[Iris]

I live in a small, white and working-class town. I work in a grocery store and often notice people’s hands. I have noticed that a lot of people have homemade ‘jailhouse’ tattoos of a small cross in the web of the hand between the thumb and index finger. Does it mean something? Is it a regional thing?

User Detail :  

Name : Iris, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : Wahoo, State : NE, Country : United States, Occupation : clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Lucy-H]

Where I come from those tattoos are called ‘placas’ and are generally a sign of affiliation with a person’s barrio or neighborhood. Getting a placa can be part of a comming-of-age ritual, or part of being accepted into the gang. But just having a placa does not necessarily mean the person is a gang member. Many people get involved in gangs as kids and then get out later on.

User Detail :  

Name : Lucy-H, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, 

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