That was my first thought, too.
This is ridiculous, and as soon as this thread dies, it’ll be the last anyone thinks of it. Every few years some yahoo come up with some hilariously twisted concept to Support America…
Wear red on Fridays, for our troops!
Wear white before Labor Day, for our troops!
Wear jackets when it’s cold, for our troops!
Wear hats to baseballs games, for our troops!
Wear shoes at work, for our troops!
Me too: red shirt by chance. But how does a red shirt = STT? Is there some implied “red state” symbolism? Would wearing a blue shirt indicate “the troops can go screw”?
STT really = sending care packages, phone cards, baby asswipes, etc.
I am wearing a red shirt today because I liked the red shirt. So now I have: supporting the troops, saying no to drugs (may be a local elementary school thing), and fighting heart disease.
I think I’m covered.
I certainly wouldn’t change my shirt because (gasp!) someone might actually think I supported troops.
It would be interesting to counter this with a line of red shirts featuring messages that do not conflict with the stated purpose of this behavior (“support the troops”) but that are directly counter to the desired implication.
A red t-shirt with big black letters: “END THE IRAQ WAR.”
A red polo shirt with a small embroidered peace symbol on the breast, Izod-style: either the “broken cross” style or a white dove.
A red hoodie with white lettering across the back, “IMPEACH DICK.”
That kind of thing.
The people distributing and promoting this “red shirt” message are trying to be stealthy with their agenda, and it’s just hilariously incompetent. They’re like elephants hunkering down and trying to hide in a lawn of three-inch blades of grass: “You can’t seeeeeeee me!” And the way to respond is not to argue with their camoflaging message (“whaddaya mean I don’t support the troops?”) but to ignore that entirely and respond directly to what they’re actually saying.
And for the record, I would absolutely wear a red polo shirt with a small peace symbol on it.
I doubt that the idea will be popular on the Enterprise
Put a magnetic (don’t want to damage the paint job) yellow ribbon on my car.
Wear a red shirt every Friday/
Push for a war tax and a repeal of tax cuts that will fund protective gear and vehicles for our troops, and pay for medical care for all the men and women in service that is so obviously lacking. Give them a pay raise so that they are better able to support the families they’ve left at home. Call my congresscritter and demand that the troops are allowed more time at home. Support using diplomacy in Iraq, with the realization that force alone will never solve the problems there. And DEMAND that we stay the hell out of Iran.
oops. nix #3. How unpatriotic of me.
I guess I don’t know what it means to “support our troops” as suggested.
I support the troops in the context that these men and women over there under orders doing the job they’ve been ordered to do. I want them to be safe, careful, and most importantly come back alive and intact having done the greatest good and the least evil possible in the many ambiguous situations they’re in.
I also want them out of Iraq as soon as possible and think they never should’ve been there in the first place.
I can support a trooper and not support the war. I’m not sure that’s allowed, though, given the implications of the original glurge.
You are also supporting ending AIDS in Africa.
You are a socially aware/supporting ANIMAL, Shelli!!! 
Everytime, it’s the same dilemma. If we oppose the war in Iraq, then we aren’t supporting the troops. If we support the troops, then we have to be in favor of the war in Iraq. I just wish we could figure out some way to support the troops that didn’t involve killing them.
I wish some major politician would run on this as their central message. Great post. You have my vote.
See **NurseCarmen’s ** third option.
Jim
I accidentally burnt my red shirt with the candle I put in my window to show how sad I was over 9/11.
You slacker! You were supposed to stand outside with that candle so it would be picked up by spy satellites, or something.
I’m wearing a black shirt with red flames. It was clean and happens to go with the 49ers hat I’m also wearing. Coincidental wearing of red kinda throws off the idea, which is pretty dumb to begin with. If I see this catching on where I work I don’t think I could resist the urge to parody.
Geez…I’m wearing a blue dress shirt and a red tie.
What does that mean?
Hijack…OK, I just read Der Trihs backwards, too. Can someone clue me in on its deeper meaning?
-Cem
I suppose it’s a step up from Brownshirt Fridays.
Seriously, if this were encouraged at work or something, I’d come in wearing either a Pete Rose jersey or a t-shirt with a picture of Karl Marx.
Red Shirts
“The away team will consist of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Doctor McCoy… and Ensign Rickey.”
I don’t even own a red shirt.
Gah, they picked red? Why not something a little less bloodstain-y?
Great. I put on a grey polo this morning. Am I supporting the Confererate troops?
This looks like one more way to separate “us” and “them” with the non-red shirt wearers being strongly them.
And if anyone asks, I’m going to say it is intentional. 