Melbo, two guys at the build brought that up to me. They didn't really know how to take you, and I think one of the guys was a little intimidated by it. They both asked me later what it meant. I wasn't sure how to answer it the first time I was asked what it meant, then it came to me. I assured them that you weren't some kind of militia warrior that was advocating taking out the politicians, but that the shirt was to show that the Gov. should fear the people, that the people should not fear the Gov. I didn't know any other way to put it.
the ront of the shirt reads this: "sic semper tyrannis", which is latin for "thus always to tyrants" It is also the State motto of ghrit's new state. http://www.strike-the-root.com/pictures/sic_semper_tyrannis.html If you are not a Despotic Tyrant, you have nothing to fear. If you are, under our constitution, you are guilty of treason to the Republic. I think the 'if all else fails', is the very bottom line straw breaking the camels back. I think that Thomas Jefforson would have proudly worn this shirt. The rightous have nothing to fear. and this, (Why would our founders have chosen such SERIOUS phrases to use as mottos?) Don't Tread on Me The Fourth of July never fails to reinspire my patriotism and sense of community with my fellow Americans, even when those fellow Americans are a mob of drunken cretins and teenagers trying to get out of downtown Chicago at 11pm. I like seeing all the American flags. I do have my complaints about the American government, especially about how intimately the Washington D.C. politicians feel they should be involved in the daily lives of their subjects, I mean, citizens. But the flag isn't just a symbol of the American government. It's a symbol of shared American values -- especially our highest common value: freedom. When it comes to symbolizing freedom and the spirit of '76, I do think there's a better American flag. With all due respect to the stars and stripes, I prefer the yellow Gadsden flag with the coiled rattlesnake and the defiant Don't Tread on Me motto. The meaning of Old Glory can get mixed up with the rights and wrongs of the perpetually new-and-improved government. The meaning of "Don't Tread on Me" is unmistakable. There's also an interesting history behind this flag. And it's intertwined with one of American history's most interesting personalities, Ben Franklin. American unity Benjamin Franklin is famous for his sense of humor. In 1751, he wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way to thank the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England. Three years later, in 1754, he used a snake to illustrate another point. This time not so humorous. Franklin sketched, carved, and published the first known political cartoon in an American newspaper. It was the image of a snake cut into eight sections. The sections represented the individual colonies and the curves of the snake suggested the coastline. New England was combined into one section as the head of the snake. South Carolina was at the tail. Beneath the snake were the ominous words "Join, or Die." This had nothing to do with independence from Britain. It was a plea for unity in defending the colonies during the French and Indian War. It played off a common superstition of the time: a snake that had been cut into pieces could come back to life if you joined the sections together before sunset. The snake illustration was reprinted throughout the colonies. Dozens of newspapers from Massachusetts to South Carolina ran Franklin's sketch or some variation of it. For example, the Boston Gazette recreated the snake with the words "Unite and Conquer" coming from its mouth. I suppose the newspaper editors were hungry for graphic material, this being America's first political cartoon. Whatever the reason, Franklin's snake wiggled its way into American culture as an early symbol of a shared national identity. American independence The snake symbol came in handy ten years later, when Americans were again uniting against a common enemy. In 1765 the common enemy was the Stamp Act. The British decided that they needed more control over the colonies, and more importantly, they needed more money from the colonies. The Crown was loaded with debt from the French and Indian War. Why shouldn't the Americans -- "children planted by our care, nourished by our indulgence," as Charles Townshend of the House of Commons put it -- pay off England's debt? Colonel Isaac Barre, who had fought in the French and Indian War, responded that the colonies hadn't been planted by the care of the British government, they'd been established by people fleeing it. And the British government hadn't nourished the colonies, they'd flourished despite what the British government did and didn't do. In this speech, Barre referred to the colonists as "sons of liberty." In the following months and years, as we know, the Sons of Liberty became increasingly resentful of English interference. And as the tides of American public opinion moved closer and closer to rebellion, Franklin's disjointed snake continued to be used as symbol of American unity, and American independence. For example, in 1774 Paul Revere added it to the masthead of The Massachusetts Spy and showed the snake fighting a British dragon. THE REST HERE http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html
I almost bought a bumper sticker like that and put it on my car...however, I figured since I worked at a federal installation they might get a bit upset. Especially considering I already have one bumper sticker that says when in doubt empty the magazine, and the other one says driver only carries $20 worth of ammunition. Which in this state probably wouldn't be very much when you think about how much 30-06 ammo costs (though I figure the ammo I got with my Garand was pretty much free - so I'm good to go). Seriously though E.L., melbo is right - if one is not a Tyrant one should have nothing to fear.
I think everyone has seen too many of those and become numb to it. Your shirt made these guys think, which is a good thing.
That reminds me of my "every year is an election year" shirt. Which I have yet to make. (Similar graphic, of a scoped rifled)
