Tattoos are very personal expressions of beliefs, experiences, and can often define a person. These are my tattoos and what they mean.
AGNOSTIC on my left bicep. I got this tattoo after being forced to leave my Brookshire’s grocery store management position because I was religiously discriminated against.
“SUICIDE doesn’t eliminate pain. It UNRIGHTEOUSLY transfers my suffering to those around me.” I’ve struggled with suicide all my life, and this is a reminder on my bad days of how sad it would make those that care about me.
I tattooed my ring finger black when I was a police officer to deter random women from asking me out. It symbolized a commitment to myself. My black wedding band symbolizes me finding the perfect woman for me, who accepts that I want something as unusual as a black wedding band. It’s tungsten carbide, unscratchable and nearly indestructible, like my marriage.
A sword from Skyrim and a shield from Diablo 3, my two favorite video games. I always play the same character type as I live my life by: the proverbial white night protector of the innocent and doer of good deeds.
My wife’s name across my heart in a way that can never be covered up.
This is on my back. The top image of suffering I got at age 18, my first tattoo, when I discovered my mother’s abuse had sterilized me and I would never have children of my own. The dragons and the chess piece, the king, represent my 2 other personalities and how they fight for dominance over my body, the most important piece yet ultimately the weakest. Philos Sophos is Latin for lover of wisdom and is the root for the word Philosopher.
On my right bicep. It refers to the mindset I adopted where I had to run everything through my own filter of logic because I couldn’t believe what my parents told me.
PROBITY on my left forearm. It’s the character trait of someone who never lies, no matter what. Someone with probity can be trusted in any situation to always tell the truth, even if it harms themselves to do so.
