Parents, kids and readers, beware: the “Blue Star Tattoo” story is THE king of tattoo urban legends. Various accounts dispute the actual time and place this rumor started, but the story has been making the rounds easily since sometime during the 1970s. Flyers were the first manifestation of this story however the internet has given it new life, as the faux warning can now make the e-mail spam rounds. Some of the warnings appear quite official, sometimes being printed to look like a police report, and sometimes looking like an actual hospital or health agency press release.
As of 2003 no police or narcotics agencies have been able to verify any events of this instance actually happening EVER. And yet, with the beginning of each school year and again at Halloween time, this story can be found making the rounds again. The many reproductions of this warning on official company letterheads has made the distribution quick and pickup by the news media repeated. There are now whole web pages devoted to debunking this myth, however, the blue star tattoo lives on....
I was at a social event recently when a friend pulled me aside. She said she had taken a look at my Bella site and really liked the tattoo articles I was writing. I asked if there was anything she’d like me to write about. She asked if I could find out more about Mister Rogers’ tattoos, and said she had heard that was why he always wore long-sleeve sweaters.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Tattoo Urban Legend #2, the Mister Rogers tattoo story. Sometimes the ink is attributed to a stay in the military. Sometimes the military story comes with the elaboration that he was a sniper and each tattoo represented a kill. Nonetheless, there is a persistent rumor that Mister Rogers had seriously tattooed arms.
As cool as that might be, it is very much untrue. You will find the question posed here and there on message boards with all manner of answers, and the story certainly was revived by his passing in early 2003. However, all reports from friends and colleagues would indicate that 1) Mister Rogers was not a tattooed person and 2) his style of dress was chosen for a type of relaxed formality. Remember folks, this man was an ordained minister who worked with children: not exactly the tattooed type.
As with all rumors and stories, a little clear thought often is all that is required to separate the truth from urban legend. When it comes to tattooing, I’d stick by the line attributed to Lewis Lapham, “Seeing is believing...”
