dont tell me what to f***ing wear...

[Chantilyvamp]

Ok I'll just post the article and y'all can tell me what you think of it. Right or wrong?

Article

Fine threat over T-shirt slogan
A man spotted wearing a T-shirt bearing an "offensive" slogan in a city centre has been warned he risks an £80 fine if he is caught again.

Forklift driver David Pratt was told by street wardens in Peterborough he could cause offence or incite violence.

The slogan on the garment read: "Don't piss me off! I am running out of places to hide the bodies."

Peterborough City Council said using insulting or offensive language was an offence, even if it appeared in print.

Mr Pratt, 46, an American living in Peterborough, was approached by the wardens as he waited for a bus with his wife Elly.

"It is insane. I have worn it in the city centre hundreds of times", said Mr Pratt, whose wife bought him the T-shirt in Venice Beach, California.

"Most people who see it just chuckle. Some people have even stopped me to tell me they like my T-shirt.

It's a bummer because I like the shirt but I am trying to get citizenship but if I get a fine I can kiss citizenship goodbye
David Pratt

"We have put this incident online on several blogs and 90% of people who have commented said they found it hilarious or that I should have the right to wear it wherever I like."

Asked whether he would wear the T-shirt again, Mr Pratt replied: "I am wearing it now. If I get a written apology I will wear it in the city centre again."

He continued: "It's a bummer because I like the shirt, but I am trying to get citizenship but if I get a fine I can kiss citizenship goodbye."

He added: "I really don't see how the wording on my T-shirt could incite violence - it's humour, that's all it is."

In a statement, Peterborough City Council said: "The incident is the subject of an official complaint to the council and is currently under investigation.

"However, using offensive, abusive, or insulting language is an offence under the Public Order Act, which also applies to such language appearing in print.

"In what was an amicable conversation, the street warden advised the gentleman concerned that his T-shirt could cause offence and if he was to wear it again he could run the risk of being issued an £80 on-the-spot fine from the police."

 

[Vermilion]

Oh FFS.

The Little Hitlers running out of minor parking offences to police?
x
V

 

[MagicaPractica]

*sigh* Funny t-shirt, where can I get one?

 

[Recidiva]

Earnest overreaction.

I think it's done by simpleminded people who think that complicated behavior actually comes printed on a T-shirt.

 

[buxxxom]

No different, really, than those emails that say a real friend will help you hide a body, or the tee shirts that mention PMS and chocolate, or those that warn a person you haven't had morning coffee yet. Not suitable for school yard, but for an adult, it's okay.

 

[Just-Legal]

Reminds me of my Politics tutor at college who threatened to throw me out over a t-shirt which slogan: "There is hot sex, group sex, same sex, telephone sex ... and for people with a face like yours, masturbation."

Its insane. It really, really is.

 

[neonlyte]

bearing in mind that 'freedom of speech / expression' also carries a responsibility not to offend the 'average joe / joanna' - where would you draw the line?

One I recently saw, breasts circled, read 'If you think these are great, wait till you see my pussy'. Not offensive (to me) but you kind of wonder quite what the police would have made of her wearing the shirt if she had alleged sexual assault. You can imagine the response, and the danger is it serves to undermine accusations already difficult enough to have the police take seriously.

 

[3113]

One I recently saw, breasts circled, read 'If you think these are great, wait till you see my pussy'. Not offensive (to me) but you kind of wonder quite what the police would have made of her wearing the shirt if she had alleged sexual assault. You can imagine the response, and the danger is it serves to undermine accusations already difficult enough to have the police take seriously.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You're going in the wrong direction here. By that logic, ANYTHING a woman wears can be argued by the police that it brought sexual assault her--that is, that the victim can be blamed. And that is NOT for the police to decide. It's not their job to reject the seriousness of the crime no matter if the woman was walking nearly naked on a street of prostitutes.

I'm not saying you're wrong about how the police might think. But rape is a crime, and if an officer is doing their job, they will see a rape victim, not a woman who "asked for it." It's not up to them to judge the victim, only to see that a crime was committed and have the criminal arrested and brought to justice.

Any officer that would do otherwise is going to be a problem because they might say it about a woman wearing just about anything, not just a wacky teeshirt. In other words, if the police aren't going to take a real crime seriously, let's not blame the victim or the tee-shirt for that. Let's blame those who are willing to dismiss a very serious crime on the basis of their own lurid bias.