Give Peace a Chance, Eh? Not in Albany, Apparently...

[HMVNipper]

Here's another mind-boggler...what has this country come to?

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MALL_ACTIVISTS?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Mar 5, 6:23 AM EST

Man Arrested for Wearing Peace T-Shirt

By DAMITA CHAMBERS
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A man was charged with trespassing in a mall after he refused to take off a T-shirt that said "Peace on Earth" and "Give peace a chance."

Mall security approached Stephen Downs, 61, and his 31-year-old son, Roger, on Monday night after they were spotted wearing the T-shirts at Crossgates Mall in a suburb of Albany, the men said.

The two said they were asked to remove the shirts made at a store there, or leave the mall. They refused.

The guards returned with a police officer who repeated the ultimatum. The son took his T-shirt off, but the father refused.

"'I said, `All right then, arrest me if you have to,'" Downs said. "So that's what they did. They put the handcuffs on and took me away."

Downs pleaded innocent to the charges Monday night. The New York Civil Liberties Union said it would help with his case if asked.

Police Chief James Murley said his officers were just responding to a complaint by mall security.

"We don't care what they have on their shirts, but they were asked to leave the property, and it's private property," Murley said.

A mall spokeswoman did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Monday's arrest came less than three months after about 20 peace activists wearing similar T-shirts were told to leave by mall security and police. There were no arrests.

[SF4-EVER]

Ridiculous, just ridiculous. There's no reason to do that even with the earlier peace protest at the mall. I hope they dismiss all charges. Think I'll wear a John shirt today to work -- not that anyone will see it under a sweater (it's too cold here for just a T-shirt).

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

graemlins/shakehead1.gif

[Tim]

There seems to be here in Amerika the attitude you can have any viewpoint you want as long as it coincides with the government's view on the war.

[BrazilianFlag]

graemlins/images/icons/rolleyes.gif

I wonder what's next...

[Lynner]

How sad. The father and son where just walking around, minding their own business. It's not like the shirts said anything vulgar! Time to break out the "peace" pins and wear them proudly!

[Rellevart]

Hmmmm....I have a T-shirt I bought at Old Navy around the holidays that says "lovepeacelife" on the front. If I wear it when I go shopping this weekend, will I be a radical?

[Tim]

Originally Posted By Lynner:
How sad. The father and son where just walking around, minding their own business. It's not like the shirts said anything vulgar! Time to break out the "peace" pins and wear them proudly!<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Probably if they said something vulgar, nothing woulda happened...

[Magill]

What the F***? graemlins/angry8.gif *Incredible. Just incredible!

[shyGirl]

That story is disturbing.

[HMVNipper]

Follow up story, there was a protest!

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MALL_ACTIVISTS?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Group Protests N.Y. Peace T-Shirt Arrest

By DAMITA CHAMBERS
Associated Press Writer


GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (AP) -- About 100 anti-war demonstrators marched through a mall Wednesday to protest the arrest of a shopper who wore a T-shirt that read "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance."

"We just want to know what the policy is and why it's being randomly enforced," said Erin O'Brien, an organizer of the noontime rally at the Crossgates Mall.

Protest leaders were scheduled to meet with the mall's manager after the rally. Calls to mall officials were not immediately returned.

On Monday, Stephen Downs, 61, and his son were asked by mall security guards to remove their peace-slogan shirts or leave. Downs' 31-year-old son, Roger, took off his shirt. But Downs refused.

The guards called police, and he was charged with trespassing and pleaded innocent.

Police Chief James Murley said: "We don't care what they have on their shirts, but they were asked to leave the property, and it's private property."

The men had had the T-shirts made at a mall store and wore them while they shopped.

[HMVNipper]

Small follow up on this -- the mall has decided to drop the charges. But it took that protest to make them do it...

I still think it stinks that charges were brought at all.

What is this country coming to? graemlins/images/icons/confused.gif

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Mar 6, 7:11 AM EST

Mall Wants to Drop Peace T-Shirt Charges

By DAMITA CHAMBERS
Associated Press Writer


GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (AP) -- Officials at a mall where a man was arrested for refusing to remove an anti-war T-shirt asked Wednesday that trespassing charges against him be dropped.

Police said managers from Crossgates Mall called and asked that the complaint against Stephen Downs be withdrawn. Police Chief James Murley said he would support the mall's decision.

Earlier Wednesday, about 100 anti-war demonstrators marched through the mall to protest the arrest. They told a mall manager they would stop only when charges against the shopper were dropped and when the mall outlined its policy.

"We just want to know what the policy is and why it's being randomly enforced," said Erin O'Brien, an organizer of the noontime rally. "It's only the people in the recent months who have anti-war or peace T-shirts that are being asked to leave the mall."

A mall spokeswoman did not return repeated calls for comment.

Downs' son, Roger, said dropping the charge would not rectify the arrest. "My father feels there's more to this. Crossgates hasn't examined what was wrong here," he said. "I think he'd like an apology."

He said his father would wait to see how the mall handles the case before deciding whether to sue.

Stephen Downs, 61, and his son were stopped Monday by mall security guards and asked to remove their shirts that read "Peace on Earth" and "Give Peace a Chance," or leave. Roger Downs, 31, took off his shirt. But his father, a lawyer with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct and a former Peace Corps volunteer, refused.

The guards called police, and he was charged with trespassing and pleaded innocent.

Tim Kelley, director of Operations for Pyramid Mall management, the mall's owner, said in a statement that Downs' behavior and clothing was disruptive to other shoppers.

The men had had the T-shirts made at a mall store and wore them while they shopped.

[ Mar 06, 2003, 05:51 AM: Message Edited By: HMVNipper ]

[Lynner]

Sounds like a message the mall is sending is "buy our merchandise, but don't use it in our malls." I'm glad that the charges have been dropped and while I normally don't like the idea of people suing over stupid things, I would be in favor of it here.

[ Mar 06, 2003, 06:43 AM: Message Edited By: Lynner ]

[anurag]

This is shocking. graemlins/angry6.gif

[Rellevart]

I'm still wondering if there's more to this than meets the eye....maybe this guy was having a loud political argument with somebody? Or maybe the mall has a stated dress code (contrary to what most people think, malls ARE private property and they CAN make rules like that....many malls have dress codes to discourage "gang" attire) and the shirt was expressly against policy? I don't know...it just sounds like there's something missing from this story to me....

[MissusLennon]

After Sept. 11th and the following year's events, a lot of Americans seem to take offence at anything advocating peace (for some strange reason), I've noticed. Especially in NY state, so close to where it happened.
Absolutely ridiculous, and I'm glad it's mostly over. I hope he sues and wins!
Thanks for the posts, Susan.
Peace and Love,
~Angela~

[HeyBeatle]

That's insane! Are they going to hang up signs that say "Militant Shoppers Only" for further reference so all peace favoring creatures will know they'll be arrested if they enter.
I wonder if they would arrest me for wearing any of John Lennon shirts with references to peace on it. They'd probably bypass the arresting and shoot you down if you wore one of the "War is Over (if you want it)" shirts.

[HMVNipper]

Originally Posted By MissusLennon:
After Sept. 11th and the following year's events, a lot of Americans seem to take offence at anything advocating peace (for some strange reason), I've noticed. Especially in NY state, so close to where it happened.
Absolutely ridiculous, and I'm glad it's mostly over. I hope he sues and wins!
Thanks for the posts, Susan.
Peace and Love,
~Angela~<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">I don't know that all Americans are taking offense at advocating peace -- I know here in New York City, right where the 9/11 attacks occurred, there have been a LOT of big anti-war protest marches and demonstrations. The problem is, the government is making sure that these events do not get the coverage they deserve, and so people think the anti-war movement has no momentum. I can assure you that is not the case, it is what the ADMINISTRATION wants you to believe...don't get me started on the current administration...

I think the reaction of this mall was quite extreme, frankly -- as do, apparently, a lot of other people.

[Tim]

The reason they aren't is that the media ia censoring itself on the basis that these are seen worldwide,and we can not show our "enemies" "aid and comfort" of it not being a "United" America.
All the type of contrrol and propaganda we used to blast the U.S.S.R. for....

[OnlySleeping]

Definitely upsetting. graemlins/angry10.gif It's even a bit worse than that kid in Michigan who was sent home for wearing the anti-war shirt. Just wrong. images/icons/frown.gif