[Gay State Conservative]

Yes,I understand that certain Polynesian cultures have had tattoos for many years...centuries,in fact. When I speak of tats I'm not talking about them...I'm talking about Westerners.

And for that matter I've read that Japanese culture has a pretty strong opposition to tattoos...in Japan they're seen as an indication of criminal activity.

[Reily]

Yep! Both the Yakuza and the Russian mob have a tradition of tats. Interestingly the Russian mob actually goes back a couple of hundred years a whole generational subculture that neither Czar nor Communism could wipe out. Tats for the Russian mob are a sort of resume that you wear. I don’t know if that’s true with the Yakuza.