Feel The Bern For Life With A Free Bernie Sanders Tattoo In Vermont
Now supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders can wear their support for him on more than just their sleeves, thanks to a tattoo shop in Vermont that is giving out free ink of the senator, The Burlington Free Press reported.
“The outline of Sanders’ unkempt hairdo and think black-rimmed glasses has been tattooed on the arms, legs, necks and ribs of dozens of Vermont residents.”
The promotion began just over a week ago and is currently scheduled to run as long as Sanders does, according to Vermont’s Aartistic Inc. tattoo shop. Artist Jessica Andrews told the paper she has already put free Sanders tattoos on eight people in two days, while artist Chad Fay reports doing more than 15 free tattoos of Sanders over the last week. The images are simple but instantly recognizable to Bernie Sanders supporters and others who have been following his meteoric rise since last summer.
Feeling the burn: Sanders backers get tattoos in senator's honor https://t.co/4a60ZdeiMG pic.twitter.com/EFa4QMi0TX
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 6, 2016
The promotion began after Tyre Duvernay, owner of Aartistic Inc., heard that a New Hampshire tattoo shop was offering Donald Trump supporters free tattoos of their candidate and decided to take action, reported Observer News & Politics.
“Duvernay thought to offer free cover ups for those with ink honoring Donald Trump, but ultimately decided to take things a step further.”
So far, the company has already done more than 60 free tattoos of Sanders at its two locations, which are located in the capital city of Montpelier and Winooski in northern Vermont. Duvernay says more and more people have been coming in asking for the tattoos every day, and they have no plans to stop offering them any time soon.
“I knew it was a gimmick when that shop did it for Donald Trump. But here in Vermont, we really do stand behind Bernie Sanders. I could’ve offered this without him running for president and people still would have gotten it.”
Duvernay also said the idea had already prompted other tattoo shops in various parts of the United States to offer the same design free of charge.
“We had shops in Wisconsin, Arkansas, Texas and Georgia call. It’s weird. They asked my permission as if I have some sort of right to it.”
He also told reporters that his shops are currently receiving between five to ten calls a day for the free Sanders tattoos, with “plenty more” appointments already on the books.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the free Sanders tattoo is the same for everyone, and it is also not the first time the senator’s supporters have demonstrated their loyalty by testing their tolerance for pain. The website Feelthebernchallenge.com asks Sanders supporters to post videos of themselves eating hot peppers, taking shots of hot sauce, or working up a sweat in some way before battling through it while explaining why they support the senator in his run for the Democratic nomination for president.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fgBT0eec_4
Last week Sanders proved the race was tightening when he scored a virtual tie in the Iowa caucus and things have only heated up since then as Tuesday’s primary vote in New Hampshire approaches. Sanders has already maintained a large lead for months in New Hampshire preference polls, a reality that farther underscores Clinton’s narrow victory in Iowa and that Clinton is keenly aware of, reported the Christian Science Monitor.
“Clinton is mindful of the fine line she must walk between drawing sharp distinctions with Sanders and not turning off his supporters. She… will need his voters – particularly the young people flocking to his campaign – in the general election.”
[Photo by Andrew Burton / Getty Images]
