Disturbing news story of the day: Man arrested for ‘peace’ T-shirt

NEW YORK (Reuters) — A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take off a T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall.

Yes, the court’s decision has brought about quite a protest by patrons of the mall in question— a protest with which I entirely agree. I mean, not being able to wear a T-shirt in the mall from which you bought it?

And before anyone makes any such claims, it’s not because I’m some sort of über-peacenik that I agree with the protesters. If Downs had been arrested for wearing a shirt that expressed total support for the war on Iraq, I still would’ve thought the mall’s decision was just as wrong— despite the fact that I strongly disagree with many aspects of the war— simply because it was a blatant violation of freedom of expression.

<shakes head, sighs…>