Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, November 1, 2011
Fashion Former White Supremacist Has Face Tattoos Removed
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 9:33 AM
You have to see it! It's pretty amazing:
A former white supremacist gang leader has undergone months of painful laser treatment to erase hate-filled tattoos from his face.From a savage to a normal human being, from ugly to handsome, from darkness to light. It's all there.Bryon Widner, for years an "enforcer" for some of America's most notorious racist groups, shunned his beliefs after marrying but struggled to get a job due to his appearance.
He was so desperate to hide his tattoos he even contemplated using acid to disfigure himself but eventually found a sponsor for expensive laser treatment.
The process, which cost $32,400 (£20,233), was so painful that he had to be put under general anaesthetic each time and it took 25 operations over 16 months before it was complete.
Widner still has racist tattoos on other parts of his body, one of which is "Thug Reich" on his stomach. It is curious that a leading white supremacist shamelessly copied the black rapper Tupac—he had "Thug Life" on his stomach
1
Let me just say I was first alerted to this story by the Southern Poverty Law Center through their periodic publication, the name of which escapes me now. SPLC paid for this procedure. I mention all this because the SPLC deserves your support!!
2
@1 - i read the story on Yahoo yesterday...i thought it said the surgeries were financed by a private donor with a few conditions (anonymity, that the guy get a GED and go to community college, or something)...
either way, though, the SPLC does do fantastic work, and DOES deserve everyone's support!
either way, though, the SPLC does do fantastic work, and DOES deserve everyone's support!
3
It was my understanding through reading the story that this man approached SPLC for help, and they found an anonymous donor who agreed to pay for the procedure.
6
He's getting kind of old like other GenX members now with swelling tummies and drooping boobs, so those swastikas would have stretched into stick men anyway.
9
A coworker once claimed to know someone who got a tattoo of a tugboat, with the words "Tug Life" on his stomach.
10
@1, SPLC didn't pay for it, they found a donor for him. The donor had stipulations which Widner happily met (getting his GED, going to therapy).
12
His mimicry of black rappers tatoos should not come as a surprise. There's long been an association bewteen skinheads and blacks, and not like you would expect. Early skinheads shaved their heads to mimic the shaved heads of young blacks in England. In the 1980's I would often see skinheads at shows mimicing the posturing of black rap groups like Run DMC. There's long running and peculiar relationship.
13
@12 The original skinheads were mods who got into reggae and copied West Indian styles. They weren't racist as a subculture. The racist, neo-nazi skinheads came later.
This man may have had a shaved head but he was a white power skinhead and for that reason it is a surprise that he would get a tattoo modelled on the famous tattoo of a non-white celebrity.
This man may have had a shaved head but he was a white power skinhead and for that reason it is a surprise that he would get a tattoo modelled on the famous tattoo of a non-white celebrity.
15
@12: Working class skins versus racist skins, obviously.
@14: SHARPs were their own breed of asshole. Holy crap, they messed up the local music scene where I lived something fierce. I can remember having to run away from a few shows because they were just going after everyone.
@14: SHARPs were their own breed of asshole. Holy crap, they messed up the local music scene where I lived something fierce. I can remember having to run away from a few shows because they were just going after everyone.
16
Yeah the poor Neo-Nazi who couldn't get a job because of hateful tattoos he got quite willingly and the great organization that donated a large amount of money so everyone couldn't immediately identify him as a fucking asshole.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
The Sunday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (17) RSS