Nazi Numerology

Apparently, that's how you recognise the Nazis these days: by the numbers they have tattooed on their faces.  At least, that's what I've gleaned from the recent saga of the (allegedly) neo-Nazi woodcutter featured in a trailer for a new TV show about wood carving.  Actually, the premise for the show sounds bizarre enough in itself - a sort of wood working version of the Great British Bake Off with carpenters and joiners whittling wood every week until a winner is declared, all fronted by Lee Mack - without the attached Nazi controversy.  Anyway, pretty much as soon as the trailer as released, Twitter was swamped with amateur Nazi-hunters (personally, I blame The Boys from Brazil for encouraging people to think that they can hunt down Nazi war criminals as a hobby), claiming that this guy's facial tattoos include all sorts of extreme right wing and white supremacist shit, including several Nazi numbers.  The '88' he has on one cheek is apparently neo-Nazi code for 'Heil Hitler' (H being the eighth letter of the alphabet).  Similarly, the numbers he has on his temples stand for 'White Supremacy'.  There are also claims of SS-style runic symbols and all sorts of other stuff being featured in his tattoos.  All of which might be true - I have no idea as I'm not and expert on these obscure aspects of neo-Nazi imagery.  It's all been a revelation to me - there are entire web sites devoted to decoding this sort of shit.

Perhaps there is an innocent explanation - Sky TV, the producers of the show - initially claimed that they had vetted all the participants beforehand and that the '88' was actually the year of the tattooed guy's father's death.  Until, that is, it emerged that his father was still alive.  I can't help but feel that if he is a Nazi, he must be a fucking thick one - I mean, surely not even a Hitler groupie would be stupid enough to advertise their affiliations by having them tattooed on their face?  Mind you, as far as I'm concerned, just the fact that he has facial tattoos is enough to condemn him. I've never understood why people want to disfigure themselves by covering their bodies with ink - it's bad enough when they have tattoos they can hide, but when they put them on full display, well, Jesus fuck!  Then they complain about the prejudice they encounter - well, what the fuck do they think the reaction of normal people is going to be?  You've chosen to disfigure yourself!  You're a freak!  OK, rant over, (yeah, I know, I'm no better than a racist, but just think on this: you don't get a choice on your racial characteristics, so racial prejudice is irrational, but people choose to be tattooed, so it is perfectly reasonable to disagree with this choice, or make judgements about their character - especially if they have Nazi tattoos).  You know, I miss the days when you could tell who the Nazis were by the fact that they wore swastika arm band, jackboots and shouted 'Heil Hitler'.  That and the fact that they practiced genocide and voted Tory (or Trump).  It was all so much simpler.  Now we have to decipher bloody hieroglyphics and codes they tattoo on their fucking faces.