. It is just his look and the way he talks. It is like Michael Knowles at the Daily Wire or Mitt Romney. Knowles is like a 3-4 on the meter, Romney a bit higher, while Gaetz is an 8-9.
I’m in general agreement with Jack on tattoos, on the assumption that there will be a good percedntage of people who will eventually regret them, and they’re difficult to reverse. Best to not have it become too much of a fad, but something to be seriously considered. As with other things, some won’t know when to stop, and will make themselves into freaks, like those who go overboard on plastic surgery…but this seems likely more a problem of mental issues than tattoos, per se.
I do appreciate the artwork and skill on good ones, though; some are pretty amazing. There are also pics of some used to cleverly employ scars or visible injuries, and disguise or lessen the impact by making even those blemishes into art.
I’m not a fan of tattoos myself and certain don’t and won’t ever have one myself.
That said, there’s a larger principle at stake that I think is important to remember: Freedom.
If, as the saying goes, in order to have enough freedom it is necessary to have too much of it, then there is a huge part of me that is joyous at seeing people make these sorts of choices–for themselves–even if it’s a choice that I wouldn’t make for myself.
I suppose it goes back to another saying about defending to the death your right to say it, but tattoos (and nose rings, and pastel-colored hair, and being a Rush fan*) are all things that serve as a reminder that we do still have freedom in this country.
That’s a Good Thing™.
–Dwayne
* Sorry, johnburger2013, I couldn’t resist. 🙂
The five crosses also represent the 5 wounds of Christ on the cross. In his last statement to the press, it sounds like he’s really turned his life around for the better, and has the full support of his wife and family. As far as the far-left claims of white supremacy goes, nothing but liberal BULL.
https://x.com/arthurschwartz/status/1877499069246947447?s=46