I don’t think she’s a fool. She’s 21. Without knowing about common workplace rules from an older friend or family member, I can see how such a demand (turning the t-shirt inside out or leave) may have been shocking.
It’s common to believe at that age, just as teenagers, that one knows everything needed already, and when one discovers this isn’t the case, it can be shocking. Actually, the older I get the more I realize we all think we know everything once we reach a certain age; the best thing is to have reminders like these that we don’t, and never will on Earth.
Related to this overabundance of self confidence can be an over reliance upon things like t-shirts and bumper stickers to “make a point”. Such people (those who believe others not only can be but are “convinced” by such messages) are then so shocked when their “free speech” is violated by requests such as “turn that inside out” that they take extreme actions such as this woman’s.
What is often overlooked in such needlessly dramatic events is, as you pointed out, no one is ever convinced by a t-shirt or bumper sticker. When this is pointed out though, often many will decry, “Well I guess you stand for nothing”.
Myself, I reply something like the following: There are times and places for provocative messages on t-shirts, but the workplace is not one of them. What “you” aren’t considering is that there is another, much better way to effect social change. Social change isn’t (ultimately) brought about by catchy slogans or “logical rational debate”. True, lasting, social change is only brought about by Christ Himself, Incarnate through His Church today. Incarnate through His believers, today. This itself isn’t a “religious argument” that is effective. It’s the witness of Christ at the workplace that’s effective. What’s that mean?
It doesn’t mean religious debate at work that’s for sure! What it DOES mean is: Caring for your fellow worker’s lives. Caring about them. Talking to them in a human way. IOW, literally being Christ to them. It sounds simple (and it ultimately is simple) which is why we as flawed humans can’t believe THAT is how society is effectively changed. We can’t believe that Christ does the work through us, through His Holy Spirit, the only Person who can change another’s mind. We, as flawed people believe we have to “do more”, because it just can’t be “that easy” (as if it really IS easy to REALLY “love another as we have been loved”, which is what I’m talking about here). We just can’t believe it.
So we make t shirts, bumper stickers, blogs and other Internet postings, we “argue passionately and logically”, make TV and radio ads, we elect the “right people” and we get downright ticked off when these things eventually fail (or even “worse”, when we are asked to take the tshirts off), because after all, we need to “do everything in the name of human justice and dignity” or some such.
Myself, I just try to be as Christlike as I can be, wherever I am, just as described above. I fail many times but it’s the only way I can “do” anything. And again, it’s really the only way to change society for the better.
And your response it really the ‘only’ way to convince someone to re-evaluate their opinons.
Well said.