Ernesto 😎 retuiteado
It’s interesting to see how so many media outlets, politicians, and representatives of international NGOs lie so blatantly about El Salvador.
Anyone who has visited our country knows that tattoos are not only allowed, but very common. Many Salvadorans have them, even in highly visible areas: full sleeves, face, neck, hands, etc. It’s simply not true that people are required to cover them up.
It’s also false that tattoo artists have been arrested. There are hundreds of tattoo shops, and many are now doing better than ever, since they can stay open late without being extorted by gangs.
Tattoos aren’t even socially frowned upon. On the contrary, many people see them as body art and a form of personal expression.
What is prohibited are gang symbols, but not just in tattoos. They are banned in any form: on walls, in the media, even on graves.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. In Europe, Nazi symbols are banned, and no one is outraged by it.
In fact, we only restricted them in the media for one year (during the height of the war on gangs) and they are allowed again now. Yet we were scolded by the “international community” for that temporary measure, while Nazi symbols have been prohibited in Europe for 80 years.
So which is it?
What is acceptable for them is not acceptable for us?
The European argument is that banning those symbols is necessary to prevent a return to a past they do not want to relive.
Well, that is our argument too.
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