Tattoos aren't cheap, so although many people come to regret theirs, forking over more cash to have it covered up or even removed isn't an option. But for one tattoo artist in the U.S., erasing hateful symbols is more important than making money. Dave Cutlip, who owns Southside Tattoo in Baltimore, Md., covers up racist or gang tattoos for free, no questions asked. "Sometimes people make bad choices, and sometimes people change," he read a January Facebook post that announced the parlour’s new policy.

"We believe that there is enough hate in this world and we want to make a difference." Cutlip told The Washington Post that he and his wife came up with the idea after a man came in that month wanting a gang tattoo removed from his face. The ink was too prominent to be covered up, Cutlip said, but that potential customer made them wonder whether they could help others. People sometimes join hate groups and gangs to protect themselves, he said, but later are discriminated against because of the tattoos that connect them to hatred and violence.