I found this on the CafePress messageboard I frequent, now that I am a shopkeeper there. Personally, even if I find the designs on thongs a little offensive, the more I think of it the more I convince myself it was an overreaction.
NCM - E-Store Stops Selling Underwear with Religious Symbols
It took almost three weeks to do it, but the American Hindus Against Defamation finally prevailed and forced CafePress.com’s vendors to stop selling thongs and boxer shorts that carried images of Hindu deities and symbols. …
Last month, a barrage of angry mail from members of the Sikh and Islamic communities forced vendors on CafePress.com’s site to remove underwear that carried the image of the Khanda and the crescent. At press time, the online marketplace still carried underwear with images of Jesus on them.
The kicker for me, is the last two paragraphs above. Sikhs complained, Muslims complained and Hindus complained, but thongs with Jesus’ image are still in the stores, since apparently those religious fundamentalists are the only ones who haven’t complained. I guess it is time we learned a few lessons in leaving things be and not trying to shut down eevrything we deem offensive. I am not saying that Christians don’t do it - I am just saying in this case, they are the only ones who seem to have kept quiet.
The bigger question to me is the fact that we find such stuff offensive. Even going by the religious symbolism, I find that any object has only as much holiness as you will attribute to it. If you worship a stone, it is God - to another, it is just a nicely carved rock. Just because someone disrespects a symbol, should we get all up in arms over it? Do we really own the images and the symbols? If someone else thinks they are just pretty designs, don’t they have the right to wear them however they want?
Posted by shanti at March 1, 2005 2:41 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
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“Sikhs complained, Muslims complained and Hindus complained, but thongs with Jesus’ image are still in the stores… I am not saying that Christians don’t do it - I am just saying in this case, they are the only ones who seem to have kept quiet.”
Yes, of course they have the right to. However, I respect the sanctity of religion. Marketing geniuses don’t. And if we don’t raise our voices, then they’ll only develop newer, more brainless ways to desecrate our religion. Thus far, they’ve limited themselves to placing Hindu images on shoes, toilet seats, and underwear. Our silence would only give them free reign.
Posted by: Gokul at March 1, 2005 7:46 PM
Agree with you hundred percent. So what if someone makes thongs with religious symbols? Those symbols don;t belong to anyone. And by unecessarily making a hue and cry about it, they are drawing attention to something they abhor.
I find hindus abroad to be even more touchy about these things…..maybe being a minority has that effect.
Posted by: Gaurav at March 2, 2005 7:02 AM
I think one reason that devout Christians haven’t complained is because they can hardly keep up with the attacks on Christianity by the radical left.
Gokul, what attacks are these?
Posted by: MadMan at March 2, 2005 8:27 AM
Speaking of religious symbols on thongs…
I live in San Diego, CA. San Diego has a radio station known as KGB. KGB has a morning show known as the Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw show.
One of the other personalities that appear on the DSC on a repular basis is known as Bromowitz. Bromo (as we affectionately call him) takes bets. Dumb bets. Bets only Bromo would take. Very often they are golf bets, and Bromo is an atrocious golfer.
And the payoffs are … odd.
One payoff (at Hanukkah time) had Bromo touring Clear Channel headquarters in San Diego (Owners of KGB) wearing a menorah thong. A thong that featured an electric menorah. Yes, they did light it up.
On another occasion he wore a tuxedo thong to the world premiere of The J-K Conspiracy at a north county cinema. Again, payoff for a golf bet. (The J-K Conspiracy being Cookie “Chainsaw” Randall’s paen to conspiracy theories and absurdist humor. Availble via the KGB website.)
BTW, all of Bromo’s thongs are custom made.
Thought you’d enjoy hearing about the Menorah thong ::nice:
Posted by: Alan Kellogg at March 4, 2005 8:17 PM