How Do You Know He Is in a Gang?

[DISCLAIMER]

Photo credit (edited), property of Python (Monty) Pictures, fair use

In a blogpost entitled Sir Bedevere the Wise, I addressed a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail during which Sir Bedevere the Wise used flawed logic and reason with an unruly crowd to support an irrational decision when falsely accusing a woman of being a witch.

Regarding this matter, it’s worth nothing that in order for a proposition to be considered rational it empirically must remain in accordance with both logic and reason. Recently, I was reminded of Sir Bedevere’s irrationality when observing a televised conversation.

Journalist Terry Moran interviewed President Donald Trump, as the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was discussed. As a matter of full disclosure, I’ve been quite vocally opposed to mass immigration that occurred under the presidency of Joe Biden.

Therefore, I support proper deportations. In any event, Abrego Garcia has been accused of being a member (or at least affiliated with) Mara Salvatrucha (commonly known as MS-13), a criminal gang that the Trump administration has classified as a foreign terrorist organization.

The current post is unrelated to the moral and ethical considerations or constitutionally legal implications regarding this designation. Rather, I’m addressing Abrego Garcia’s tattoo, as President Trump recently displayed the following image of the alleged tattoo in question:

Photo credit, fair use

For a period of time, I dabbled in amateur photography. This hobby included familiarity with Photoshop (image manipulation, graphic design, photo editing, and visual creation software developed by Adobe). Noteworthy, in common parlance, “photoshopped” is used as a verb.

Regarding the photo displayed by Trump, the image is obviously photoshopped (even if manipulated with software other than Photoshop). Pertaining to this matter, one source states:

Many suggested they had uncovered a clumsy attempt at a visual deception, including former Minnesota state senator Linda Higgins, who wrote: “Hey Old Man, @realDonaldTrump, have someone teach you about Photoshop. This is an excellent example of altering a photo, in this case to make your illegal actions look good. But instead you look foolish.”

I argue that Higgins’ assessment of this matter is both logical and reasonable, given my familiarity with photo manipulation software and my background in adolescence during which I was friends with gang members. Typically, gang members are proud to display their affiliation.

Masking one’s association with a gang, to the point whereby arguably biased government officials need to ostensibly write “M” “S” “1” “3” over vague symbols on Abrego Garcia’s hand, doesn’t pass the sniff test (a quick, informal way to assess the plausibility of an idea or proposal).

Regarding the Moran and Trump interview, the journalist pushed back on the president’s insistence that the image of Abrego Garcia’s tattoos weren’t open to interpretation. In fact, Trump outright insisted that Abrego Garcia “had MS-13 tattooed” on his hand.

Given the evidence that I’ve reviewed, this is a factually incorrect proposition. Addressing this arguably nonfactual assessment, one source reports (and I declare to you, dear reader, I’m not fond of needing to rely on the legacy media to correct the record – yet, here we are):

In the interview with Mr. Moran, the president appeared to believe that the characters that had been typed onto the photo he triumphantly held up in his social media post were in fact tattoos themselves.

Mr. Moran gingerly tried to correct the record about that, but Mr. Trump was having none of it […] He [Trump] could not bring himself to admit that Mr. Abrego Garcia did not have the words “MS-13” tattooed on his hand.

Trump’s hypothesized belief referenced by the source is one relating to irrationality. Merely because an individual has obscure tattoos which biased actors view as gang-worthy doesn’t mean that the person is in fact in a gang, Sir Bedevere the (un)Wise. It’s hubris to suggest otherwise.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

ABC News. (2025, April 30). Full interview | President Trump the first 100 days: The interview in the Oval Office [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GBwCUPttprw?si=_NRZ5DWiVFN9gzN4

Dickey, J. (2025, April 19). Trump posts photoshopped image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos with disputed ‘MS-13’ interpretation [Image]. The Wrap. Retrieved from https://www.thewrap.com/trump-posts-image-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-knuckle-tattoos-photoshopped-with-disputed-ms-13-interpretation/

Hanania, R. (@RichardHanania). (2025, April 18). I continue to be shocked. You know those photos of the gang tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s knuckles? They’re photoshopped. But Trump himself has shared the pic. It’s now a “fact” in MAGAworld. The tattoos are whatever Trump says. Every day is a new low with these people [Post]. X. Retrieved from https://x.com/richardhanania/status/1913367218362159341

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Empirical should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/empirical-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2025, March 9). Factual and counterfactual beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/factual-and-counterfactual-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2025, March 5). Five major characteristics of four major irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/five-major-characteristics-of-four-major-irrational-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2023, January 8). Logic and reason. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/logic-and-reason

Hollings, D. (2024, November 6). Media. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/media

Hollings, D. (2023, October 2). Morals and ethics. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/morals-and-ethics

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2024, June 12). Sir Bedevere the Wise. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sir-bedevere-the-wise

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2023, October 20). When diversity isn’t a strength. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/when-diversity-isn-t-a-strength

McCreesh, S. and Kanno-Youngs, Z. (2025, April 30). Trump would not concede ‘MS-13’ letters were digitally added. The New York Post. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/trump-ms-13-tattoo-abrego-garcia.html

Monty Python Wiki. (n.d.). Sir Bedevere. Retrieved from https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/Sir_Bedevere

NM05. (2006, March 13). She’s a witch! [Image; video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zrzMhU_4m-g?si=rn7VHQiCqQpzxp_h

White House, The. (2025, January 20). Designating cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Kilmar_Abrego_Garcia

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Donald Trump. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Joe Biden. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Linda Higgins. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Higgins

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail

Wikipedia. (n.d.). MS-13. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Terry Moran. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Moran