Collective freak-out over tasteless shirt points to double standard

I don’t wear shirts with sexually suggestive drawings of women. (Or men, either, for that matter.) Call me a prude or a conservative, but I think it’s inappropriate and tasteless. Besides that, it’s disrespectful to the people you’re going to be around, especially women.

I don’t like the shirt that English scientist Matt Taylor wore Wednesday at an ESA briefing about the Rosetta mission. It’s ugly and the stylized artwork of scantily clad women is boorish and tasteless. Nobody working for me would be allowed to wear it for work. It’s unprofessional.

But the media firestorm attacking him is just as distasteful. Some people are calling it “misogyny” and saying this is why women allegedly feel unwelcome in science. Others are saying it creates a hostile environment for women. And on and on and on. (Do a Twitter search for #ThatShirt or #ShirtStorm.)

I object to the shirt on the grounds of taste and good judgment, but the hysterical objections I’m reading seem really overblown. The thing that bothers me most about the firestorm, though, is the obvious double standard.

If someone offends the sensibilities of a group which the progressive left sees as worthy of protection, we’re treated to sanctimonious lectures about the importance of symbols. But if someone offends the sensibilities of Christians, for instance, we’re treated to lectures about tolerance and freedom, because Christians aren’t a politically popular group among progressives.

I’m sick of that double standard.

I’d prefer it if people had the good sense to make decisions — about their wardrobe and everything else — that I prefer. I mean, don’t we all think that others ought to agree with us? I’d rather people not do so many things to offend each other. I’d rather we all learn to voluntarily be polite and respectful to each other.

But I’m not going to treat it as a big controversy for an artist to create alleged art depicting a Christian cross dipped in urine (as long as it’s not my tax money paying for it). I’m also not going to treat it as a big deal when a man wears a shirt that I consider tasteless.

We would all be better off if we’d quit being so offended by other people’s taste (or lack of taste), just as we would all be better off if we could learn to quit being so offensive.

The people who are having a collective freak-out over this shirt don’t understand it when offended Christians protest statements or actions from public figures mocking their faith. And many people also don’t understand it when so many feminists are offended and angry about a shirt that they see as hostile to women. Can’t both crowds see that each has a double standard?

Let’s learn to try being more polite and less offensive. It makes us better people.

But let’s also learn that we all have different taste and different standards. Trying to shrilly impose our standards on others — whether we’re feminists or religious people — isn’t going to accomplish anything.

Those on the left are constantly talking about tolerance. I think tolerance is a great idea — and it’s something the left needs to learn applies to people they disagree with, too, not just the people they embrace.

Taylor’s shirt is ugly and tasteless, but it’s silly to impose your interpretation on his bad taste.