Apparently, People Think My Tattoo Is Racist?

The Maltese cross represents history and honor — not racism

The tattoo in question. Photo: Thomas Brown

I got a tattoo last month, my first one. I’ve had a turbulent year, the kind that makes you think and re-evaluate everything. One day, instead of walking past my local tattoo parlor and thinking about it, I walked in and got inked. I’ve been thinking about it for years and already knew the tattoo I wanted. When I went home and showed off my new decoration to my roommates and neighbors, though, they expressed concern.

We live in rural Georgia — Confederate flag country — and they were worried that some people around here may like my tattoo too much, for the wrong reasons. That is my tattoo up there, a Maltese cross, a symbol steeped in nearly 1,000 years of history and culture.

I’ve been wearing a silver necklace with a Maltese Cross like this for decades. I bought it on one of my many, many trips to Malta where the delicate art of filigree has been practiced for centuries. My mother is a Maltese citizen, born and raised on the island. My grandparents were…