Man Arrested for Wearing Peace T-Shirt

Post by **Sloth** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 7:28 am

A man was charged with trespassing in a mall after he refused to take off a T-shirt that said "Peace on Earth" and "Give peace a chance."Mall security approached Stephen Downs, 61, and his 31-year-old son, Roger, on Monday night after they were spotted wearing the T-shirts at Crossgates Mall in a suburb of Albany, the men said.

The two said they were asked to remove the shirts made at a store there, or leave the mall. They refused.

The guards returned with a police officer who repeated the ultimatum. The son took his T-shirt off, but the father refused.

"'I said, `All right then, arrest me if you have to,'"

Downs said. "So that's what they did. They put the handcuffs on and took me away."Downs pleaded innocent to the charges Monday night. The New York Civil Liberties Union said it would help with his case if asked.

Police Chief James Murley said his officers were just responding to a complaint by mall security."We don't care what they have on their shirts, but they were asked to leave the property, and it's private property," Murley said.

A mall spokeswoman did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Monday's arrest came less than three months after about 20 peace activists wearing similar T-shirts were told to leave by mall security and police. There were no arrests.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/APWires/headlines/D7PIP35G2.html

rabbit · Post by **rabbit** » Wed Mar 05, 2003 10:16 pm

It is bullshit!! where is this country heading? here is another link. Luckily he was released, but the fact that they arrested him is just wrong. I don't care if you are for or against the war, as this was just completely uncalled for.

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Thu Mar 06, 2003 12:14 am

It is bullshit, but unfortunately, we may not know the whole story.

Not to add to my war-mongering, right wing reputation, but I do have to ask a question...Was there a reason other than simply wearing the tshirts that they were asked to leave the mall? Were they being disruptive ? We don't know, and stories like this can incite all of us to angirly wonder where our country is going. IT may indeed be heading too far down a dangerous and bad path, but I still (possibly naievely) believe in the best in most people. I would like to think that even those lowest of all common denominators, mall cops, wouldn't ask someone to leave just for wearing a shirt. I'd like to think that there is more to it than was reported. Maybe not, and maybe all of our neighbors are becoming Nazi warmongering freaks, but I hope not.

ANd by the way, I am not one of them.

marky · Post by **marky** » Thu Mar 06, 2003 8:51 am

Right on Mav. I read this one in the newspaper today and smelled something a little fishy myself. It just seemed staged to me, like they weren't quite coughing up all the information.

Post by **Sloth** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 9:45 pm

The funny thing about the story is that they bought the t-shirt at the same Mall!

I remember being sent home in high school by the principal for wearing anti drunk driving and smoking t-shirts.

(stop laughing okay, this really happened)

The principal didn't approve of them because there was a double entendre and for some reason he felt no kids would actually be against dd or smoking.

marky · Post by **marky** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 11:41 pm

In other words, the principle took it as some kind of
rebellious sarcasm on your part? Like irony?

Post by **Sloth** » Sat Mar 08, 2003 6:03 am

Yeah irony. I guess I never got the benefit of the doubt.

Post by **mccutcheon** » Sat Mar 08, 2003 4:16 pm

my brother got sent home from high school for wearing a letterman jacket, because the letterman jacket wasn't his. he got the jacket from a friend to wear because he was cold. the teacher saw him and said since it was a earned athletic right to wear a letterman jacket (along with a really cool fashion sense- like the homecoming ring) and that he didn't earn that right he was sent home.

marky · Post by **marky** » Sat Mar 08, 2003 10:55 pm

That's fucked up.

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Sun Mar 09, 2003 2:30 am

Thanks for not thinking I was just being a right-wing skeptic, Mark!

The varsity jacket thing is messed up...so is the no drinking and driving things. Shows you how stupid adults are when you're a teenager. I hope I'm never that out of touch.