Protest over 'offensive' shirt
Protesters gather outside the shop. Credit: Mark Mooney
Protesters today gathered in an Adelaide mall, accusing a popular shop of selling offensive clothing.
Many of the protesters were parents of children with disabilities and said the shirts with the word ‘retarde’ on them are insulting.
The shirts have been on sale in Globalize in Rundle Mall for months but recently caught the eye of Sam Paior, whose son Ben has Down’s Syndrome.
"He [Ben] was bullied a few years ago and that word was used for him," said Sam Paior.
The designers insist the word is not ‘retard’, rather ‘retarde’ – a French word meaning delayed or held back.
However, one protester, Karen Hauptman, said: “Here in Australia the word only means one thing, it is a word used to bully.”
The police were called in to keep the peace as the owner of the shop’s mum appeared at the scene, standing up for her son.
It later emerged that there are no shirts left on the shelves – as they had already sold out.
Other Globalize outlets are still selling the shirt, but they are not on display.
