Monday, July 16, 2012

The Curious Lives of Teenagers: T-Shirt Activism


OBSERVATION:
Spring/Summer 2012
Trend spotted-- the wearing of t-shirts to support causes. 

School colors every Friday for "school spirit", white for "white out" the competition sports events, blue for "say 'no' to the 'r' word," red for "day of silence," green for "senior day," etc. and then culminates in a full week of color co-ordinated t-shirt wearing.
A few girls have Joseph Kony 2012 bracelets wound around their wrists. As promised, I report on seeing the Dalai Lama speak at USD about compassion without borders. We discuss using self-mastery to be kind. We talk about red t-shirts for “day of silence”, and the blue t-shirts they wore last month for the “Just Say No to the R-Word” ("retarded") last month. We talk about how there are so many shirts to wear to support different groups. “What if we just did what the Dalai Lama asked, and learned how to control ourselves to be nice?” I asked.

“No more shirts.” A student replied.

“Sweet.” A male student promptly stood up and attempted to remove his LCCHS Lacrosse team's collared t-shirt before I ask him to sit down and remain clothed.

Analysis: Still uncertain. Need more data. They are curious curious creatures.

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