life has reprecussions.

that scene was more to show that jack is in control and when strange women try and take advantage of him hes not going to let that happen anymore. JACK IS IN CONTROL and YES he knows he has to deal with consequences..

look what happened to his dad... after he chose to say something!!!

I'm a bit confused, lost if you will... Bai Ling said it was against her customs to read him and mark him, but that's what she does... what?
Is it against her custom to mark him because he is American (foreign), or a guy, or what? Or is it actually wrong for her to be doing the tattoos? She had all the stuff right there ready to go to tattoo Jack. And I still don't get what was SO scary about what Jack's tattoos meant.

__________________

`Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!'

-- Alice, from “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”

It was becuase jack wasnt part of the culture. when i was in nepal... no matter how welcomeing and open you are to the new culture... there are always the thugs who dont want your western influence ( despite us not imposing any influence) the point being.... her brother ( i think ) was one of those people and its quite possible the tattoos she has talent in creating are specifically for those people in her culture who share the common belief in the tatts meaning and her skills in creating them. kinda like a right of passage for young people in that culture or something!

I also dont think anything is scary about them... I think it is HUGELY important that Jack knew that his tatos meant something different than what they actually say! They meant what bai ling told him. that he is a leader... etc....

Okay, that makes sense about the culture thing vs. outsiders of any kind. Do you think it could also be a bit about Belief (faith) within the culture (we really believe in this) vs. outsiders might think its cool, but don't really respect or believe in it? What did Jack's tattoos say (translated) vs. what did they really mean?

__________________

`Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!'

-- Alice, from “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”

yes totally. They translate to "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us" which hold true in both his flashback and his situation with the OTHERS...

they really mean this i think "Jack is "a leader, a great man" but this makes him lonely and angry." as thats what Bai Ling saw in him with her gift of " sight to see someone's inner identity "

"he walks amongst us, but he is not one of us" I still don't get the disparity between what they say and what they mean. He IS a leader, he IS walking among the Others - but NOT one of them, he IS a great man (in that he "fixed" sarah and cbk) and had Sawyer and Kate set free without thinking of himself....

__________________

`Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!'

-- Alice, from “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”

well they say ( he is a stranger in a strange land ) in so many words. just like the title of the episode. This in no way insinuates that he is a leader or that he will feel alone and anger becuase of this. the literal translation is what it says... and that is it. for someone who doesnt know jack. all they will understand from his tat is what it translates to.

but when he TOLD bai ling to do it. He probably knew she may or may not write what she said she saw in him. and then when he gets punched on the beach... he realizes that it probably didnt say what she told him. she probably wrote somethign different , hence the beat down... And that is conirmed when the sheriff thought she could be a wise one and tell jack what it said... BUT jack put her in her place ( aw yeah jack!! twice in 1 episode ) sit down lady!!!, there is a new sheriff in town, JACK!!!

I guess the distinction is as simple as this. his being DIFFERENT than the people around him ( the people on the island in his flashback and the OTHERS ) has nothing to do with the fact that he is a leader.

NOW a good point to think about is that often times a LEADER is different than the group he leads... and that difference is what enables him to lead. either by it motivating people or something like that...

one last way of explaining the desparity is this. languages do not translate directly to eachother. A direct translation of spanish will sound very wierd to an english speaker.