Atomic Tattoo victim of personal taste and undue influence

Normally it’s considered proper etiquette to author one’s own blog, but I received this open letter from three local folks who brought to my attention the poor treatment received by one new local business – Atomic Tattoo on E. North Ave. – from another – Hooligan’s. I was so incensed when I read this letter that I felt I had to post it in its entirety. Please leave comments and show your support for Atomic accordingly. Whether or not they are a business you would personally patronize, this kind of treatment is at least part of what keeps our neighborhoods from flourishing. Thanks, Jon Anne

Dear Neighbors,

Recently, Atomic Tattoo opened up on North Avenue by Open Pantry. I don’t know the owners well, but I was really enjoying watching them get set up, especially when they started working on covering the building with a cool mural they designed themselves.

The paint hadn’t even finished drying before the owner of Hooligan’s stepped up to see to it that no freaky tattooed people got to represent too much of themselves on what he viewed as his turf. He rallied his troops and forced the shop owners to paint over hours and hours of their hard work.

First of all, I am not aware of anyone who has ever claimed tattoos have ruined their lives, but who isn’t aware of an organization called Alcoholic’s Anonymous? The guys at Atomic are selling art that is so deeply meaningful to the people that buy it they brand it on their bodies. More tattooed people than not will tell you the story of why their artwork is so precious and about the healing it’s offered them. Hooligan’s sells booze. So who’s really the bigger detriment here? Who’s really poisoning and doing more harm community? I’ve heard story after story of people whose lives have been destroyed by alcohol, but not one about a tattoo that ruined someone’s entire life!

The owners of Atomic have jumped through the same hoops and faced the same headaches every other business owner has had to go through to set up shop and they deserve to represent themselves in the way they choose. It’s a tattoo shop! What could be a more fitting façade for their building than covering it with their work? Hooligan’s has a sign that looks like it’s from the 1960s with pictures of beer on it. The sign is an eyesore if you ask me, and as far as anyone knows could be enough to tempt an alcoholic to relapse, but nobody makes him take it down. And they shouldn’t, because that would be disrespecting his right to represent himself in the way he prefers.

The East Side and Riverwest represent a lot of different things to a lot of different people; that’s one of the best things about it. Most people in Milwaukee think of these neighborhoods as places where the more open-minded people dwell, and that’s another big reason why forcing Atomic to paint over their mural is not only a violation of the shop owners right to represent themselves as they see fit, it’s a violation of the spirit of these neighborhoods.

Is having to drive by something you may not find particularly aesthetically appealing really worth oppressing the people behind it; just so your sense of how things should look can be appeased? How selfish can you possibly be? Going out of your way to control others like this only feeds all the stress and pain everyone in this world is feeling.

Don’t people have more positive things to do with their time?

More than a few people really liked the mural, but did anybody bother to take a neighborhood survey before they sent the City in to dole out a little more oppression and headaches? No. Someone with more money and clout than these guys decided it was more important to him to have his way than to just let his neighbors do their thing. We all claim to want to make the world a better place; why don’t we start by just trying to leave each other alone instead of ripping each other down when we disagree. If people come to their senses enough to allow the mural to return, and whether you like its imagery or not, I hope you can at least enjoy the step towards a nicer world for everyone to live in it represents.

Live in Love,
Mel, Blossom & David

P.S. Once people wake up enough to see why banning the guys at Atomic from representing their business according to their preferences is wrong the issue of the time and money running around in circles to suit other peoples wants has cost them should be addressed. The mural cost hundreds of dollars and three days to paint. Now they’ve had to spend more money and time on painting over it. When the right thing is done it will still cost them time and money to replace it.