If she had never told you about the T-Shirt, you'd never know she was a fascist. In a way, its self labelling. Its quite honest in a way, in this age of identity crises. It saves you a lot of trouble sorting through the endless social maze. We are literally wearing our heart on our sleeves...

PS>
Landover baptist.org has some really good evangelical shirts. They are clever, not just shocking. I think they also do Bush shirts.

I am not immune to some offensive material. It's not like people do it to shock,it's cause they are ignorant. (the rasist T-shirt stuff anyways) Jackass is funny, I think it's pretty innocent really. The joke is always on them not on other people.

So the revsisionist history begins already with a "de-contextualized" dismissal of what actually happened.

The Danish cartoons were not trying to make a statment about "freedom of speech". They were created in response to a request for Danish cartoonists to comment on a particular subject.

Most of the cartoons were not great but editorial cartoons often are not really funny. They all however explored the abuse of the name of the Prophet Mohammed by terrorists. GIven the huge sympathy for the terrosorists in the Muslim world combined with the modern injunctions against depiction of the Prophet it is no suprise it offended many Muslims.

To say that the cartoons were part of a hate-filled agenda is nonsense. Are you saying that the most pressing concern in international security is not a legitimate topic for discussion? Are you saying the hypocrisy and scriptural errors of Islamist terrorists are unchallengable?

I see no difference between that sort of b#!!$^!t and the Rovian doctrine that criticism of Emperor George II is treason.

The most pressing concern in international security is the mass slaughter being engaged in by the United States (and supported by lackeys like Canada) in many of the oil rich regions of the world. Islamic terrorists don't hold a tea candle to that kind of terror.

Meanwhile the western world ignores the mass slaughter in Africa, because they are African and you just can't make money protesting on their behalf.

South park I saw the first time without warning watching TV with my mom, we both laughed ourselves to death. I find the show smart and funny. A friends parent's think the Simpsons is offensive.
Family Guy I find funny about 15% of the time but can't watch it since I find a lot of the 'humour' to be just plain disgusting.

'Love him or hate him, Hitler killed a lot of Jews'

This makes me laugh due to what I see as complete absurdity. If I attempt to interpret it I think the intention was to mock society's aceptance of the pycopaths in the everyday world (those ultra greedy types that can find thier way into boardrooms) that get rich basically stealing from others (land, labour, and resources) and are then celebrated by society.
'I Take the "THE" out of Psychotherapist' I see clever wordplay... funny
'No Means Eat Me Out First' I see a disgusting attitude cloaked in humour... not funny.

Different folks like different strokes... So, the 'degradation of art', you mean 'Jack the dripper'? ...maybe for some degredation means to shake things up a bit...

@colin: heard of engineers without borders? their focus is africa; they fundraise a lot of cash for work in africa and awareness at home...

Uh oh, the t-shirt vendors have crossed paths with the Tyee's politburo!! Luckily the world populace has its moral superiors at the Tyee there to determine the appropriate level of outrage and course of action.

I will save you the time of responding to this comment by summarizing,using keywords, a typical response to any non-A.N.S.W.E.R. approved posts: corporations, neoconazi, privitization, Gordon Campbell, france, Bush.

One can laugh at those shirts, while simultaneously being disgusted by them, and the fact that one does laugh at them doesn't imply an acceptance of the underlying racist/sexist/etc premise. I am perfectly willing to tell such jokes, provided that I know my audience, and they know perfectly well that I don't accept such ideas.

The problem is that, unless you know the owner of such a t-shirt, you can't tell what his/her attitudes actually are. The joke itself isn't the problem - it's the lack of context, and the fear that maybe, just maybe, the person wearing that shirt DOES hold anti-social views.

I think the George Clooney for President slogan is "keep the george, lose the bush" - read about those in a magazine. (It's a line by Canadians, interestingly). I believe that one to be in the "valuable" category, while none of the others you mention are very entertaining or enlightening...or funny!

As an unbeliever, I have always been partial to anti-religious humour, ever since seeing "Jeez If You Love Honkus" on a bumpersticker. And I laughed myself sick at "Saved!" with Mandy Moore.

But what I realized while writing the review of that flick, offensiveness is just obnoxiousness unless there is some chance of a genuine retribution. There is not much reaction hereabouts when you offend a Christian; they might ban a kids' book, or hold up pictures of fetuses in front of the clinic.

You hardly ever see take on the Muslims. It's just not safe. Now, the Danish depictions of Mohammad were, in retrospect, an unfortunate mixed message, since the impetus was the lack of ability to get an artist to draw a portrait of the Prophet. The "right" thing to do would have been to publish portraits, not satires.

But I would absolutely defend the cartoons, not in spite of their pushing a hot button to mob carnage, but because the factual, proven existence of that button -- i.e. that critics of Islam are threatened with violence -- needs to be a top priority subject among serious people. I hope the Islamic faith can eventually coexist peacefully with pluralistic democracy, but it is not doing so now, and ignoring or minimizing the conflict (as the author of this piece strives to do) is not getting the job done.

Therefore, shock value, in the case of these cartoons, are a consequence of legitimate speech; they're not gratuitous.

South Park is sometimes gratuitous. But it is very clever and funny.

Sarah Silverman -- gratuitous or provocative and meaningful? Or both?

I dont think that is funny either. George Clooney is a celebrity moron. How would he make a beter presedent. Valuable? Not really. Rasist jokes should not be told either to anyone at any time they are ignorant and not at all funny under any context.

Fart jokes etc now thats the good stuff!

Now after a few postings we see we all have different tastes and definitions as to humour and offensive material.

It's when people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta open their mouths that i find the meters of OFFENSIVENESS start reading the red.

And even though i don't really like South Park i would have loved to seen what was so offensive to that Scientologist Icon Tom Cruise,that couch hopping moron that gets all the girlies hot.

Yes,TOM is FUNNY...in a sick way .I guess ,i can be offensive too !

Forty years ago, t-shirts with writing on them were unknown. One of the first t-shirts with images on them I ever saw (in the late 60s) depicted Walt Disney’s beloved cartoon characters engaging in all manner of sexual depravity with each other. They were copied from The Disneyland Memorial Orgy in The Realist magazine which can viewed at paulkrassner.com (Get your copy now!). In those days, offensive humour was a decidedly left-wing endeavour intended to shock Americans out of their 1950s conservative stupor. Soon people began wearing their political opinions on their t-shirts with slogans like “Question Authority” and “There’s No Government Like No Government” and pictures of Che Guevara. By the 1980s, these had given way to blatantly commercial messages and now most t-shirts have something written on them and being offensive is considered not just a fundamental right, but almost an obligation. The movie The Aristocrats is an entertaining exploration of the subject of offensive humour.
That said, there really isn’t anything funny about these fascist/racist attempts at humour. Good offensive humour forces you to confront your own prejudices and perhaps acknowledge they are misplaced. Fascists want to confirm your prejudices and accept that harming other people is normal.
The differences are profound.

It's fair to comment that so much homour is offensive, and that people should try to be polite and sensitive in their communications. That's pretty trite, though. So what? The world is full of things that offend. And everyone is offended by different things. Mr. Demers is offended by the suggestion that the Volkswagen and the autobahn may have been good public policy, even if implemented by a moral monster. But he can read that in history books, he doesn't have to look for T-shirts. I am very troubled that the underlying message is that people who offend should be silenced. I say, grow up and join the real world.

Underlying message? Ah yes, I see the one you've just read into being between the lines.

In the real world if you act like an ******* people will treat you like one. Someone intent on using offensive humour should grow up and realize others will certainly not take too kindly to it. Freedom of speech entails the right to express disgust at thoughtless idiots, as much as it does those idiots' right to take pleasure in joking about the misfortune of others.

Can't say I disagree with any of that, James. The key word is freedom. People who are offended should speak up, challenge, debate, within the context of that freedom. But "I am offended" is an intanfile mantra too often heard in this country, on the assumption that there is a "right" not be offended.

I may be alone on this, but if I see a person in some psuedo-edgy "offensive" T-shirt, I'm probably thinking, "this is some pitiful cry for attention doubling as a desperate grasp at individuality."

The end result: joke's on you.

That said, it's not like some of these shirts aren't funny. Especially the ones that make you feel horrible for laughing — not the same, butI got a valentines that had the two towers rendered in crayon, and captioned: I think I'm falling for you. I laughed.

Further note: you can dress your toddlers in this sort of vulgar clothing, and then post it on the internet — posthumously, millions of bored secretaries can emails these images to their friends. Because, you know, children in shirts that say "hookers and blow" are hilarious.

Moreover: there's a line that'd crossed by nancing around in public with a T-Shirt that says something stupid or bigoted. It's the one that allows others judge you and act accordingly — that is, not hiring you, refusing you service, calling you an idiot, and so on. I think that's what's being discussed — how stupid the shirts are — and not banning certain wardrobes, like some people seem to be implying.

adamw,good points .

I act accordingly at times...I walked into an elevator at an office building and there was a pretty woman with a black tee shirt whith red letters spelling WANKER,I had a hard time not laughing and it upset her,she asked indignantly what i was laughing at.I asked her if she knew what a WANKER was,she did not ,i told her,she got very RED FACED...IT WAS A PRESENT FROM A GIRL FRIEND VISITING ENGLAND.
some friend !

Remember hot pants? The garments, I mean. Remember? OK, I thought this was funny:

DOWN WITH HOT PANTS!

Picture this-
A t-shirt of Geronimo and some other Native American gentleman, armed to the max. Caption is:
"HOMELAND SECURITY"
"Fighting Terrorism since 1492"

Profoundly accurate I would say...

RTB

RTBthat's really funny...and profound .

Was at a public meeting regarding immigration. When the public got to speak, a native chap got up to the mike and said:
Immigration should be banned (big hush from the audience as what he was implying was not very PC)

He then said: All our troubles started when we let you bastards in! (god, I laughed my guts out), he had a smile as he walked out.

Right on Colin...Too cool a dude.
It would make a great T.!

RTB

Hey guys,

What does a t-shirt mean to you if the caption says just "Enemy of the State"??

Just curious...I bought this t-shirt because of the movie that was out a few years ago, but I must say it has been a wee bit of a stir...

RTB

In a free country you should be able to put any damn thing you wish on a t-shirt - even against the religions....

Anything except anti-semitic.

Jack's , dont start sounding ...wishy washy

ANY DAMN THING YOU WANT , sounds like a good message for a tee shirt.

bold,ambiguous,and in your face i like it!

Adamw, thanks for a new perspective.

A friend (who should have known better) sent me a link to one of these sites, which contained t-shirts condoning, advocating, justifying (whatever you want to call it) rape and pedophilia. As a survior of childhood sexual assault, I was apoplectic.

Perhaps that was the response the fictional wearer hopes for? Shock value? Attention? Stirring up the pot just for the sake of it?

Although I still think it's offensive, you've made me see just how pathetic someone who would make light of such a thing really is.

Thanks dudes...
Sounds good to me haraldkann. The shirt WILL continue to be worn...

RTB

a good vintage tee shirt site

http://www.wornfree.com/

shirts that have staying power...

I'm so glad someone said something about this! I've noticed offensive "humor" getting a little out of hand lately. While googling "poetry", I ended up browsing to a site called http://www.dirtyhaikus.com and it was completely rude and pointless!!! I don't understand what people find funny about these sites. Rape, beating women, hitler, retards - these are FUNNY to people?????

Rape is no laughing matter (unless you're raping a clown)

I have a hard time believing you are a comic, because you sound like one of the most uptight, self righteous, intolerant people i've ever met. You ramble on and on about "vulgar" and "obscene" humor and then proceed to berate Tshirts depicting alternative politics and championing free speech? Whas vulgar about free speech? It sounds like you have more in common with the nazi's that that girl who was lucky enough to get away from you. Maybe if you weren't so busy with your fanatical soap box preaching you would have the time to find a sense of humor.

Ah, yer mother eats army boots!

One for Victoria. Emblazoned over the image of a senior on an electric scooter:

VICTORIA B.C.

WE'RE NOT DEAD YET!

Not until you have to deal with the buracracy here,that is .

hits the nail on the head lilConner! Lighten up a little and he wouldn't need Lavalife to find a date. Oh and the suspense is killing me, what is WANKER?

Wiki on wanker:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanker