Category Archives: political t-shirts

political t-shirts

Political T-Shirt (19): “Hitler Chic” in Bangkok

Apparently, some Thai youth are strutting around in T-shirts bearing cartoonish images of the Nazi dictator. Hilarious. Critics blame it on political ignorance. Even Ronald McDonald gets the treatment:

hitler t-shirts

Hitler t-shirts

(source)

Maybe it’s not ignorance but a slippery slope: after all, if it’s OK to wear t-shirts with portraits of Mao and Che – which apparently it is – then why not Hitler as well?

mao and che t-shirts

And then you get this kind of joke:

my che t-shirt is in the wash

By which I don’t mean to imply that Che was some kind of Hitler.

More political T-shirts here.

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activism, political t-shirts

Political T-Shirt (18): Human Rights Signaling

proceeds from this t-shirt benefit my image

(source)

Why do people put human rights slogans/quotes/appeals on their t-shirts? (If you want examples, look at the other posts in this series). I think it’s reasonable to assume that it’s not because people believe t-shirts can change the world. Maybe they think t-shirts will help to convince a few who have other opinions, although I guess convincing takes more effort than wearing a t-shirt. It’s probably all about human rights signaling.

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political t-shirts

Political T-Shirt (17): All the Cool Girls Are Lesbians

all_the_cool_girls_are_lesbian_by_synnyavenged66-d31azh5

(source)

A Lynn English High School student [not in the image above] reprimanded for wearing a t-shirt which read “All the cool girls are lesbians,” set off a debate during Thursday’s School Committee meeting on the school dress code and how it is enforced….

Kennedy told committee members Thursday that she received a letter from a student who was asked by one of the vice principals to cover her t-shirt and never wear it again….

In the letter, the student said she was sitting in the cafeteria at lunch when a teacher told her to show Vice Principal Joseph O’Hagan her shirt. O’Hagan, she wrote, agreed with the teacher that the shirt was inappropriate. When she asked why, the student said she was told, “Because it’s political and offensive to some people.” …

English Principal Thomas Strangie … said a student can be made to cover up a shirt that is deemed disruptive, “and that (shirt) could have been disruptive. It was nothing against her.” (source, source)

More on free speech and gay rights. More political t-shirts.

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Political T-Shirt (16): With a Secret Message

Neonazis mit Trojaner-T-Shirts überlistet

nazi t-shirt

(source)

Fans at a recent right-wing extremist rock festival in Germany thought they were getting free T-shirts that reflected their nationalistic worldview. But after the garment’s first wash they discovered otherwise. The original image rinsed away to reveal a hidden message from an activist group. (source)

The message “Hardcore Rebels – National and Free” gave way to “If your T-shirt can do it, so can you. We’ll help to free you from right-wing extremism”. Clever, although it’s obviously a lot easier to change inanimate objects than it is to change extremist human beings.

More political t-shirts here.

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Political T-Shirt (14): Miranda Rights

miranda t-shirt

(source)

First, a word about Miranda rights, for those of you not from the U.S. Miranda rights are a warning that is required to be given by police in the U.S. to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated. The warning informs them about their constitutional rights. An elicited incriminating statement by a suspect will not constitute admissible evidence unless the suspect was informed of the right to decline to make self-incriminatory statements and the right to legal counsel (if he or she is indigent, an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him). The right to remain silent and be represented by an attorney are important elements of the right to a fair trial and of a civilized criminal justice system.

This t-shirt is an ironic reaction to a recent Supreme Court Decision ruling that silence is no longer an adequate indication that you wish to invoke your right to remain silent. Instead, an accused person who wants to invoke his or her right to remain silent must to do so unambiguously. So, in other words, you have to speak in order to claim your right to remain silent… Hence the t-shirt, allowing you to remain silent and “speak” at the same time.

More political t-shirts here.

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