In the Middle Ages, knights went into battle wearing suits of armor emblazoned with coats of arms - complex amalgams of history, tradition, and meaning. These not only represented which side they were fighting for, but symbolically stood for family, community, and identity.
Jump forward to the present. Certainly, gangs have adapted a modern day version with clothing, tattoos, and gestures, much in the same tradition as those knights. But, many of us now sport our own coats of arms - with baseball hats, T shirts, logo driven fashion accessories, paraphernalia and so forth. Instead of family, we now identify with sports figures and teams, corporate identities, manufacturers, foods we eat, and places we visit. How strange a transformation.
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