Ever had a negative reaction to a political T-shirt?

[Elpenor]

Not a political t-shirt, but my MR HEISENBERG got compliments from random strangers when I wore it around 2012-2015, including a staff member at Butlin's and a dude outside Oxford train station

Looked like this:

View attachment 423764

What happened when you wore it from around 2016 onwards?

 

[DaveCinzano]

What happened when you wore it from around 2016 onwards?

A tailing off of feedback

 

[CNT36]

I used to have a great t-shirt with the red and black triangles and the initials FAI In the top left corner and CNT in the bottom right.

Not really a negative reaction (more a disappointing one) but I lost count of the number of people who asked me, "is that meant to mean cunt or something?"

Well, yeah.

 

[hitmouse]

Swastikas are problematic I think. Even if someone has it the right way round, few people would know.

On a similar note, a friend put the old MUFC antifascists sticker design with a red devil burning a swastika on his car:

Only to learn that the sticker wasn't designed for prolonged exposure outdoors, so after a few weeks in the sun the red bit had really faded while the black was still very recognisably a swastika from the distance, so he ended up having to scrape the whole thing off.

 

[imposs1904]

i have one of these and am anticipating negative reactions when i put it on

View attachment 415860

It is pretty cringe, tbh.

 

[petee]

It is pretty cringe, tbh.

you'd have to wear it with a button down shirt leaving just the head visible.

 

[imposs1904]

you'd have to wear it with a button down shirt leaving just the head visible.

I see a few 'Let's Go Brandon' t-shirts and hoodies in my neighbourhood.

 

[plurker]

I was told to take off a FUCK THE POLL TAX tee-shirt back in the day. Some of the genteel folk of Chester weren't happy and a passing copper sided with them. I turned it inside out to keep the peace a bit - and avoid a search - but the print was still pretty visible
XAT LLOP EHT KCUF it was then

 

[imposs1904]

I’ve had a couple of people clock my jacket with my union logo on it and make a comment. In a friendly but not particularly supportive way.
I have a Red Action Voice of Reason T-shirt that I’ve never really worn out in the wild.
I don’t think anyone knows what my IWCA beanie is about.

In the States you see lots of people wearing cool looking bomber jackets with their union logo imprinted on the back, just walking about doing their everyday business, not coming or going from a march, etc.

 

[Orang Utan]

It is pretty cringe, tbh.

since when has cringe been an adjective, not a verb?

 

[imposs1904]

since when has cringe been an adjective, not a verb?

I don't care.

 

[imposs1904]

I was told to take off a FUCK THE POLL TAX tee-shirt back in the day. Some of the genteel folk of Chester weren't happy and a passing copper sided with them. I turned it inside out to keep the peace a bit - and avoid a search - but the print was still pretty visible
XAT LLOP EHT KCUF it was then

Remember when some random kid got arrested for wearing one of those Inspiral Carpets 'Cool as Fuck' t shirts? How we laughed.

 

[petee]

I see a few 'Let's Go Brandon' t-shirts and hoodies in my neighbourhood.

I'm sorry.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I had a t-shirt with this image from the Tintin anarcho parody Breaking Free which was well-received in the field

 

[krtek a houby]

A Lenin t-shirt, celebrating the russian revolution and printed in Irish, got it in Connolly books, then got a lot of grief in a Dublin pub about that. Mostly "communism killed millions" etc

A Jeremy Corbyn t-shirt got in London, comments in the local were mostly "madman/horrible/communist" but maybe they were directed at me and not JC.

Grateful Dead t-shirt back in the 80s, comments in a pub were like "you weren't there/that's when music was best/better than the shite you hear today".

Maybe should stay out of pubs. Or t-shirts.

 

[8ball]

i have one of these and am anticipating negative reactions when i put it on

View attachment 415860

Keep wearing it next year, you'll just get giggles.

 

[hitmouse]

I have a Unison hat (well, actually more than one) and once someone tried to snatch my hat off my head, but I can't remember if I was wearing my Unison hat or a non-union related one, and either way I think it was more to do with them being a pissed antisocial twat who thought snatching a stranger's hat would be funny than because they were outraged by trade unionism. I also have a UCU hat I won in a pub quiz once, and I was going to say that I think one of my friends said that they liked it but it didn't go with my sunglasses, but on reflection I think they actually said that about a top I was wearing (similar hot pink colour, no union-related branding though). I've never worn a MAGA hat in Central London, so I've never had any negative reactions on that score though.
Has anyone else not worn a MAGA hat in Central London, and what sort of reactions did you not get if so?

 

[Sue]

Has anyone else not worn a MAGA hat in Central London, and what sort of reactions did you not get if so?

I have seen someone (American tourist I think) wear a MAGA hat on the tube. No-one said anything but there was quite a lot of sniggering, rolling of eyes etc. Probably the most social I've ever seen the tube tbh.

 

[WouldBe]

Has anyone else not worn a MAGA hat in Central London, and what sort of reactions did you not get if so?

I've never worn a MAGA hat in London (or elsewhere) and had no reactions at all.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I've never worn a MAGA hat in London (or elsewhere) and had no reactions at all.

Shouting MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA
Mega MAGA white supremacist
Mega MAGA white supremacist
So many things to see and do
In the tube hole true
Blonde going back to Romford
MAGA MAGA MAGA going back to Romford
How am I at having fun
I know why you're on your way
To a new tension headache

 

[Jennaonthebeach]

I used to have one that listed how many people every year were killed by the police, and compared it to terrorism (it was much higher). A lot of people didn't like it to the point where i stopped wearing it, and I'd already been scared to wear it anywhere where there was likely to be police officers, like the Tube, central London, any central London station, Westminster in general. I still have it, and its i really good nick (pun!) 15 years later.

 

[_Russ_]

I've got an old and quite faded tee shirt with "Communist Party" written on the front and pictures of Karl and his mates in Party hats, its funny how something so benign to me can make someone Im chatting with to so inwardly angry...you can see the eyes shift to my torso and their faces change telling the story of repressed disgust

 

[petee]

i have one of these and am anticipating negative reactions when i put it on

View attachment 415860

i'm wearing it right now.

 

[petee]

Saw someone wearing the classic Municipal Waste Trump t-shirt last weekend:

Spoiler: a wee bit graphic

View attachment 415946

I can imagine that one might potentially get you some negative reactions in certain settings.

payback for this tho'

 

[krtek a houby]

I've got an old and quite faded tee shirt with "Communist Party" written on the front and pictures of Karl and his mates in Party hats, its funny how something so benign to me can make someone Im chatting with to so inwardly angry...you can see the eyes shift to my torso and their faces change telling the story of repressed disgust

You need the other side to be printed "if you think that's annoying, you should see my posts on urban"

 

[newme]

I have seen someone (American tourist I think) wear a MAGA hat on the tube. No-one said anything but there was quite a lot of sniggering, rolling of eyes etc. Probably the most social I've ever seen the tube tbh.

Seems by far to be the most likely reaction. Laughing sort of politely with a huge heaping teaspoon of judgement.

 

[redsquirrel]

I have a Unison hat (well, actually more than one) and once someone tried to snatch my hat off my head, but I can't remember if I was wearing my Unison hat or a non-union related one, and either way I think it was more to do with them being a pissed antisocial twat who thought snatching a stranger's hat would be funny than because they were outraged by trade unionism. I also have a UCU hat I won in a pub quiz once, and I was going to say that I think one of my friends said that they liked it but it didn't go with my sunglasses, but on reflection I think they actually said that about a top I was wearing (similar hot pink colour, no union-related branding though). I've never worn a MAGA hat in Central London, so I've never had any negative reactions on that score though.
Has anyone else not worn a MAGA hat in Central London, and what sort of reactions did you not get if so?

Whereas the quality of most union t-shirts I've got over the years has been shite, the bright pink UCU beanie hats are surprisingly good quality and I do use mine quite a lot.
Also my experience is that most unions seem to massively underestimate the size of their members clothing wise.

 

[hitmouse]

I have a Unison hat (well, actually more than one) and once someone tried to snatch my hat off my head, but I can't remember if I was wearing my Unison hat or a non-union related one, and either way I think it was more to do with them being a pissed antisocial twat who thought snatching a stranger's hat would be funny than because they were outraged by trade unionism. I also have a UCU hat I won in a pub quiz once, and I was going to say that I think one of my friends said that they liked it but it didn't go with my sunglasses, but on reflection I think they actually said that about a top I was wearing (similar hot pink colour, no union-related branding though). I've never worn a MAGA hat in Central London, so I've never had any negative reactions on that score though.
Has anyone else not worn a MAGA hat in Central London, and what sort of reactions did you not get if so?

Update on this: the other week a mate who's a Unite rep wore her red Unite baseball cap to the pub and got several comments from friends along the lines of "Jesus, if seen from behind or the sides you really look like you're wearing one of those shitty MAGA hats". This wasn't in Central London, though.

 

[redsquirrel]

The new UCU tote bags are really good - strong and with good handles so you can carry or put over the shoulder

 

[klang]

I have seen someone (American tourist I think) wear a MAGA hat on the tube. No-one said anything but there was quite a lot of sniggering, rolling of eyes etc. Probably the most social I've ever seen the tube tbh.

I tell you, they love me over there, my hats get a tremendous reaction over there, in fact people tell me they've never seen a better reaction to a hat, ever. Wherever i go people tell me that, and the deep state doesn't like it and china doesn't like it, and the msm tell you it's not true, but it's true because people all over the world tell me it's true.