Blogtrek

Peace on Earth and No Shirt

Today an outrageous thing happened in Albany. A man and his son were eating at the food court at Crossgate Mall in Guilderland, New York, a suburb of Albany. They were wearing T-shirts bearing the words "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance". Security came up to them and asked them to take off their T-shirts or leave the mall. They refused. The security called police, and a policeman told them to leave the mall or take off their shirts. The son took off his shirt. The father did not and he was arrested, arraigned on a charge of trespassing, and released. I suppose that means he will face a judge in court. He is the Chairman of a Commission on Judicial Conduct. I bet he and the judge will be watching each other very closely in court.

This was followed by a 100-person demonstration. And rightfully so. Since when is "Peace on Earth" so objectionable that it earns one an expulsion from a suburban mall? If it were me, I would take off my T-shirt. Normally T-shirts are worn with nothing under them so I would go around shirtless in the mall. That is also forbidden by regulations "shoes and shirt required". I suppose another cop would tell me to put my shirt back on. So I do so. So a cop says take it off because it says "Peace on Earth". Or I could confront the cop and said, "So and so officer told me to take the shirt off."

In any case, this is an attack on First Amendment rights. The mall is a public place, no matter what security or the police say. If it were a private place, one would have to show membership to get in. If it were a private place, this incident would mean that it is no place I would want to shop in. In fact, that is what we should do. I say boycott Crossgate Mall until they change their policy and drop their charges against the T-shirt wearer.