WATERCOOLER: QLD now policing fashion crimes?

BIKIE laws have been ridiculous since the updated ones came into play under the Campbell Newman government early last year.

Jack McGovern says anyone who has allegedly once made eye contact with an alleged associate of the Hell’s Angels, can be arrested.

BIKIE laws have been ridiculous since the updated ones came into play under the Campbell Newman government early last year.

A group of men were arrested for catching up for a beer at a Queensland pub.

That's ridiculous.

A group of men was arrested while buying ice creams on a Gold Coast family holiday.

That's ridiculous.

In fact, any group of men with even an alleged third cousin twice removed who has allegedly once made eye contact with an alleged associate of Hell's Angels, can be arrested.

That is (allegedly) ridiculous.

However, when a Victorian couple was pulled over within minutes of arriving on the Gold Coast for a little getaway earlier this week, Queensland took ridiculousness to the next level.

>> QPS defends officer who pulled Taser on 'bikie' tattoo man

For those who didn't hear, the incident concluded with police drawing a taser on the man as he reached for his ID, with the officers fearing he was reaching for a weapon.

I'd hate to see this guy trying to get into a nightclub.

But let's just forget for a moment that this particular moment of bikie crackdown ended with what could be considered the biggest overreaction since a certain German leader took offence to the fact that not everyone liked him in the late 1930s.

Instead, let's recall why the gentleman and his partner were actually pulled over in the first place: his neck tattoo.

To be specific, apparently this was a neck tattoo that links him to a criminal gang.

But how is merely having the tattoo a crime?

The way people present themselves is completely up to them, is it not?

There are people who have 45 pieces of metal in their face under the belief that they look better.

But they are allowed to do that.

There are people who wear hairpieces under the belief that they look better.

There are people who still actually wear New South Wales State of Origin jerseys under the belief that they look better.

And even they are allowed to do that.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? DO YOU AGREE: HAS THIS INCIDENT TAKEN QUEENSLAND'S BIKIE LAWS TO A NEW LEVEL OF RIDICULOUSNESS?

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The point is this: whether we agree or disagree with choices others have made in regard to their appearance, it is not something we should feel entitled to police.

Make no mistake: I'm not defending someone's choice to get a neck tattoo in the first place.

Having spent the past few nights with my roommates succumbing to a new addiction involving reality television shows Ink Master and Tattoo Nightmares , I've seen all too well the crises that emerge from people's desires to make it look like they have some sort of skin condition.

I understand that they are there to make you look tough; but sometimes they just make you look like a five-year-old who's been left with a Nikko a few minutes too long.

All that said: it's still not an arrest-worthy offence to have a neck tatt.

And when you add a taser into the mix, it becomes abundantly clear: the cops got this one very wrong.

But hey, this guy had tattoos; surely he was tough enough.

Originally published as WATERCOOLER: QLD now policing fashion crimes?