North America
Common tattoos are names of relatives or gang members, symbols of aggression, tattoos advertising a particular skill, or religious imagery. One of the most well-known tattoos is the teardrop tattoo.
Another common tattoo in American prisons and jails, especially for Hispanic inmates, is three dots on the top of the hand between the index finger and thumb, similar to what is described for French criminal tattoos below. The trio is meant to symbolize alternately the Trinity (Catholic & Christian imagery is common in the US penal system) or 'Mi Vida Loca.' (My Crazy Life in Spanish)
Read more about this topic: Criminal Tattoo
Famous quotes containing the words north america, north and/or america:
“Civilization does not engross all the virtues of humanity: she has not even her full share of them. They flourish in greater abundance and attain greater strength among many barbarous people. The hospitality of the wild Arab, the courage of the North American Indian, and the faithful friendships of some of the Polynesian nations, far surpass any thing of a similar kind among the polished communities of Europe.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“The pure products of America go crazy—mountain folk from Kentucky or the ribbed north end of Jersey with its isolate lakes and valleys, its deaf-mutes, thieves.”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country—and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.”
—Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950)