The Huffington Post was huffing and puffing (sorry) yesterday over the already publicized instances of street vendors outside Wrigley Field peddling t-shirts with slogans ranging from crude to stupid.
Though The Huff Po and Bleacher Nation both cite the “Ozzie Mows Wrigley Field” tee spotted by CSTB’s Rob Warmowski last summer (btw, happy birthday, Rob!), the above shirt demonstrates that ugly stereotypes are hardly limited to crosstown rivals and NL Central opponents. Such fashion statements are considered free speech — certainly on the part of those selling ’em if not those purchasing — and isn’t that what our right to unfettered expression is all about? The ability to display the dopiest slurs and sentiments right outside of Big Z’s workplace?
I believe in someone’s 1st Amendment right to be a backwards moron almost as much as I believe in Darwinism, in this case it would involve someone who wears this shirt being punched in the face by a member of the Cubs’ Hispanic fan base. God, I wish I was there.
It’s tough to be sure, but I’ll give the Photoshop jockey behind this shirt this much: looking at the design, there’s at least some chance that the hat isn’t a straight-up clip-art Mexican-style cliche sombrero. You know, all I ask of someone’s bad idea is a little bit of work.
And GC: Thanks! And thanks to the Sox for an 11-1 rout of the Jays complete with a Carlos Quentin Slam That Is Grand. Look out, .500, here we come.
You wouldn’t wear that type of hat for mowing a lawn, though. You’d wear something closer to what an American cowboy hat looks like. The type of hat depicted on the shirt is usually ceremonial, the type of thing you see in a Folklorico performance or a ceremonial commemoration of something.