Which would you rather have at school?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Apparentely Phil thinks it's a major problem that I freely wear clothing with swearing on it and that my friend has one of those hammer and sickle shirts. Hence he loves school uniforms so much.

It's true that I go to a college which is obviously different and far more accepting than high school, but if you had two high schools, one of which had few clothing restrictions and allowed the first, the other with uniforms, which would you prefer?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Most people here would have no problem with it, and once when he was up in Minneapolis someone commented to him "awesome shirt!". As long as it's left wing, it's tolerated in Minneapolis, if cities had flags Minneapolis' should have a hammer and sickle on it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I should mention that I actually do have a friend who was born in the Soviet Union (in what is now Ukraine), although his parents left when he was only 2.

Now he is also extremely liberal and still has Kerry/Edwards buttons all over his backpack. He's never met my other friend though or seen his hammer and sickle shirt, and I'm honestly not sure what he would think of it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

well those are high schools, although I have yet to hear of a high school here banning the Hammer and Sickle so I guess that's true.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Well, if you're going to let kids wear what they want, then be sure to uphold the right to:

- wear communist signs
- wear swastikas
- wear KKK signs and slogans
- wear confederate flags and signs
- wear crosses and other religious signs
- wear shirts with Bible quotes

And so on.

my views on each:

- wear communist signs - acceptable
- wear swastikas - not acceptable
- wear KKK signs and slogans - not acceptable
- wear confederate flags and signs - not acceptable
- wear crosses and other religious signs - acceptable
- wear shirts with Bible quotes - depends on the quote, but generally acceptable

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

my views on each:

- wear communist signs - acceptable
- wear swastikas - not acceptable
- wear KKK signs and slogans - not acceptable
- wear confederate flags and signs - not acceptable
- wear crosses and other religious signs - acceptable
- wear shirts with Bible quotes - depends on the quote, but generally acceptable

This is some of the more stunted hypocricy I've seen.

why?

I'm pretty consistent actually, I'm opposing racist symbols. The KKK symbols, confederate flags and swastikas are racist. My opposition to the swastika symbol is not what the Nazis or Hitler did, but the fact that it represents a racist ideology. One can be a Nazi and not agree with everything Hitler did, in fact the majority of Nazis did not support genocide of Jews, just a limiting of their rights. However, such a person would still be racist. Whereareas one can be a communist who does not agree with the Stalinist terrors or other atrocities carried out by communists, therefore that person simply follows an economic ideology which you may not agree with, but is not offensive.

Christian symbols are not discriminatory, and like I said, it depends on the Bible verse, I would have no problem with shirts that quote John 3:16 or excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount but something saying homosexuality is an abomination is innapropiate.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I hate dressing up. I have never worn a tie in my life.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Let's see... communist symbols are good (the extermination of the Crimean Tartars was NOT racist I guess)

I explained the difference above. The difference is that you can believe in an ideology and not support everything done by people also claiming to believe in that ideology. You can be a Communist and not support Stalin. Many did even when Stalin was in power. Many in the Hungarian uprising in Communists. You also support the ideals the hammer and sickle was used to represent before the Soviet Union took it and not support the Soviets or other authoritarian communist regimes. Do you think my friend with the shirt thinks Stalinist Russia would be a great place to live in?

However, you can not support Nazi ideology and not be racist. You can disapprove of what Hitler did and still be a Nazi. But you would still be a racist.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

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Wouldn't that be extremely offensive to people of Eastern European descent? They're large Polish (and often Hungarian as well) communities in most industrial areas.

I explained it in the reply to NewFederalist above. something like "I Love Stalin" wouldn't be fine though.

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Define "swastika". Are we talking the Hindu relgious symbol or the Nazi pseudo-religious symbol?

Nazi symbol. Religious symbol covered below.

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What's a "confederate flag" defined as? Besides isn't it just a tiny bit hypocrital to say that someone having a (non battle flag) CSA flag on their T-shirt is bad, but there's nowt wrong with having "I love Pol Pot" on their T-shirt?

Stars and bars basically. And I wouldn't consider 'I love Pol Pot' fine. That's actually praising a genocidal communist. But you can use simple symbols like the hammer and sickle and not support authoritarian or genocidal communist regimes. Do you think my friend does? This is similar as to how displaying an American flag doesn't mean you support the genocide of millions of Natives under it.

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Is "I love the Taliban" O.K? What about a Hindu Swastika?

"I love the Taliban" - no, neither would be something support Christian Identity, Kahanism or the Kach, etc. What must to be realized though is someone who would wear such a thing is likely just looking for attention and doing in real life what trolls do on the internet.

I think a Hindu Swastika is fine as long as it's pointed in the original direction and not the Nazi version. Just be prepared to explain yourself.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Let's see... communist symbols are good (the extermination of the Crimean Tartars was NOT racist I guess)

I explained the difference above. The difference is that you can believe in an ideology and not support everything done by people also claiming to believe in that ideology. You can be a Communist and not support Stalin. Many did even when Stalin was in power. Many in the Hungarian uprising in Communists. You also support the ideals the hammer and sickle was used to represent before the Soviet Union took it and not support the Soviets or other authoritarian communist regimes. Do you think my friend with the shirt thinks Stalinist Russia would be a great place to live in?

However, you can not support Nazi ideology and not be racist. You can disapprove of what Hitler did and still be a Nazi. But you would still be a racist.

So no shirts saying

"Redmond University Black Football Team"

That is racist.

I don't know what that is.