Terrorist T-Shirts

Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if people started wearing T-Shirts with the slogan "Terrorist" emblazoned on it for the world to see?

If you saw someone wearing a T-Shirt with the label "terrorist" on it what would you think of that person? Would you shun them? Would you start a conversation with them? Would you fear or respect them?

Hypothetically speaking of course. Would you understand the blatant labelling of common, harmless citizenry has reached epidemic proportions? Or would you report that person in fear of what they might do, or might be capable of?

Would you understand the reason for wearing such an advertisment?

I am looking forward to receiving your valuable and intelligent insight on this hypothetical question.

Here is an idea - instead of asking the folks here ( a paranoid group at that - myself included ) why don't you just wear the t-shirt and let me know how it turns out.

The best research is DOING and not just ASKING.

You could wear your shirt to New York City - or Shanksville - or Israel - or London - or Washington DC....you get the point

Please let us all know what happens.

You know as far as I can tell there is no"willy nilly" labeling of good honest citizens - I would think if you are labeled a terrorist - you probably did something "terrorist like" to set off the bells and whistles, no?

Dorian Soran

meh i'd laugh and then want one too. ;-P

Its just a T-Shirt. Doesn't mean anything really. some t-shirts have meaning and a backing behind it but i think people would just laugh ;-P

Then again im not an american were the majority of people believe 9/11 was done by terrorists not thier own government.... and probably wouldn't find it funny being as patriotic as you americans are ;-P

[edit on 21-9-2009 by DaRAGE]

I know a great deal of people who would wear one. But then these folks are all free thinkers who reject the mainstream.

I imagine here in Texas, I would be told that it is distastful and I shouldn't wear it.

I very much doubt that you would be able to bored a plane - people are always getting refused boarding on to a plane because of T-shirts.... One dude had a pretty wicked Transformers t-shirt, it had Omtimus Prime with a massive comic book gun - the numpties thought it would cause distress to the other passengers

I'm guesing most people would laugh it off - but the sorts that wont will be the noisey little opinionated ones who will cross over the road just to get all up in your face.

And if your in like a shop or a bar it only takes one person to take offence and I bet'cha you will be asked to leave to keep the peace.

Oh yhea don't jump any barriers in a tube station!! We all know armed officers are not the brightest bunch!

reply to post by Hazelnut


One of the biggest sellers right now (on Army bases) is the "Infidel" t-shirt.

I'd buy a "domestic terrorist" t-shirt. With my skin "hue" I'm only asking for trouble with just plain "terrorist."

Living just south of Dallas, I'd probably get tased in under 30 minutes.

2nd line.

Originally posted by Signals
Living just south of Dallas, I'd probably get tased in under 30 minutes.

2nd line.

Don't really know until you do it.

Originally posted by Signals
Living just south of Dallas, I'd probably get tased in under 30 minutes.

2nd line.

But its just a word! It has no meaning unless the word is connected to an identifiable action.

Alternatively, how about a NUTJOB T-shirt?

If (I'm being hypothetical again) masses of people were to advertise the sheer lunacy of fear of terrorists by wearing harmless T-shirts with keywords commonly used to instill fear in the public were worn by regular, every-day, HarmLess citizens, the whole propagandistic fear mongering agenda would be nipped in the bud, the strategy reversed and power restored to the common person without speaking a single syllable...

One would have to be brave and courageous to confront the powers that seek to OWN everything and everyone. More and more people wearing these shirts would show us all that WE ARE THE POWERS THAT BE.

In ancient Rome, the Senators suggested having the peasants wear an armband to identify them. A very crafty and wise Senator replied that if the peasants were able to look around and see that they outnumber the "elitists" there would be a horrendous backlash upon their control.

Wearing and advertising our lack of fear could possibly be the impetus to unite the common citizen with a visually realistic statistical idea of where the true power actually resides.

reply to post by Hazelnut


I personally think if I saw someone wearing a t-shirt with 'terrorist' written on it, I'd probably think " cool t-shirt", I'm more likely to think terrorist if I see someone wearing a backpack, an Arab scarf and reading the Qu'ran . As it happened on the 8th of July in London when I was riding the underground to Westminster the day after the bombs went off.....

reply to post by Hazelnut


Nutjob t-shirt I'd wear today.

If you asked my in-laws, they'd probably pay for it.

reply to post by Ferris.Bueller.II


closest I've come so far, a shirt that says "That's what she said", I always get dirty looks.......

I actually had a t-shirt in college that said, "Save the plankton, kill a whale."

I was soooooooooo popular.

reply to post by mikerussellus


I remember that t-shirt. LOL

I can see why you were so popular!

reply to post by Hazelnut


That was nothing compared to the one that said, "Trees are the leading cause of forest fires."

And I could never get a girlfriend.

go figure. . . .

I had a tasteless tshirt. I was at the concert in Cincinnati Ohio when some kids were killed in the crowd. It was a Who concert. Shortly after that I got a shirt that said, "I'd walk over you too, to see The Who". I did have strangers walk up to me and get in my face and tell me it was crass and tasteless. I was young so I shrugged it off. I thought it was cool. Strangely somewhere along the line that shirt just disappeared.

reply to post by Hazelnut


I'd wear it, its a t-shirt. Its not like it says "Terrorist" on the front and "Nine Eleven victims are bent" on the back or anything.

If people are so sucked into the whole propaganda campaign that they started treating people with that kind of fear and disrespect simply because they are wearing a tee shirt with a slight taboo on it.. those people should be round up and battered with 9 foot bamboo canes in a sort of anti Spanish inquisition style mind expanding, good old fashioned beating.

But thats probably never gonna happen. I have to say that if I was wearing that T-shirt and someone gave me stick over it, I would tell to "Go # themselves".

Then again, if I was in the US, I wouldn't wear one because I wouldn't want to be telling people to "Go # themselves" all day.

Or would I?



[edit on 21/9/09 by Dermo]

It would be blown out of proportion. Seriously, how many terrorists generally reveal who they are? Even still, wearing one would be begging for trouble; and trouble they would get.

Just a word... yes. But words have power. If they didn't, there'd be no cause for censorship. (No, I'm not a censorship advocate; as a writer, it'd be the equivalent of endorsing illiteracy).

It boils down to that fine, ever shrinking line between political correctness and free speech. Not to mention the advertising argument tag that undoubtedly would follow. To wear is to advertise, advertise is to endorse, endorse is to agree.

Power a single word can invoke.
Racist
Nazi
Pedophile.

None of those words are illegal, and I'm sure they can be printed on a shirt. A smart person, though, would have to have a gun at their head to wear such things. And some incantations brought fore by words are so negative, the joke halts and the laughing stops.

Some things just shouldn't be joked about. The people who don't know will learn, usually the hard way.

I'd want a T-shirt like it myself. I have 1 which says "Deviant" & wearing it has resulted in my being refused entry into a restaurant. Apparently it might have upset other patrons. I offered to turn it inside out: no joy. Perhaps they thought changing clothes in the street just too indicative of deviance.
There's always an idiot just waiting to demonstrate the depth of their idiocy.
OP, I like the idea of achieving solidarity by sarcasm. There's something aesthetically lovely about that...

Originally posted by Dorian Soran
You know as far as I can tell there is no"willy nilly" labeling of good honest citizens - I would think if you are labeled a terrorist - you probably did something "terrorist like" to set off the bells and whistles, no?

Absolutely not. And that's the entire point. You don't have to do or say anything to be labeled as anything the government wishes to label you as, in this country at least. You don't have to say or do anything to be wiretapped and spied on, either.