Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Meanwhile - in Poland - T-shirts can get you in trouble
Instinctively, I want to agree with this; HOWEVER, I DON'T want any government taking away the right to free speech...
Hilary Heuler reports on the Christian Science Monitor website:
"Evocative symbols of Europe’s troubled past, such as the swastika, have long been illegal in countries across the continent. But now Poland has gone one step further, revising its criminal code to include a ban on symbols of communism. Poles can now be fined or even put in prison if they are caught with a red star, a hammer and sickle, or even a Ché Guevara T-shirt.
To some, it may seem like a natural reaction for a country that suffered so much under the Soviet Union. There are exemptions for artists, educators, and collectors. But the ban doesn’t sit well with the younger generation of Poles, many of whom see communism not as a threat but as a source of satirical fun and creativity."
