As of this writing, the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election is still 402 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes, and 28 seconds away. And you know what that means — you’re already sick and tired of campaign season. It also means that for the next year, America will feel even more divided than usual, unfortunately.
However, there is still one thing that unites us — T shirts.
Wait, what? Stick with us, we promise this is going somewhere. All over the country, young Americans on every side of the political fault lines are showing support for the causes they’re passionate about with custom screen printed T shirts and other kinds of personalized apparel. In fact, some of these young rebels are even getting in trouble for doing so.
In Texas, a San Antonio area teen was sent home from school for wearing a #BlackLivesMatter shirt. The students at her school were in the process of mourning the tragic death of a local police officer, and many students themselves had relatives who wear the badge. Controversially, the teen girl was suspended for refusing to take off the shirt. And in Dallas, another high school student faced an in-school suspension for wearing an American flag T shirt. Students at his school are only allowed to wear solid color T shirts, college T shirts, or T shirts that support the troops. A vice principal mistakenly told the boy his American flag wasn’t allowed, setting off another controversy. When the story hit social media, the vice principal was forced to personally apologize to the boy’s family.
And most controversially of all, a group of high school students in Virginia were recently suspended when they refused to take off their Confederate flag clothing. The school, citing racial conflicts, had recently banned the symbol from campus.
The fact is, custom screen printed T shirts are the new protest sign. Whether it’s from a mud run, a college fraternity, 5K race, or a golf tournament, the vast majority of us have a faded T shirt or custom embroidered polo shirts we can’t bear to part with. You can also design custom hats, like a certain political candidate’s already iconic “Make America Great Again” personalized hats. Americans of all ages and beliefs are increasingly using clothing items like hats, T shirts, and custom embroidered polo shirts as not just a powerful fashion statement, but political speech.
