MarkRobinson wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:42 pm To those who disagree,,
How many ,Government officials, National & local authorities ,teachers ,police,and mainstream business people do you see with visible, permanent cartoons/drawings (tattoos) ?

MarkRobinson wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:07 pm Don't those tatts make him look normal & help. Him blend in more with the male population ?
Nah,it makes this clown stand out like dogs balls. People like that may as well have a large neon flashing sign above them for the authorities to pay some (unwanted ) attention to them. In ,and a conservative society such as Cambodia ,Thailand and most of Asia ,you are assumed to be a criminal and /or " illegal drug user.
Subsequently you Will inevitably attract the heat from money hungry officals ,tax collectors and police.

It is mostly former fighters from resistance groups like the KPNLF that have the magic tattoos.....
The method
Magic men punch tattoos into the skin by hand, using a thin handle about 30 centimeters long with two syringe needles at one end. According to Reut Hath, any old ink will suffice, but during the civil war, when ink was often in short supply, he would create his own by mixing the material inside alkaline batteries with rice wine.
The soldiers’ stories
Sgt. Maj. Boung Thoeun is covered from head to toe in protective tattoos, his arms almost black from the dense web of Pali spells running up and down them.

The 50-year-old soldier, a former KPNLF captain, said that his tattoos twice saved him from landmines, which merely fizzled when he stepped on them. He also recalled getting caught in a nighttime ambush that should have meant certain death, but he came away unscathed.

“The enemy sprayed a lot of bullets at us,” he said. “It was a dark place but there were so many [tracer bullets] flying about that it looked like the daytime.” Cambodian army Maj. Gen. Lay Virak, formerly a KPNLF senior commander, said he knows of magic that prevents a person from getting lost in the forest. He also met a monk who knew magic that allowed one to walk through fire.

“During the war, we believed in the magic. We knew a lot, including magic that prevents you from being tied up or hurt by torture,” Lay Virak added.

With so much power supposedly at their fingertips, it would seem like a half-dozen tattooed soldiers could take on an army. But when it comes to magical tattoos there’s still a catch — several, actually.

“It is a question of your belief, your nationalism and your devotion to the rules,” said Reut Hath of how one keeps their magic potent.

These rules are typically based on morality and religiosity: Do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, regularly burn incense and pray, recite magical mantras, etc. The rules establish a Buddhist grounding for the magic, taking what could be thought of as a selfish act to empower oneself and changing it into a promotion of moral behavior and faith. Of course, to the more cynical-minded, the rules also provide reasons why a man covered in protection spells might be killed on the battlefield: “If only he hadn’t been so forward with his neighbor’s wife,” for example.

However, some of the rules might appear more arbitrary. Reut Hath forbids the men he tattooed from eating dog meat. In addition to dog, Lay Virak must also shun snake, turtle and pork, and in perhaps the most unusual limitation, he will sacrifice his protection if he urinates and defecates at the same time.

“On the Phnom Penh side during the [civil] war maybe two out of 100 would have [tattoos],” said one Brigade 911 officer who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press. “Some guys go out with tattoos all over them and get killed, and a guy with nothing comes back fine — I believe in luck, not magic.”

“But maybe,” he added, “that’s because our side has tanks.”

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:30 pm

MarkRobinson wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:07 pm Don't those tatts make him look normal & help. Him blend in more with the male population ?
Nah,it makes this clown stand out like dogs balls. People like that may as well have a large neon flashing sign above them for the authorities to pay some (unwanted ) attention to them. In ,and a conservative society such as Cambodia ,Thailand and most of Asia ,you are assumed to be a criminal and /or " illegal drug user.
Subsequently you Will inevitably attract the heat from money hungry officals ,tax collectors and police.

Lol, ask Jamie*.
(*Mod here on CEO, for those who don't know JL.)

JUDGEDREDD wrote: ↑Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:12 am Never understood the mentality of tattoos being unprofessional, just seems like a point of view that needs to be left in the past

John Bingham wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:57 pm

MarkRobinson wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:42 pm To those who disagree,,
How many ,Government officials, National & local authorities ,teachers ,police,and mainstream business people do you see with visible, permanent cartoons/drawings (tattoos) ?

Ha! I'm not a fan of tattoos myself but you might be surprised how many have them. The traditional Sak Yant tattoos are very common among former military or monks. Both of these groups often hold highly influential positions in this society.