This story had me until about halfway, when the eye tattoos were being discussed - once it became clear that the tattooed man was at least partially supernatural, it stopped being effective psychological horror, and it never became effective supernatural horror either. Basically, the supernatural turn changes the stakes - what was first the story of the narrator facing an external and possiblity internal conflict, became something else - but it was never clear to me what. I felt I didn't know what the rules were, nor did I know what there was to lose or gain (sure, there was redemption, but redemption from what? Was the tattooed man a racist man, or was he racism personified, or something in between? Did the narrator actually have anything at stake, or was he just a minor character in someone else's story?). So it was impossible for me to feel empathy with the lead anymore, and I think it was the kind of story that really needs emapthy to work.
Shame, because I really enjoyed the first half, and the narration (as usual from Pseudopod and Escape Pod) was excellent.