172: Skateboarding is Not a Crime

Skateboarding is Not a Crime

|< < Prev #172 (October 18, 2006) Next > >|

Title text: 'Arrest me, I'm a skateboarder' is an even more obnoxious variant.

|< < Prev Random explanation Next > >|

Explanation

This comic has been selected as This Week's Explanation for Improvement. Anyone is encouraged to help explain this comic! Every little bit counts; even just adding a sentence or fixing a typo is another step towards improving the wiki for everyone. Suggested improvements:   Better explain the controversy around skateboarding, the stickers, and similar occurrences. (You can learn more about the protest on Wikipedia's page for Skateboarding is not a crime)   The last parts of the explanation read more like a transcript, so improve the explanation of the caption & title text instead of just describing what they say. Click here to get started! If you are new to wiki editing, see our editing FAQ for guidance, or simply learn by doing!

The comic depicts multicolored lockers, often used in American high schools, gyms, or colleges, with one of them having the "Skateboarding is not a crime" sticker.

Skateboarding culture emerged in the 1980s, especially among young people (high schoolers, college students) as a countercultural movement initially associated with the "punk" movement. In addition, because skateboarding can take place in public locations with railings and benches, many cities have adopted specific measures to either increase the difficulty of skateboarding (Skatestopper), or by trying to pass laws to prohibit the act of skateboarding in public parks. In addition to the stated public safety concerns of fast-moving skateboarders among pedestrians, many cities unfairly associate skateboarders with those who drink, do drugs, or engage in acts of juvenile delinquency, such as truancy or underage drinking.

As a result, the skateboarding subculture has taken up the slogan "skateboarding is not a crime" as a protest against these restrictions from cities. This slogan began in 1987, and since then, several skateboard manufacturing companies have adopted it. At one point, the slogan was a countercultural push against those who would consider skateboarding to be a crime, but as the phrase became more popular (by 2006, the time at which the comic was posted), there was likely a backlash against the slogan. Perhaps some people, both within the community of skateboarders and outside, would consider this sticker to be obnoxious, or to appear to have a persecution complex. For instance, in this comic, the slogan is the *only* sticker displayed on these lockers, perhaps put there as a way of the locker owner trying to stand out, in a "not like the other girls" manner.

Randall apparently really does not like these stickers, therefore he states that when he becomes president (a common expression that is equivalent to "If I were in charge, ..."), stickers bearing the phrase will be considered a felony, though skateboarding itself will still be legal. Actually implementing this in the US would be against the first amendment and would be unlikely to ever become a real law. Even if it did, the rule would be so trivial and disproportionate that it would be unlikely to be enforced. Still, some schools and other establishments ban or restrict stickers on lockers, and may use a similar rule.

The title text comments on another protest phrase, "Arrest me, I'm a skateboarder", that Randall appears to hate even more than the first, potentially for the more standoffish tone of the message. It is unsurprising that he hates this phrase, as it has a similar message and tone.

Transcript

[A set of lockers, that are dark pink, blue, yellow, dark pink then blue. The yellow locker at center has a white sticker attached to it at an angle reading "Skateboarding is not a crime".]

[Outside and under the Panel] When I'm president, skateboarding will still be legal, but display of those stupid stickers will be a felony.

  Add comment          Create topic (use sparingly)          Refresh 

Discussion

The explanation for comic 172: Skateboarding is Not a Crime was selected by the Explanation Improvement Project as This Week's Explanation for Improvement after being nominated in September 2026 by 7amithorn. During that week, editors focused on expanding and polishing this explanation as part of an ongoing effort to keep older or under-developed explanations fresh and complete. (view the explanation before improvement)

How would the second locker be opened by its user? Would s/he and the fourth locker's owner break the law as well as the third's? 67.188.195.182 22:28, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I can't get over the fact that the sticker goes over the second and fourth locker. 199.27.128.203 (talk) 06:06, 19 November 2014 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Skateboarding can be outlawed; "Stupid stickers," on the other hand, are conditionally protected free speech Mountain Hikes (talk) 04:23, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

Skateboarding cannot legitimately be outlawed. That is an example of an unjust law...and an unjust law is no law at all. — Kazvorpal (talk) 04:11, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

Just a note, a lot of people are taking the same kind of stand with police brutality nowadays, people agree that it is bad, but whenever a black person is arrested most people usually associate it with police racism, even if that was evidently not the case. 162.158.255.162 (talk) 21:01, 12 February 2016 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Yes, associating police brutality with racism helps corrupt officials cover up the real problem: The police brutality itself, which is part of a systematic problem. Even if the cops doing it are racist, they wouldn't dare express the racism in that way, if not for the mentality the police state has toward the people it's supposed to serve. —Kazvorpal (talk) 04:13, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

Meseems this is a High School locker as used to be common in the USA. As such, the "crime" in question is likely one defined by the school, rather than a generic against-the-subculture, city or state "rule." Which do exist, but seldom do offer lockers that someone would feel ownership of. The reason for the ban and actions against skateboarders that originated the protest are the same why these lockers themselves have disappeared from other public spaces and are also on the way out in schools, that being a messy understanding of liability, safety, and the use of the commons and respect for others. My local high school got rid of lockers, library, but interestingly does offer a rack by the entrance for sk8ters to leave their stuff there, at least avoiding its use in the hallways in a somewhat friendlier manner than a ban. Yamaplos (talk) 17:31, 29 September 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure if the note about free speech changing under the current administration is proper, as it reads as biased and off-topic. I'm not sure if it makes sense to remove it entirely or re-phrase it to be more neutral. 2606:1440:605:2500:FCD4:891C:9AD8:BEC 20:29, 30 September 2026 (UTC)

Feels a bit too politically-charged for me, so I poofed it. If someone more experienced with this wiki stuff thinks it's good to have, feel free to re-add it though. 66.146.216.226 21:28, 1 October 2026 (UTC)

I agree with the poofin'! FaviFake (talk) 23:35, 1 October 2026 (UTC)
        Add comment