teardrop tattoo

made famous by johnny depp’s character in the movie crybaby. it is a tattoo of a teardrop below one’s eye on either side. originally placed in prison to signify that the bearer was owned by a fellow prisoner. in prison terms “there b-tch.” the tear drop signifies that pain and humiliation one would feel after being “turned out” in prison. the tattoo is placed on the face to further humiliate the victim and mark them in a place where they could not cover the mark.

confusion about it’s meaning has come from the victim’s having to explain the tattoo when they get out of prison and have to explain it to family and loved one’s. they would often state that they got the tattoo because they killed a man in prison. this statement was not far from the truth since their submissive act of becoming another man’s “b-tch” could easily be viewed as the death of their manhood.

problems arose when men on the outside began to get the tattoos and brag that it signified their killing someone or lost a loved one. unwittingly they had marked themselves as a target for predators if they ever went to prison.
“did you hear, marcus put a teardrop tattoo on his new b-tch. i wonder how long before he starts trading him for cigarettes.”
signifies the person was raped in prison. the tattoo represents the tears they couldn’t cry while being inside.
see that guy with the teardrop tattoo, he was raped in prison.
the tear drop tattoo has had many different meanings. when they were first worn they meant that the wearer had been incarcerated and or killed someone while in or out of prison. as times have changed however, the teardrop has come to symbolize a friend or fellow gang member or family member that has died while the wearer is incarcerated.
now however the teardrop seems to have become a fad, which granted has gotten people in trouble.
it has also been used as a gang identifier. if it was on the right it meant you were a crip or part of the folk nation, on the left meant blood or people’s nation.
i had a tear drop tattoo in blue under my right eye. i went to cali and found a lot of teenagers had a teardrop tattoo. i remember one group of teens i saw, a few of the teens had the tattoo on the right side and a few on the left. when i got mine you would never be seen with someone with a tear on the left side if you had it on the right side.
an unfilled tear drop means that one of your friends was killed. when you kill their killer, you fill in the tear drop.
i finally killed my buddies killer, i’ma gonna get this tear drop tattoo filled in.
before the corruption of its meaning in the 1940s by numerous gangs, the tear drop tattoo has had an even longer history dating even as far as the 1920s. symbolizing the loss of a loved on, be it family or freind, or for a wife when one is away at war. despite its murder count and prison time meanings, it is a display of closure from death.
i have a tear drop tattoo under my left eye because i lost someone very close to me.
it means many things some of the definitions are: you killed a someone depending on the amount of people you have put in the dirt you can add teardrops on. a friend, family member, gang member or someone you like has died. it could also mean you spent time in jail. it can also mean you were in a gang when you got the tattoo. it can also mean this person has sorrow and suffering in their lives. however it has become a sort of fad.

some famous tear drop wearers:birdman, lil wayne, the game, krayzie bone, larry hughes
gangsta 1:-sobs- my mama just died man…
gangsta 2:oh sh-t n-gg-! that sucks man i just shot someone in the head for some money i regret dat sh-t…
gangsta 1:wanna get tear drop tattoos?
gangsta 2:aight.
it means many things some of the definitions are: you killed a someone depending on the amount of people you have put in the dirt you can add teardrops on. a friend, family member, gang member or someone you like has died. it could also mean you spent time in jail. it can also mean you were in a gang when you got the tattoo. it can also mean this person has sorrow and suffering in their lives. however it has become a sort of fad.

some famous tear drop wearers:birdman, lil wayne, the game, krayzie bone, larry hughes
gangsta 1:-sobs- my mama just died man…
gangsta 2:oh sh-t n-gg-! that sucks man i just shot someone in the head for some money i regret dat sh-t…
gangsta 1:wanna get tear drop tattoos?
gangsta 2:aight.

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