The Meaning Behind a Teardrop Tattoo
If you are looking to get a tattoo, you are going to have one heck of a decision to make. The reasons are that there are so many different tattoo styles to chose from. In addition, you’ll want to figure out where on your body you want a tattoo. One very popular tattoo, that especially younger people get, is a teardrop tattoo. However, before you go get this particular tattoo, you might want to know a little bit about it’s history before getting one put on your body. 
A teardrop tattoo is normally placed at the far end corner of the eye. It has several different meanings. The details on this tattoo are a little sketchy at best. Some say these tattoos originated with the Hispanic gangs of California in the 1940′s, othere say it originated from the gangs of Mexico or Puerto Rico.
Other meanings behind a teardrop tattoo is to show gang affiliation or time spent in prison. However, what it is known for more than anything is a symbolism of death. This can come in two forms. An open teardrop means that you have lost a friend or family member. A closed teardrop signifies that you have killed someone. These are important things to remember before you decide to go out and get yourself a teardrop.
There is also another type of teardrop as well. This is called the half teardrop. What this signifies is that someone close to you was killed. However, as the open teardrop signifies, this one is slightly different in that the assailant that killed the one close to you was by the wearer of the tattoo.
The fact is that these tattoos have significant meaning, well beyond what most people who get them as fad tattoos really think. You could be confused with being in a gang or being someone who is violent. This can cause you a great deal of trouble later on in life and it is important to consider this when you are thinking about getting a teardrop tattoo. While tattoos have become fairly mainstream these days, certain tattoos can still bring with them a bit of a stigma, and a teardrop is certainly one of those tattoos.
