An Iraq war vet heads to his local Six Flags to celebrate his kids birthday, and he’s turned away at the entrance. Park officials say his t-shirt was offensive. “Ssecurity guard stopped me right away and said, ‘hey you can’t where that shirt here.’ I thought he was joking at first, ” says Mario Alejandro.
His shirt supports a military foundation, showing an assault rifle and the words, “Keep Calm and Return Fire” on the front. On the back, is the name of the foundation. “Two guys complimented me, then the guard came. I began to plead my case. I said, ‘Hey I was an Iraq vet. I’m military. This shirt means a lot to me.’ and the guy said, ‘I don’t care, you can’t where that here.'”
Mario Alejandro says it was more upsetting to his kids, who didn’t understand what was going on. Excited to be at the park for their birthday, the twins ended up in tears when they were turned away. “If they approached me and went, ‘Hey sir, we’ll accommodate, we’ll get you another shirt, it’s cool, don’t worry about , just sit here, sit tight, you just can’t go into the park.’ I would have been like oh okay, sure, give me a shirt, that’s fine. But they told me to pay for another shirt and find a gift shop.”
Six Flags says it is reviewing the incident, emphasizing it is a family friendly environment, and a dress code is in place that prohibits vulgar, offensive, or violent images or language.
As for Mr. Alejandro, he says he just wants an apology. That’s all.
