Photo by James Calder, used under a creative commons license.
Today is Flag Day, and later this evening a group of District residents plans to celebrate in a novel way: The first-ever DC Flag Tattoo Day, a gathering of individuals who have inked the iconic three stars and two bars on their flesh, will take place in Dupont Circle from 6 to 8 PM.
Organizers have framed the event as part fun and part District voting rights event, suggesting that over the years, a DC flag tattoo "has come to symbolize over 600,000 Americans who can not enact their own laws nor elect voting representatives to the House and Senate." DCist framed the concept in much the same way on Monday, following former DC Council candidate Bryan Weaver and Shadow Representative Mike Panetta as they themselves got inked with the flag over the weekend. The Associated Press quickly followed suit, writing: "Flag tattoos reportedly got their start in the District’s punk music scene, but they’ve become more of a political statement in recent years."
But have they really? The DC flag tattoo's roots in the city's seminal punk rock scene are irrefutable. The Washington Post published a decent little history of this fact back in 2004, noting its early 1990s origins among devotees of Minor Threat, Fugazi, and the rest of the Dischord/hardcore/straight-edge diaspora. That same Post story in the end also found a couple of residents with DC flag tattoos who claimed it wasn't about punk for them, that it was more about District pride.
As much as this city has gone through and continues to struggle against in terms of equal representation, residents who wish to express their loyalty to life in the District of Columbia certainly ought to be able to do so with body art, should they so choose. And the DC flag is ripe for the taking: Not only is it an official city symbol, it's also such a strong graphic. As flags go, ours is damn cool looking.
But I've also long wondered whether getting a DC flag tattoo is really appropriate unless one also identifies with punk. If someone like Mike Panetta (who, God love him, is by any measure the coolest member of the current shadow delegation, but that's a relatively low bar) sports the stars and bars, does it change what the tattoo means to the people who popularlized them, the same folks who know the words to every song on Flex Your Head? Or is it high time the District's long-fought battle for full congressional representation became the new cool?
I'm curious for your thoughts on this one, so let me know what you think in the comments.
DC Flag Tattoo Day: Does it Matter If You’re Not Punk?
Voting rights event attempts to co-opt hardcore symbol
Today is Flag Day, and later this evening a group of District residents plans to celebrate in a novel way: The first-ever DC Flag Tattoo Day, a gathering of individuals who have inked the iconic three stars and two bars on their flesh, will take place in Dupont Circle from 6 to 8 PM.
Organizers have framed the event as part fun and part District voting rights event, suggesting that over the years, a DC flag tattoo "has come to symbolize over 600,000 Americans who can not enact their own laws nor elect voting representatives to the House and Senate." DCist framed the concept in much the same way on Monday, following former DC Council candidate Bryan Weaver and Shadow Representative Mike Panetta as they themselves got inked with the flag over the weekend. The Associated Press quickly followed suit, writing: "Flag tattoos reportedly got their start in the District’s punk music scene, but they’ve become more of a political statement in recent years."
But have they really? The DC flag tattoo's roots in the city's seminal punk rock scene are irrefutable. The Washington Post published a decent little history of this fact back in 2004, noting its early 1990s origins among devotees of Minor Threat, Fugazi, and the rest of the Dischord/hardcore/straight-edge diaspora. That same Post story in the end also found a couple of residents with DC flag tattoos who claimed it wasn't about punk for them, that it was more about District pride.
As much as this city has gone through and continues to struggle against in terms of equal representation, residents who wish to express their loyalty to life in the District of Columbia certainly ought to be able to do so with body art, should they so choose. And the DC flag is ripe for the taking: Not only is it an official city symbol, it's also such a strong graphic. As flags go, ours is damn cool looking.
But I've also long wondered whether getting a DC flag tattoo is really appropriate unless one also identifies with punk. If someone like Mike Panetta (who, God love him, is by any measure the coolest member of the current shadow delegation, but that's a relatively low bar) sports the stars and bars, does it change what the tattoo means to the people who popularlized them, the same folks who know the words to every song on Flex Your Head? Or is it high time the District's long-fought battle for full congressional representation became the new cool?
I'm curious for your thoughts on this one, so let me know what you think in the comments.
Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor