It’s stories like this that make me wonder what this country was coming to.

Lydia Smith, age 10, was spending a summer day shopping with her mother at Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri.  They were enjoying lunch in the food court when Lydia was approached by a mall security officer, who told her that she needed to remove her bandanna.

Why?  Because Lydia’s bandanna violated the mall’s code of conduct:

Lydia had violated No. 10 on the list of 17 offenses: "failing to be fully clothed or wearing apparel which is likely to provide a disturbance or embroil other groups or the general public in open conflict."

What was on Lydia’s bandanna that was likely to enrage other mall-goers into a frenzy of conflict?

Peace signs, smiley faces and flowers…

[Insert sound of my jaw hitting the floor]

"The bottom line is we want to have an environment (conducive) to shopping. Offensive apparel does not fit in with that environment," [a mall spokewoman] said…

The article, in full here, notes that the spokeswoman couldn’t explain what was "offensive" about peace signs, smiley faces, and flowers….

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