Slogan t-shirts. These take me back to 2014 where we were all wandering around in baseball style t-shirts with the word ‘Geek’ or ‘Nerd’ on, wearing fake glasses and light wash skinny jeans. Don’t deny it, I know you did too. However, do slogan tees have the power to offend?
This question has been sparked when I listened to the podcast ‘The High Low’, where a story about a woman in October 2019 who was threatened to be thrown off her American Airlines flight for wearing a black t-shirt with white writing saying ‘Hail Satan’ was brought up. Swati Runi Goyal, 49, was travelling from Florida to Nevada when her t-shirt attracted the attention of cabin crew. They demanded she changed her top or she would have to get off the plane. Goyal eventually borrowed a jumper from her husband to cover up the t-shirt, and the plane finally departed.
Swat Runi Goyal did not deem the t-shirt as offensive herself, saying it is ironic, and people usually laugh or give a thumbs up in response to it. Something that really made me think was that Goyal said,
“I am a foreign-born minority woman, I understand offensive, and this t-shirt is not offensive.”
So, was it all a little bit of an overaction from the airline? I see this in two ways. Personally, I do not find the t-shirt offensive at all, but that is because I am not heavily religious. I imagine a devout Christian would see this top and not be over the moon about it, as Satan is, obviously, evil in their eyes. But would this have had the same reaction if the t-shirt said ‘Hail Iblis’, the Islamic figure often compared to Satan, or ‘Hail Mara’, the Buddhist devil, for example? Christianity is seen as a privileged religion in Western society, where the chances of being religiously persecuted are extremely low, if any, for being Christian. So, if the t-shirts referenced a different religion, would there have been a different reaction?
I think it comes down to deciding how much weight a written word holds. I think a written message on a t-shirt when someone is minding their business and being calm does not equate to a verbal hate crime or attack. Although, there is obviously a line. This t-shirt could have said something so much more offensive and then, there would be a problem.
Or would there? Are people a bit too sensitive nowadays and terrified of doing or saying the wrong thing? The term ‘snowflake’ has been invented for a reason. The term is defined as “the young adults of the 2010s, viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations". I think this is true, but I think it applies to a lot more people than just young adults of the 2010s. in the podcast, the two presenters Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton, said they both feel this way sometimes, but maybe because they are journalists. People have become more afraid to share their opinions and thoughts, because if someone disagrees, they try to find offense, and play the victim; Katie Hopkins is a prime example of playing the victim when people (rightfully) disagree with her views.
As you can see, I’m a bit torn over this subject. I think there obviously is a line with where something is deemed offensive and should be covered up, but where that line is exactly, I’m not sure. I think It can be quite personal when someone sees something as offensive, and if explained why, it can be understandable. But if the reason is ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘it just is’ then are you just a bit of a snowflake?
Many things to think about.
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