What would happen if a person wore a t-shirt with a severely derogatory racial slur on it? I can imagine that someone might be greatly offended by the message on the shirt and slug the wearer. Would it be right? No. But it’s also not right to provoke someone by purposely wearing clothing that may provoke someone.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
When I was in Los Angeles recently for a book signing at a conference, a man gave me a great analogy. Most women don’t realize how provocative their clothing can be. He said it’s the same thing as wearing a t-shirt with a provocative message on it. Why wear it if you don’t intend to stir up other people? Not against the law, right? But it can still get you in trouble. Check out this story from Canada.
“Fashion can be a crime. Police here are targeting youths wearing T-shirts that have a picture of a gun and the words, ‘Rule no. 1 be armed’ printed on them.
‘We have seen these T-shirts appear on the street and we have seized two of them,’ said Sgt. Rob Hargan with Toronto police. ‘We don’t want people wearing them and we don’t want them on the street.’
The shirts may be in poor taste, but they aren’t illegal. However, with the rash of gun violence that plagued the city this summer, Hargan said he doesn’t want kids wearing them. ”
