Cult of the Well-Worn Hoodie

This is Karen Lewis. This adorable 4-year old Welsh girl loves to wear hoodies, a lot like you and me. However, this particular photo was taken only moments after Karen was declared enough of a threat for owners of the arcade where she was playing games with her granddad to call in the guards. Her offense?

Wearing a hood in a public place.

Despite their being no notices posted anywhere around the arcade, and plenty of folks walking around wearing baseball caps, the employees of the seaside venue still felt comfortable citing “official policy” in demanding that the child take down her hooded cardigan, or leave the arcade.

The arcade’s owner, Les Harken, has said the emporium is a “good family venue” aimed mainly at children.

Harken was quoted by the BBC as saying that the no-hoodie policy will stay in place for fear of the kids (though he didn’t explicitly specify a policy targeting the under-7 set). “If there is an incident to a hoodie or with a hoodie, we’ve got CCTV all over the place.”

Hopefully future adult visitors to the family-friendly destination feel safer today, knowing that the all-seeing eye will protect them from any and all Teletubby-loving toddler hoodlums.

An ill-fated decision by Citadel High administrators to ban hoodies was reversed today, after the Halifax, NS school was swamped with calls from confused parents and frustrated students.

Abigail Pate (I hope she’s a reader!) told a CanWest reporter, “I literally have, like, two sweaters that don’t have hoods on them.” Officials claim that the decision was made to improve school safety, addressing the concern that hoods would obscure faces from the school’s security cameras.

As a concession, Tam Fawcett, principal of Citadel High School, says students will be allowed to wear the popular piece of clothing, but only with the hoods turned down.

Presumably school bans on long hair, baseball caps and waving hands above one’s head are still pending approval by the school board.

Unfortunately, Albany students are still out of luck.