Normative Signs: The Poetry of "Ought"

This sign is on the door of the former premises if a tattoo parlour, Durham NC.

The door shown here (like many shop doors, it seems to me) is another example of what I call a ‘normatively rich’ environment, one that subjects the viewer to a real barrage of injunctions and warnings. “No solicitors.” “No smoking.” Plus a warning about 24-hour surveillance video, which is an implicit warning not to get into any mischief.

Most interesting perhaps is this sign, and its implicit death-threat. In terms of normative language, it’s worth noting that the sign is a simple declarative. The reader is left to infer the appropriate normative conclusion.

(Thanks to Wayne Norman for the picture.)