scary...

As a wearer of a hoodie, I find it a bit worrying that I am now tarred with the brush of yob culture.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4537459.stm - Should Bluewater ban baseball caps?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4539405.stm - Prescott backing hooded tops ban
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4545657.stm - Call to boycott 'hoodie' ban mall

I wear it because it is a practical garment. And if hats and hoods are a problem, then what about all those scary old people with hats? We all know how menacing an OAP in a trilby can be... I think the hidden agenda here is that the churches of consumerism (aka shopping malls) want people to show proper respect in the temple of Mammon...

EDIT (25-7-05): Just found this witty comment about this on the Woolamaloo Gazette.

Much more worrying, however, are the government's plans to introduce ID cards, and the deafening silence of public debate on the subject.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4554827.stm - Government unveils ID card scheme

The reason I am against ID cards is that I shouldn't have to carry ID unless either (a) I need access to resources; or (b) I need to prove who I am for the safety of other people (applies to teachers, police officers etc etc).

Also I just don't trust the government to hold that much data about me in one place (it's all very well to say that they already have the data - sure they do, but it's all in different databases at the moment). If they decide that certain categories of people are personae non grata (e.g. Lib Dem voters, Pagans, Muslims, bikers, hoodie-wearers or whatever) then a centralised database would make it even easier for them to round up the people they don't like - and with the new terrorism legislation also introduced in the Queen's Speech, lock them up for as long as they please.