Get A Thicker Skin For Darwin's Sake

Curly Watts (of Corrie fame), once described the Police as "the forces of state oppression," if he were still around and aware of the story behind the t-shirt above I think he'd call them, "the forces of state stupidity." It's a bit of fun, a chance for Scottish fans to show their dislike for our country being in yet another international competition whilst they languish on the beaches of Perthshire or wherever they can afford to go on their unemployable benefits.

Police have warned proprietors of the Slanj clothing store in Aberdeen that the garment could cause offence. An impromptu visit from an officer raising concerns over the shirt's sentiments left staff at the shop "flabbergasted". The visit was not in response to a complaint, and no action has been taken against the company.

However, Grampian Police claim that they would be neglecting their duty if the matter was not addressed. PC Kirk Hemmings said: "The primary role of any police force is to preserve the peace and we would be failing in our duty if we did not make people aware of the potential for disturbance such a window display could cause.

As Rab C Nesbitt might say, "It's all pish and wind." What is offensive about the t-shirt, does it carry sinister overtones, is it encouraging racial hatred and inciting violence? Come on, it's a bit of a laugh and if us Englishmen and women can find it mildly amusing but on the whole rather tiresome where's the problem.

Now if you really want to wear a t-shirt and upset a few people buy this one. I did back in 1984 and wore it when I took my parents to Gatwick Airport and people just looked and a few laughed. These days I'd be arrested on some charge or another.

Of course at the time those on the hard left hated this t-shirt, because as those on the far side of any political party tend to be they had their heads too far up their arses to see that it was actually being satirical and not promoting the idea of universal fascism. The 'tour' actually ends in the Berlin Bunker and yet it is still criticised for somehow promoting the ideals of Hitler rather than poking fun at him.

Oh and by the way, if you do find this t-shirt offensive there's an online petition you can join here, http://www.petitiononline.com/8ball/petition.html . So far the petition has gathered a whopping 35 votes whilst the t-shirt remains one of the bestsellers for the company who sells it.