The Psychology of Good Citizenship, Masks, Ethics, Ethical Dilemmas, Nostalgia, Swearing, Passing Gas, Animals Making Music and T-Shirt Slogans
“Having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig'd, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow the more apt I am to doubt my own Judgment, and to pay more Respect to the Judgment of others. The Opinions I have had of its Errors, I sacrifice to the Public Good.”
(Benjamin Franklin, in his final remarks at the United States Constitutional Convention, 1787)
Even though Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution, he put his full support behind it. He realised in his advanced years, having accumulated over 80 years of wisdom, listening to others with an open mind, and not trusting too much in his own genius, that there were far greater considerations for the fledgling country than merely his own views.
Benjamin Franklin is one of his history’s great statesmen. His autobiography is one of the most illuminating and rewarding books I’ve ever read.
A pity more people can’t have as much of an open mind as Ben Franklin.
In today’s post, we’ve got a real smorgasbord of topics to cover, along with plenty of links to keep you busily engaged with goings-on in the world. If a particular section isn’t to your liking, scroll down for an eclectic assortment of material. There should be something for everyone here.
First, a withering rant about humanity (for a change)
If there has been just one consistent trope on these pages from the very beginning of this blog, it’s been my repeated and frenzied attacks on the pitfalls of humanity. In other words, the dumb shit people do. And the total lack of respect, consideration and decency towards their fellow creatures. Why can’t we all just get along?
I’ve lived in Kyiv for nearly 10 years now. And I haven’t always been kind to the local citizens and their quirks. But loyal readers will take solace – I hope and trust – that my criticisms of people’s behaviour isn’t intended as an attack on a particular set of people. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve wheeled out and repeated ad nauseam the same old tirades against the idiocies of the population. The whole world is full of numpties and inconsiderate buffoons who don’t give a toss about anyone but themselves.
I used public transport for the first time last weekend. I barely saw an uncovered face: nearly everyone was wearing a mask. Sure, there are one or two exceptions, but repeated trips on the underground have proven to be similar.
In shops over the past few months, everyone wears a mask – it’s compulsory, after all, but Ukrainians – and I don’t mean this as an affront – aren’t necessarily the most law-abiding citizenry I’ve encountered. And the 2m/6ft social distancing rules aren’t always followed very rigorously.
But people, at least, are wearing masks.
Or even if my local readers would disagree and point out numerous exceptions, surely it’s nowhere near as bad as what’s transpiring in the US these days.
I don’t like to wade into anything that gets too close to politics, but good lord, why is the US the only country who has made wearing a mask into such a political issue? What I’ve seen in articles and social media is probably only a snippet of what’s going on throughout the country, but videos of people ranting that masks are the work of Satan and 5G conspiracies and paedophiles and Bill Gates and they’re an ‘infringement of [my] rights’ and ‘no one is going to tell me that I need to wear a mask.’ And this classic line, from a video that’s been making the rounds this week: ‘I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear: Things gotta breathe.’
Call me naïve, but…this beggars belief. Why does this only seem to be such a nasty debate in the US?
That’s a rhetorical question.
But it’s also a question a student asked me the other day. He wanted to know why there was such fierce resistance to wearing masks, and why it was being made into a political issue. I could have easily answered ‘because everything these days is made into a political issue in the US.’
And the videos – I guess we can say they’ve ‘gone viral’ – of people deliberately coughing on people to make a ‘political’ statement? And the public shaming of those wearing masks? The idea that people, especially men, are considered ‘weak’ for wearing masks? Honestly, why on earth…who on earth…?
That’s a rhetorical question.
How would the anti-mistake brigade feel about this then, I wonder:
I shan’t get into the medical evidence here, that’s been clearly laid out in numerous articles, and the facts and statistics are undeniable. And I have long felt nothing but utter contempt for those who go against the dictates of medicine and science and think they know better than those whose job it is to know.
Is it really so bad to wear a mask? If you wear glasses, as I do, then I can see why some might be bothered by the discomfort and ‘inconvenience’. My glasses fog up, and the mask strings pulling on my ears means my glasses side down my nose and I have to constantly re-adjust them, which means touching my face, which we are told not to do, but…hell, my point is, just put on a damn mask and protect your fellow citizens. It’s not always about you, it’s about others, others more vulnerable and susceptible. They could be loved ones, they could be strangers. It doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.
As far as I know, people bitching about masks being uncomfortable isn’t the main issue here. It’s all this malarkey over how it’s a violation of individual rights.
Here is where I delve into philosophy, and the Social Contract (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762). Like it or love it, you’re a citizen of somewhere. And if you’re fortunate enough – we can never downplay the role that luck plays in our lives – to have been born in or are a citizen of a so-called ‘developed’ country, allowing you freedom of movement, then wherever you choose to stay, you have to abide by the laws and rules of that country. In exchange, that country, in theory, should provide you with safety, stability and other services, and you enter into an unwritten social contract to adhere to the principles, relinquishing some individual rights for the benefit of the greater good. Otherwise, all we have is anarchy and utter chaos. Rousseau can explain this more eloquently than I, but it did also take him a couple hundred pages to do so.
Or you can just check Wikipedia:
‘In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order.’
And this handy, 90 second video lays it out clearly:
‘Social contract theory says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior…[p]hilosopher Stuart Rachels suggests that morality is the set of rules governing behavior that rational people accept, on the condition that others accept them too.’
I guess there are far too many irrational people in society these days.
‘Of what use is a philosopher who never offends anybody?’
(Diogenes)
We can also turn to the 17th century French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, and his eponymous wager on the existence of God:
‘Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.’
I could paraphrase thus: maybe God exists, maybe He doesn’t. But it’s better to believe than not, because the upside is greater. If He exists and you believe, great, you’ll be rewarded and go to Heaven. But if you don’t believe, then you’re basically screwed. Hedge your bets and believe. You have nothing to lose if He doesn’t exist because believing doesn’t necessarily do you any harm.
What has this got to do with masks?
We can take Pascal’s Wager and apply it to other areas – climate change for example. Whether you believe in man-made climate change or not, what’s the downside to cleaning the environment, cutting carbon emissions and investing in alternative energy? Even the most strident climate change deniers should, in theory, see the upsides as welcome changes. Who wouldn’t want cleaner air? Why not invest in alternative energies? What the potential economic gains to be made in those areas?
Why not wear a mask? What’s the downside? A bit of discomfort? If someone as grouchy and irritable as me can put up with a mask, then everyone can. What have you to lose? The upside is enormous, the downside is grave – almost literally, here.
Extra reading
This book’s title says it all. Highly recommended if you want to know more about how divided [American] society has become. (It’s as non-partisan as they come.)
Also:
The Dudes Who Won’t Wear Masks
Face coverings are a powerful tool, but health authorities can’t simply ignore the reasons some people refuse to use them. (The Atlantic)
And this might be futile, but we can’t give up:
How to Persuade People to Change Their Behavior (Harvard Business Review)
Anti-vaxxers deserve all they get
To continue with this rant: with the news that the anti-vaxxer and men’s world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic tested positive for covid-19…well, I don’t want to say anything that will further inflame things, but…hell slap into him. Idiot should have worn a mask, amongst other things.
A bit of history to ponder:
The original anti-vaxxers
How the zeal of Edward Jenner contributed to today’s culture wars (1843)
My nostalgia has been relentlessly out of control over these past few months, and it seems like I’m not alone. I’ll have more to say on this when I eventually put together another nostalgia-themed music mixtape post, but suffice to say that for people of a certain age, the reminiscing can be hard to rein in and keep under control. I always thought it unhealthy and dangerous, but this article has given me some hope:
The bittersweet madeleine
It is a guilty pleasure and undergirds nationalist bombast, yet nostalgia for the past can help propel us into the future (Aeon)
It was just over 10 years ago – 12 June 2010 – that I took this notice down from the outside of O’Brien’s Irish Pub here in Kyiv. I was not living in Ukraine at the time, merely passing through. In a story that has been written about and covered in these pages, I was at a bit of a loose end when a job at an international school teaching high school history in Tbilisi fell through, and I was travelling through Ukraine, visiting friends in various places: Crimea, Kyiv, Lviv. My good pal Mungo and I watched the match together. My trip started in Romania mid-May, continued onto Moldova (and Transnistria), Ukraine, then Poland. From there it was onto England, for a fun-packed couple of months teaching summer school. Unsure of what to do with myself as the dawg days of August dwindled past, and with my loose end slowly unravelling, I figured I’d come to Kyiv to keep myself gainfully employed and to weigh up my future options for a bit.
That was 10 years ago. The rest is, as they say, history.
There was little point to that story, I just felt like sharing.
2009 and 2010 were prolific years for me with my [then-new] blog, and there are too many posts to link to here. But knock yourself out on some of my tales and shenanigans from the spring and summer of 2010:
The Layman’s Guide to International Relations
Ethical dilemmas
A couple of months back I wrote about how I love to challenge my students with various ethical and moral dilemmas, notably the classic trolley car problem. And whenever people start adding stipulations and more hypotheticals, I always tell them to stick to the parameters as they’ve been laid out.
Well, perhaps it’s time to rethink that. This has given me much to ponder, and it also includes yet another moral dilemma – with abortion as an example – that I’d never come across before. And I thought I knew all of the dilemmas out there – apparently not.
The trolley problem problem
Are thoughts experiments experiments at all? Or something else? And do they help us think clearly about ethics or not? (Aeon)
Statues and Empire
Two of the best I’ve read in this area (and there are many, many more out there):
Not all slopes are slippery
How to decide which statues can remain and which need to go (Times Literary Supplement)
Tea, Biscuits, and Empire: The Long Con of Britishness
The soft-focus Britain of Downton Abbey bears little resemblance to the real Britain collapsing under the weight of racism, austerity, and COVID-19. As Brexit plods on, it’s time for an honest reckoning of the history and future of this outsize little island. (Longreads)
Some fun links, on swearing, farting and animal bands:
There is only one effective curse word that helps you resist pain and it's f*ck (Mashable)
Man Fined $560 for Farting Loudly at Police in Austria (Newsweek)
30 Animals That Look Like They’re About To Drop The Hottest Albums Of The Year (Bored Panda)
And lastly, it’s been a long time since we talked about t-shirts
I think my fascination with bizarre t-shirt slogans in foreign countries started in Kyrgyzstan in 2009, when I saw lots of women with the timeless classic ‘No romance without finance’ emblazoned on their t-shirts. Another classic from my time in Bishkek was the plump, older market seller whose shirt read ‘I’m like fast food: cheap, quick and easy.’
In how many different posts over the past decade or so have I talked about t-shirts? As many as ten? Maybe.
The one from my time in Kyiv that always comes immediately to mind was the granny in a supermarket with this doozy: ‘my supervisor is an asshole.’
And I’ve often taken it upon myself to make sure they speak some English, just so they’re aware of what their shirt actually says. Although I have no firm statistics to back this up, around three-quarters speak little to no English. (my tactic is to approach them and speak English to gauge their reaction – I’ve stopped doing that over the past couple of years though)
Another classic, found on the sweater on a heavyset woman in September. A picture of Santa Claus with ‘Jingle my bells’.
Sometimes they’re hilarious, other times mildly amusing, other times totally perplexing and inexplicable.
Three I’ve seen this week:
‘Holiday’ is my 2nd-favourite f-word (what am I not getting here?)
'This summer: here comes the fun' (is this irony? a threat? sarcasm? what am I not getting here?)
‘Hands off the bump!’ (I saw this twice in two days, on the same woman, who didn’t look even remotely pregnant, unless she was in the early stages)
Understandably, I can’t take photos – or, I’m not going to attempt it – of people and their shirts, but I did stumble upon this dress the other day, and I can’t for the life of me figure out its message:
What does brick mean? Like, it’s a possible weapon? Self-defense? Be wary of a brick being launched at you? And ‘scare’ – is this a command, as in ‘scare the kids!’, or is it a misspelling of ‘scary’? And what’s with ‘aloud’? Is this a pun? (a loud/allowed)? Or another misspelling? I suppose the ‘sweet’ is self-explanatory, but there are way too many ambiguities and mixed messages here for my liking.
What I've Been Reading
(Benjamin Franklin, in his final remarks at the United States Constitutional Convention, 1787)
Even though Franklin disagreed with much of the Constitution, he put his full support behind it. He realised in his advanced years, having accumulated over 80 years of wisdom, listening to others with an open mind, and not trusting too much in his own genius, that there were far greater considerations for the fledgling country than merely his own views.
Benjamin Franklin is one of his history’s great statesmen. His autobiography is one of the most illuminating and rewarding books I’ve ever read.
A pity more people can’t have as much of an open mind as Ben Franklin.
In today’s post, we’ve got a real smorgasbord of topics to cover, along with plenty of links to keep you busily engaged with goings-on in the world. If a particular section isn’t to your liking, scroll down for an eclectic assortment of material. There should be something for everyone here.
First, a withering rant about humanity (for a change)
If there has been just one consistent trope on these pages from the very beginning of this blog, it’s been my repeated and frenzied attacks on the pitfalls of humanity. In other words, the dumb shit people do. And the total lack of respect, consideration and decency towards their fellow creatures. Why can’t we all just get along?
I’ve lived in Kyiv for nearly 10 years now. And I haven’t always been kind to the local citizens and their quirks. But loyal readers will take solace – I hope and trust – that my criticisms of people’s behaviour isn’t intended as an attack on a particular set of people. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve wheeled out and repeated ad nauseam the same old tirades against the idiocies of the population. The whole world is full of numpties and inconsiderate buffoons who don’t give a toss about anyone but themselves.
I used public transport for the first time last weekend. I barely saw an uncovered face: nearly everyone was wearing a mask. Sure, there are one or two exceptions, but repeated trips on the underground have proven to be similar.
In shops over the past few months, everyone wears a mask – it’s compulsory, after all, but Ukrainians – and I don’t mean this as an affront – aren’t necessarily the most law-abiding citizenry I’ve encountered. And the 2m/6ft social distancing rules aren’t always followed very rigorously.
But people, at least, are wearing masks.
Or even if my local readers would disagree and point out numerous exceptions, surely it’s nowhere near as bad as what’s transpiring in the US these days.
I don’t like to wade into anything that gets too close to politics, but good lord, why is the US the only country who has made wearing a mask into such a political issue? What I’ve seen in articles and social media is probably only a snippet of what’s going on throughout the country, but videos of people ranting that masks are the work of Satan and 5G conspiracies and paedophiles and Bill Gates and they’re an ‘infringement of [my] rights’ and ‘no one is going to tell me that I need to wear a mask.’ And this classic line, from a video that’s been making the rounds this week: ‘I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear: Things gotta breathe.’
Call me naïve, but…this beggars belief. Why does this only seem to be such a nasty debate in the US?
That’s a rhetorical question.
But it’s also a question a student asked me the other day. He wanted to know why there was such fierce resistance to wearing masks, and why it was being made into a political issue. I could have easily answered ‘because everything these days is made into a political issue in the US.’
And the videos – I guess we can say they’ve ‘gone viral’ – of people deliberately coughing on people to make a ‘political’ statement? And the public shaming of those wearing masks? The idea that people, especially men, are considered ‘weak’ for wearing masks? Honestly, why on earth…who on earth…?
That’s a rhetorical question.
How would the anti-mistake brigade feel about this then, I wonder:
(Julia Ioffe is a journalist for GQ, and has also contributed to numerous other publications)
I shan’t get into the medical evidence here, that’s been clearly laid out in numerous articles, and the facts and statistics are undeniable. And I have long felt nothing but utter contempt for those who go against the dictates of medicine and science and think they know better than those whose job it is to know.
Is it really so bad to wear a mask? If you wear glasses, as I do, then I can see why some might be bothered by the discomfort and ‘inconvenience’. My glasses fog up, and the mask strings pulling on my ears means my glasses side down my nose and I have to constantly re-adjust them, which means touching my face, which we are told not to do, but…hell, my point is, just put on a damn mask and protect your fellow citizens. It’s not always about you, it’s about others, others more vulnerable and susceptible. They could be loved ones, they could be strangers. It doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.
As far as I know, people bitching about masks being uncomfortable isn’t the main issue here. It’s all this malarkey over how it’s a violation of individual rights.
Here is where I delve into philosophy, and the Social Contract (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762). Like it or love it, you’re a citizen of somewhere. And if you’re fortunate enough – we can never downplay the role that luck plays in our lives – to have been born in or are a citizen of a so-called ‘developed’ country, allowing you freedom of movement, then wherever you choose to stay, you have to abide by the laws and rules of that country. In exchange, that country, in theory, should provide you with safety, stability and other services, and you enter into an unwritten social contract to adhere to the principles, relinquishing some individual rights for the benefit of the greater good. Otherwise, all we have is anarchy and utter chaos. Rousseau can explain this more eloquently than I, but it did also take him a couple hundred pages to do so.
Or you can just check Wikipedia:
‘In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority (of the ruler, or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights or maintenance of the social order.’
And this handy, 90 second video lays it out clearly:
‘Social contract theory says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior…[p]hilosopher Stuart Rachels suggests that morality is the set of rules governing behavior that rational people accept, on the condition that others accept them too.’
I guess there are far too many irrational people in society these days.
‘Of what use is a philosopher who never offends anybody?’
(Diogenes)
We can also turn to the 17th century French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, and his eponymous wager on the existence of God:
‘Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.’
I could paraphrase thus: maybe God exists, maybe He doesn’t. But it’s better to believe than not, because the upside is greater. If He exists and you believe, great, you’ll be rewarded and go to Heaven. But if you don’t believe, then you’re basically screwed. Hedge your bets and believe. You have nothing to lose if He doesn’t exist because believing doesn’t necessarily do you any harm.
What has this got to do with masks?
We can take Pascal’s Wager and apply it to other areas – climate change for example. Whether you believe in man-made climate change or not, what’s the downside to cleaning the environment, cutting carbon emissions and investing in alternative energy? Even the most strident climate change deniers should, in theory, see the upsides as welcome changes. Who wouldn’t want cleaner air? Why not invest in alternative energies? What the potential economic gains to be made in those areas?
Why not wear a mask? What’s the downside? A bit of discomfort? If someone as grouchy and irritable as me can put up with a mask, then everyone can. What have you to lose? The upside is enormous, the downside is grave – almost literally, here.
(Adam Feuerstein is a biotech financial journalist for STAT)
Extra reading
This book’s title says it all. Highly recommended if you want to know more about how divided [American] society has become. (It’s as non-partisan as they come.)
Also:
The Dudes Who Won’t Wear Masks
Face coverings are a powerful tool, but health authorities can’t simply ignore the reasons some people refuse to use them. (The Atlantic)
And this might be futile, but we can’t give up:
How to Persuade People to Change Their Behavior (Harvard Business Review)
Anti-vaxxers deserve all they get
To continue with this rant: with the news that the anti-vaxxer and men’s world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic tested positive for covid-19…well, I don’t want to say anything that will further inflame things, but…hell slap into him. Idiot should have worn a mask, amongst other things.
A bit of history to ponder:
The original anti-vaxxers
How the zeal of Edward Jenner contributed to today’s culture wars (1843)
My nostalgia has been relentlessly out of control over these past few months, and it seems like I’m not alone. I’ll have more to say on this when I eventually put together another nostalgia-themed music mixtape post, but suffice to say that for people of a certain age, the reminiscing can be hard to rein in and keep under control. I always thought it unhealthy and dangerous, but this article has given me some hope:
The bittersweet madeleine
It is a guilty pleasure and undergirds nationalist bombast, yet nostalgia for the past can help propel us into the future (Aeon)
It was just over 10 years ago – 12 June 2010 – that I took this notice down from the outside of O’Brien’s Irish Pub here in Kyiv. I was not living in Ukraine at the time, merely passing through. In a story that has been written about and covered in these pages, I was at a bit of a loose end when a job at an international school teaching high school history in Tbilisi fell through, and I was travelling through Ukraine, visiting friends in various places: Crimea, Kyiv, Lviv. My good pal Mungo and I watched the match together. My trip started in Romania mid-May, continued onto Moldova (and Transnistria), Ukraine, then Poland. From there it was onto England, for a fun-packed couple of months teaching summer school. Unsure of what to do with myself as the dawg days of August dwindled past, and with my loose end slowly unravelling, I figured I’d come to Kyiv to keep myself gainfully employed and to weigh up my future options for a bit.
That was 10 years ago. The rest is, as they say, history.
There was little point to that story, I just felt like sharing.
2009 and 2010 were prolific years for me with my [then-new] blog, and there are too many posts to link to here. But knock yourself out on some of my tales and shenanigans from the spring and summer of 2010:
The Layman’s Guide to International Relations
Ethical dilemmas
A couple of months back I wrote about how I love to challenge my students with various ethical and moral dilemmas, notably the classic trolley car problem. And whenever people start adding stipulations and more hypotheticals, I always tell them to stick to the parameters as they’ve been laid out.
Well, perhaps it’s time to rethink that. This has given me much to ponder, and it also includes yet another moral dilemma – with abortion as an example – that I’d never come across before. And I thought I knew all of the dilemmas out there – apparently not.
The trolley problem problem
Are thoughts experiments experiments at all? Or something else? And do they help us think clearly about ethics or not? (Aeon)
Statues and Empire
Two of the best I’ve read in this area (and there are many, many more out there):
Not all slopes are slippery
How to decide which statues can remain and which need to go (Times Literary Supplement)
Tea, Biscuits, and Empire: The Long Con of Britishness
The soft-focus Britain of Downton Abbey bears little resemblance to the real Britain collapsing under the weight of racism, austerity, and COVID-19. As Brexit plods on, it’s time for an honest reckoning of the history and future of this outsize little island. (Longreads)
Some fun links, on swearing, farting and animal bands:
There is only one effective curse word that helps you resist pain and it's f*ck (Mashable)
Man Fined $560 for Farting Loudly at Police in Austria (Newsweek)
30 Animals That Look Like They’re About To Drop The Hottest Albums Of The Year (Bored Panda)
And lastly, it’s been a long time since we talked about t-shirts
I think my fascination with bizarre t-shirt slogans in foreign countries started in Kyrgyzstan in 2009, when I saw lots of women with the timeless classic ‘No romance without finance’ emblazoned on their t-shirts. Another classic from my time in Bishkek was the plump, older market seller whose shirt read ‘I’m like fast food: cheap, quick and easy.’
In how many different posts over the past decade or so have I talked about t-shirts? As many as ten? Maybe.
The one from my time in Kyiv that always comes immediately to mind was the granny in a supermarket with this doozy: ‘my supervisor is an asshole.’
And I’ve often taken it upon myself to make sure they speak some English, just so they’re aware of what their shirt actually says. Although I have no firm statistics to back this up, around three-quarters speak little to no English. (my tactic is to approach them and speak English to gauge their reaction – I’ve stopped doing that over the past couple of years though)
Another classic, found on the sweater on a heavyset woman in September. A picture of Santa Claus with ‘Jingle my bells’.
Sometimes they’re hilarious, other times mildly amusing, other times totally perplexing and inexplicable.
Three I’ve seen this week:
‘Holiday’ is my 2nd-favourite f-word (what am I not getting here?)
'This summer: here comes the fun' (is this irony? a threat? sarcasm? what am I not getting here?)
‘Hands off the bump!’ (I saw this twice in two days, on the same woman, who didn’t look even remotely pregnant, unless she was in the early stages)
Understandably, I can’t take photos – or, I’m not going to attempt it – of people and their shirts, but I did stumble upon this dress the other day, and I can’t for the life of me figure out its message:
What does brick mean? Like, it’s a possible weapon? Self-defense? Be wary of a brick being launched at you? And ‘scare’ – is this a command, as in ‘scare the kids!’, or is it a misspelling of ‘scary’? And what’s with ‘aloud’? Is this a pun? (a loud/allowed)? Or another misspelling? I suppose the ‘sweet’ is self-explanatory, but there are way too many ambiguities and mixed messages here for my liking.
What I've Been Reading
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