The Reason This Newborn Photo Went Viral Is Actually Pretty Gross
This photo went viral, but not for the reason people think.
Anton Dios/ Shutterstock This photo of Mark Resnick and his baby Asher has gone viral, but the reason it's offensive probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind.
Babies poop, pee, and throw up; it's just common knowledge, and it's going to happen everywhere. And apparently, this baby did each of those things multiple times throughout the photo shoot.
The picture isn't going viral because it's natural for babies to expel all sorts of things from their bodies, or that it's a big part of being a parent to handle those situations with a wet wipe and a smile.
The reason this newborn photo went viral is actually pretty gross
Nope. What's really upsetting people is the father's tribal tattoo.
If you're going to get a tattoo (and let's be honest, you're probably going to get a tattoo at some point), a tribal tattoo is the worst kind you can get.
Besides being the go-to tattoo for 15-year-old boys, it's also known as the frat tat because of the multitudes of young white guys who used to get them.
Besides the fact that so many people have tribal tattoos and that the amount of black ink makes them incredibly difficult to remove, the problem with getting a tribal tattoo is that if you're not in that tribe, you're not only insulting members of the tribe — you're stealing their identity.
Yes, getting a tribal tattoo is like telling someone they're a jerk as you're filling out credit card applications with their name on it. It's wrong.
This is especially true with Ta Moko, which is the tapu (sacred) a form of family and personal identification of the Maori whakapapa (Maori genealogy).
Genealogy is so important to the Maori people that they know their family history back 2,000 years.
Moko is the process of cutting deep grooves into the skin and coloring in a family history/storytelling pattern.
It's not surprising that members of other cultures admire the beauty of the Ta Moko, and have gone as far as copying tattoo patterns and phrases from the Maoritanga (Maori culture). It's a huge mistake.
Mark Resnick has stolen a piece of someone's culture, their family history, and their very identity.
Baby Asher didn't know what he was doing when he took a poop on someone's culture, but his dad is an adult and should've known better. What he's done is truly disgusting.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer, performer, and frequent contributor to YourTango. She's had articles featured in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Bustle, Medium, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and Woman's Day, among many others.