PROVOCATIVE T-SHIRTS

Everyone has an opinion and they want to share it. We've merchandised our First Amendment rights on any number of products including billboards, refrigerator magnets, car magnets, license plates, hats, caps, and t-shirts.

I saw a provocative t-shirt recently that said "Walk with us or stand in our shadow." I couldn't figure out what their agenda might be and I looked on the web, but I found no exact references. There were variations but none seemed to be quite the same thing. I wonder why that person was wearing such a statement, but it annoyed me because the conformity that it suggested spoke to my inner rebel. I find the notion that someone should be marginalized if they don't submit to the dictates of another to be offensive to my sense of fair play.Do they want it to be 1984 where everyone must be controlled or fit predetermined criteria? Or do we all need to be Stepford Wives and become conforming robots? Viva la difference in my opinion. It seems simple-minded to want everyone to be the same. Benefit of the doubt suggests maybe the person belonged to a walking club, but I suspected it was either a political or religious statement. It sounded so controlling--do as we say, or you are unimportant. Yes, everyone has an opinion and it's worth what you pay for it.




Even so, one of life's small pleasures is reading T-shirts even when they offend my sensibilities. I've collected far too many of my own that I don't even wear.This isn't the only country that announces its opinion everywhere, but there are some countries where one could end in prison for wearing his/her opinions. This makes it even more delicious to be a rebel in a country where we can openly flaunt our views. When on a trip, it is too, too tempting to buy a few, especially some that are funny or profound. We were very amused with both the front and the back of this one that we found in Russia.















In London, the Underground or the Tube sometimes stops at stations where the platform is curved so there is literally a gap to step to the platform. An announcement warns "Mind the Gap". The T-shirt has at the bottom, small print that proclaims that the slogan is "Copyright London Regional Transport." It isn't to be confused with a department store.




We went to Hell and back in the Cayman Islands. We visited a tourist shop called Devil's Hangout in the town of Hell, Grand Cayman. I have the t-shirt as well as the salt and pepper shakers to prove it.












Being a retired person, I couldn't resist this t-shirt. I also like my hubby's cap that says, "I'm retired, this is as dressed up as I get."







I'm trying to swear off this little hobby/obsession of collecting too many t-shirts, but I had to giggle at these possibilities found at various sites around the web.