T-shirt that kicks you out the mall
March 10, 2003 11:52 AM   Subscribe

FYI, you can't wear a pro-peace t-shirt refuse to take it off and stay in a Crossgates Mall at the same time. More links inside.
posted by elpapacito (15 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: talked about last week



 
Almighty Google News link
on the topic
posted by elpapacito at 11:53 AM on March 10, 2003


This story is oooooold
posted by Spacelegoman at 11:54 AM on March 10, 2003


Almighty Metafilter link
posted by stefanie at 11:57 AM on March 10, 2003


and FYI, i saw a network news report last night which indicated that the mall had apologized and fired some scapegoat.
posted by quonsar at 12:02 PM on March 10, 2003


Even if his facts were right (and they aren't) his premise is still wrong. He states, "So what was on this shirt? Did it show a swastika? A single-finger salute? A naked lady holding a swastika while giving a single-finger salute?"

So clearly he thinks that some speech should be suppressed - he just wants to make sure that it's the kind that he disapproves of, not the kind of speech he likes. So he's absolutely no different from what he claims the mall to be.

Just another smug uptite columnist who is willing to fight to the death - for your right to agree with him, and to do what he wants you to do.

When blowhards from the other end of the political spetrum show up on Fox people here don't fail to denounce them - I hope those folks are willing to do the same here.
posted by Jos Bleau at 12:10 PM on March 10, 2003


Instapundit has been following this story; his item on the security guard who was fired is well off his front page by now (Pitts had better start a blog if he wants to keep up with the news cycle!). Definitely a scapegoat; he was forced to sign the criminal complaint by his boss, then fired for having done so.

In any event, it's longstanding case law that First Amendment rights have only limited applicability on private property, even if the protesters in this case weren't being asses -- which it sounds like they were.
posted by dhartung at 12:11 PM on March 10, 2003


Why oh why don't people just search before posting their newsfiltery things? I mean, if it's from a News website, and it's not recent news, it's a fairly safe bet that it was covered here already.
posted by jonson at 12:14 PM on March 10, 2003


Crossgates Mall. In Albany? I went to ALbany Law School. Frankly, that's not the demographic you want to reach with your message: mall shoppers are to numb to care either way.
Try Sty Plaza.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:20 PM on March 10, 2003


mall shoppers are to numb to care either way...

I suspect that is why they went to that particular mall. Y'know, no point in preaching to the converted, an'all.
posted by dash_slot- at 12:38 PM on March 10, 2003


So clearly he thinks that some speech should be suppressed

uh... he claimed absolutely nothing of the sort. He gave three reasonable examples of things one would imagine mall security might have a problem with.

even if the protesters in this case weren't being asses -- which it sounds like they were.

according to who? The article in the post certainly didn't allude to any asshole-ish behavior. Quite the opposite, in fact, in everything I've read so far.
posted by GeekAnimator at 12:56 PM on March 10, 2003


even if the protesters in this case weren't being asses -- which it sounds like they were.

a clever bit of spin attempt there, dhartung, allow me to correct your disinformation:

downs wasn' protesting. he wasn't passing out leaflets, he wasn't chanting anti-war slogans. he was eating dinner in the food court. he had two contacts with other mall shoppers, one with a teenager who admired the shirt and wanted to know where he could buy one like it, the other with a law school student who he was chatting with about law courses. (downs is an attorney.)

yup. acting like a real ass.
posted by quonsar at 1:04 PM on March 10, 2003


Local media quotes expert commentator in todays Albany area newspaper.


"I find this protest offensive," said Jennifer DeGregoria, a cashier at the Hungry Harry Deli. "You're going to make a difference standing in the mall making a (fool) of yourself?"

posted by dhacker at 1:10 PM on March 10, 2003


It's private property and the man was stopping other shoppers, which prompted security to stop him. I work mall security and this was not out of line. Protesters are prohibited at almost every mall. And so is solicitation. I work at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and our policy is to immediately ask protesters to leave.

It all boils down to one thing: private property.
posted by MrAnonymous at 1:25 PM on March 10, 2003


To clarify dhacker's above quote from the article:

None of the protesters, most of whom wore pro-peace shirts, were arrested Sunday. A few people wore T-shirts that read "Peace on Earth" on the front and "Please Don't Arrest Me" on the back. Others read "Reinstate Robert Williams" and "Free Speech in Corporate Malls."

Our food court cashier thought the 200 or so protesters were making fools of themselves, not Downs. It seems the mall security guy, Robert Williams has worked there over 9 years and people don't want him to be fired.
posted by whatever at 1:40 PM on March 10, 2003


whatever, thanks for the clarification for all the mefites. i live in the area so i've been bombarded with this for the last week. i was interjecting a bit of humor into it - everyone is getting quoted here, even the cashier at hungy harry's. you are absolutely correct - the cashier was commenting on the anti mall protestors, not downs.
posted by dhacker at 1:53 PM on March 10, 2003


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