Menino's stop to the Stop Snitchin
The streets of Boston aren't safe anymore. T-shirts baring the words Stop Snitchin are bringing up the crime rate and intimidating murder witnesses. The evil-doing t-shirts must be stopped was the message delivered by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at an anti-crime meeting last week. The mayor directed law enforcement to seize all Stop Snitchin t-shirts from Boston retailers. The t-shirts will be snatched from their hangers, beaten inside out, thrown into a large dumpster and then set on fire. The pricy flame-retardant line will undergo torture (but nobody will know about that because it's a crime) and then be sent to an industrial shredder in West Orange, New Jersey.Seriously now, T-shirts causing crime is an interesting concept but there's no muscle in it. It's obvious the t-shirt's designer, M. Antonio Ennis, is trying to send a message. And, it's safe to say that it's a reckless and inciting one, but the message itself does not cause harm, at least not directly. What's more is that the ability to display a message, even one that's riotous, is protected under the First Amendment. I'm perplexed that Menino, a government official, forgot about First Amendment rights before he ordered the seizure and removal of these t-shirts.
The ACLU of Massachusetts brought the hammer down on Menino's directive. But, the mayor is determined to find a way to shut down the sales of these shirts, as well as the Stop Snitchin website. The mayor's actions are well-intentioned, but he's putting his efforts in the wrong place.
Side note: www.stopsnitchin.com is certainly kickin' in design, but it's also a little scary.
posted by tanagrame @ 9:53 AM
3 Comments:
Can I get this shirt in children's sizes?
I think so...you can check out their website. They sells shirts on the site. But, the site itself reeks of gang activity, but maybe that was just me being too sensitive.
http://www.badcopnews.com/stop_snitchin/
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