A suggestion for DIY activism

Like many socially conscious and politically active youth, I constantly want new t-shirts. I identify as liberal, feminist, environmentalist, vegetarian, atheist, anti-materialist, anti-Bush and a bunch of other stuff. And every time I see one of those t-shirts with a witty saying on it--Feminism is the radical notion that women are people or America--one nation under surveillance, I feel compelled to get it so my clothing will speak for what I believe.

But I also believe in green living and simple living and using money for useful purposes. And that side of me is strongly against spending $15 for a Save Darfur shirt instead of just donating $15 to the cause. Plus, I can't shell out money every time someone makes a cool shirt--that's impractical and ridiculous. So, caught in this quandary, I've generally avoided that whole line of shirts.

Until today, that is, when I had a rare flash of brilliance. Why not, I thought to myself, make my own shirt? I thought about this for a few minutes and decided it was feasible. I had a few plain color shirts sitting around that I didn't wear because they're boring. I had spray paint left over from Purple & White Day. All I needed was a few stencils, which I found on this awesome site: http://72.29.83.164/~stencil/stencils.htm

So now, I have this lovely shirt:

Yes, it's a bit ghetto and the spray painting isn't perfect. But I'm happy about it. I used some of my extra spray paint, I used an old shirt that I wasn't wearing much, I didn't spend any money, and George Bush even looks recognizable. So I propose this--next time you want to make a statement, grab an old shirt, a can of spray paint, and do it yourself.