Check it out, comrades. My new socialist tattoo! I got it last Wednesday. I've wanted one for ages, but I always had two objections:

a) I thought, "No, you're a secretary, you can't look too outlandish if you want an office job." But I'm not going to be a secretary for much longer. I already feel different. In spite of the daily humiliations that work heaps upon me, there's a little piece of me that is unchanging, that I'm not selling to the boss. It's not exactly de-alienation, but it's a start.

b) I considered I might become less radical. No point getting socialist insignia if I end up a mealy-mouthed social democrat. But a decade of wage labour has only hardened my resolve that socialism is the one way to get us out of this mess. I reserve my deepest contempt for those who say, "Yeah, I used to be a radical, but then I grew up." On the contrary - you gave in. Ex-radicals accept the logic of the system, the common-sense wisdom of capitalism dispensed by goverment, media and corporations, and suffused throughout our culture. Following the leader is immature, un-individuated behaviour. Growth - and adulthood - means challenging yourself to understand the world at its root. My tattoo is an expression of that process.

And, finally, it kicks ass.