TK Maxx pull ''offensive'' french shirt

Robsweezie · 13-08-2015 10:06AM #1

http://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/http://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/tk-maxx-were-forced-to-pull-this-%e2%80%98je-suis-over-it%e2%80%99-t-shirt-after-complaints/ar-BBlHFEU?ocid=iehp

http://www.thejournal.ie/tk-maxx-je-suis-t-shirt-2268620-Aug2015/

Je suis over the whole offense angle. I'm sure this is unintentional anyway. Charlie Hebdo dont have the monopoly over this simple french phrase, as awful as January's events were.

jungleman · 13-08-2015 10:09AM

If you don't like the t-shirt, don't buy it. It should be as simple as that.

I'm afraid that offence and censorship just go hand in hand these days.

frostyjacks · 13-08-2015 10:21AM

It's a little ironic, given those journalists made a living out of being offensive. Some people just go looking for stuff to be offended by.

13-08-2015 10:22AM

How did they know it was me? :eek:

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/101478/358430.JPG

Custardpi · 13-08-2015 10:38AM

Are we playing Take Offense Olympics here or what? From what I've read (which may not be fully accurate) the shirt was pulled as a result of a complaint from one shopper. Just one. Are businesses so cowed by social media bollocksology that even a single sadsack crank with a twitter account can determine their commercial decisions? If the "Je Suis Charlie" moment meant anything it should mean a pushback against restrictions on freedom of expression based merely on people choosing to take offense at things. To be in favour of the continued publication of CH but oppose this shirt (which wasn't even conceived as a response to the massacre but before it) is rank hypocrisy. Even if some prat did decide to adopt the shirt as a symbol of his support for ISIS, so what? If anything it would be useful for identifying him as a prat. Freedom of speech must mean the freedom to write, wear, say & draw things which others may choose to be offended by, whether that be a cartoon or a t-shirt. Je suis Charlie? Non mon pote, t'es un con!

jungleman · 13-08-2015 10:42AM

It was the same with the Arnotts t-shirt a few months ago. Someone kicked up a fuss, which led to more people becoming outraged and offended, and the shirt was pulled.

What was the end result in all of this? Was the world made a safer place? Were children now able to sleep soundly at night?

No. The result was that some smug keyboard wielding dickhead on top of a gigantic high horse felt important for one moment in their sad little lives.

El Weirdo · 13-08-2015 11:07AM

That Tom Young bloke sounds like a complete bellend.

biko · 13-08-2015 11:16AM

If people could stop getting offended on someone else's behalf, that'd be great.

Lucas Hood · 13-08-2015 11:17AM

We should stop using the numbers 9 and 11 just to not offend the victims .

Menas · 13-08-2015 11:24AM

Ah no, another clothes shop to boycott due to my outrage.

I will be clothesless at this rate.

DeadHand · 13-08-2015 11:24AM

Since they're so politically incorrect and edgy they should produce a t-shirt depicting Mohammad next.

13-08-2015 11:26AM

Was it intentionally aimed at that particular incident? My french is really bad, but doesn't it just mean, I am. So it really is I Am Over It, which pretty much fits in with the usual meaningless drivel you get on most T-shirts like that ...

Custardpi · 13-08-2015 11:49AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Was it intentionally aimed at that particular incident? My french is really bad, but doesn't it just mean, I am. So it really is I Am Over It, which pretty much fits in with the usual meaningless drivel you get on most T-shirts like that ...

The shirt was produced before the CH incident so couldn't possibly have anything to do with it. Sh1te design but you'd have to go out of your way to find it offensive, as one knobend has.

Robsweezie · 13-08-2015 12:17PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Was it intentionally aimed at that particular incident? My french is really bad, but doesn't it just mean, I am. So it really is I Am Over It, which pretty much fits in with the usual meaningless drivel you get on most T-shirts like that ...

no, I would think it's directed at the 'teen girl with attitude' demographic.

Richard Hillman · 13-08-2015 12:22PM

TK Maxx source their clothes from other retailers. It's not as if it was them that produced it.

Badly Drunk Boy · 13-08-2015 12:22PM

J’adon’t care...

Son Of A Vidic · 13-08-2015 12:26PM

It sums up what we have become, if one overly sensitive sap can have a shirt pulled because they are outraged by a simple phrase.

wendell borton · 13-08-2015 12:29PM

How t-shirts are designed.:D

Samaris · 13-08-2015 12:35PM

If it was before the whole Charlie Hebdo thing, then it's just mildly unfortunate.

If it was after and in reference to it, it's a bit twattish. Je suis over it? Seriously? If you were involved in it, you'd probably not be over it yet and some idiot teenager wearing a t-shirt that says, basically, "stop talking about it, I really don't care" is a reminder along with a kick in the teeth. If you weren't involved in it and don't care, whatever, you don't have to go shouting about it, unless you're really determined to make everything about you.

Over-sensitive or not, I don't really like co-opting a tragedy for a cheap shot to sell some t-shirts. It's like the Boston Strong/Chicago Stronger crap that some Chicago team pulled.

Waah waah censorship. Better go source one of the t-shirts right now to show you won't be cowed by common decency.

(Mind you, I don't know if I really think the slogans that arise after these tragedies make much sense either - it sounds like something from Twitter (amazingly...) but screw it, I'm not affected, so I'm not going to judge what others find appropriate.)

Yakult · 13-08-2015 12:37PM

If it was produced before the incident, why the hell are they removing the t-shirt? Seeing as it has nothing to do with the attack or aftermath, that's wrong.

It's sending a bad message, if you find something offensive, just go to social media and cry about it, it will be removed.

This world has turned into an over sensitive land of pussies. Stop being offended at every turn, you'll live happier.

arayess · 13-08-2015 12:48PM

jungleman wrote: »

I'm afraid that offence and censorship just go hand in hand these days.

yes, you'd wonder if nothing was learned from teh days of church enforced censorship.
In fact you may go so far as you assume the church was only following public opinion, or vocal public opinion

Tom Young spotted the tshirt in a Bristol branch of TK Maxx and told the Mirror that “it’s appalling that a global brand has allowed a tshirt like this to be produced and sold in store”.
Even if the message did not intend to cause upset in relation to the tragic event, I am adamant it should be taken down from stores immediately.

well done tom young for being adamant about my freedom of choice and expression. you plank.

hatrickpatrick · 13-08-2015 12:49PM

jungleman wrote: »

If you don't like the t-shirt, don't buy it. It should be as simple as that.

I'm afraid that offence and censorship just go hand in hand these days.

Indeed.
I'm starting to think it's time to organise counter protests in favour of free speech. You know, if a thousand SJWs threaten to boycott some company for not self-censoring, two thousand free speech advocates (who I'm convinced massively outnumber SJWs and just aren't as committed to constantly stirring sh!t up as SJWs are) threaten to boycott it if they cave in to censorship demands.

At the end of the day, when it comes to commercial interests, whichever boycott commands the bigger numbers will win. The only reason SJWs tend to get their way is because they're so ridiculous that hardly anyone bothers taking a stand against them, which is understandable, but is causing a false impression that they are the majority.

That's my incredibly optimistic outlook anyway. I'm sure somebody will be here to shoot me down and inform me that the SJWs really are spreading their toxicity like a cancer fast enough that they will soon wipe out effective opposition

Wright · 13-08-2015 12:50PM

Oh man I would've bought me one of those.

FactCheck · 13-08-2015 01:02PM

I think people are being slightly hysterical here, or perhaps just don't understand the dynamics of marketing for a major multinational company.

There's a scene in an early episode of Mad Men where the advertising company tries to pitch a new campaign to a client focussed around Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. The company doesn't go for it, too modern, and Sterling Cooper is briefly disappointed, until a few months down the road news breaks that Marilyn Monroe has been found dead. The campaign couldn't have gone ahead. Had they gone with the campaign, they would have lost a lot of money having to cancel it.

When you are in a business as large and international as TJ/TK Maxx, sometimes events will overtake you. The production process from designing, selecting, manufacturing, and advertising a single item of clothing takes a long time. It isn't anyone's "fault". It's not about hysteria, or finding someone to blame. When you are this big, this widespread, in a global world, every now and then something will happen and a product that seems totally innocuous will become completely unsellable. Every big company knows this and budgets for this. It's a shame, it's a loss for them, but it happens and it isn't really a big deal at all.

RWCNT · 13-08-2015 01:38PM

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Indeed.
I'm starting to think it's time to organise counter protests in favour of free speech. You know, if a thousand SJWs threaten to boycott some company for not self-censoring, two thousand free speech advocates (who I'm convinced massively outnumber SJWs and just aren't as committed to constantly stirring sh!t up as SJWs are) threaten to boycott it if they cave in to censorship demands.

At the end of the day, when it comes to commercial interests, whichever boycott commands the bigger numbers will win. The only reason SJWs tend to get their way is because they're so ridiculous that hardly anyone bothers taking a stand against them, which is understandable, but is causing a false impression that they are the majority.

That's my incredibly optimistic outlook anyway. I'm sure somebody will be here to shoot me down and inform me that the SJWs really are spreading their toxicity like a cancer fast enough that they will soon wipe out effective opposition

What on earth does that T-shirt have to do with social justice?

Custardpi · 13-08-2015 01:51PM

RWCNT wrote: »

What on earth does that T-shirt have to do with social justice?

You'd have to ask Tom Young that. "Social justice" is a phrase often employed by the permanently outraged on Twitter & elsewhere to describe the various "causes" they tweet about. It is often in turn employed sarcastically to mock the unreasonably irate on social media.

In this case Mr Young decided that it was his reponsibility to be outraged on behalf of a group of people who might have been upset by a shirt they probably would never have seen, despite the fact that those who actually died lost their lives in the cause of free speech.

This isn't simply about TK Maxx's bottom line, which quite frankly I couldn't care less about, but about the constant need to proclaim "I'm offended by A/B/C, change it now!", no matter how innocuous a thing is. The actual t-shirt is small beans in the general scheme of things but it is indicative of a wider societal trend in the West.

mathie · 13-08-2015 01:59PM

This idea of “I’m offended”
Well I’ve got news for you. I’m offended by a lot of things too. Where do I send my list?
Life is offensive.
You know what I mean?
Just get in touch with your outer adult. And grow up. And move on.

I’ve seen many comics I’ve hated. I’ve seen many shows that have offended me. I’ve never written a letter. I just go about my life.

- Bill Hicks

RayCon · 13-08-2015 02:09PM

These T Shirts are probably more sought after now .... betcha there will be copies on Ebay soon enough.

frostyjacks · 13-08-2015 02:14PM

It really is spreading. Look at the people offended by Frankie Boyle last week. Offended before he even performed, offended just by his existence.

And guess who the Belfast Telegraph got to review it? That's right, alleged rape victim Mairia Cahill.

http://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/mairia-cahill-let-me-be-frank-my-haters-are-a-sick-joke-31445184.html

Needless to say, she was not amused.

K4t · 13-08-2015 02:16PM

Custardpi wrote: »

Freedom of speech must mean the freedom to write, wear, say & draw things which others may choose to be offended by, whether that be a cartoon or a t-shirt.

Freedom of speech also includes the right to complain and bitch about a shirt slogan.

Samaris · 13-08-2015 02:19PM

K4t wrote: »

Freedom of speech also includes the right to complain and bitch about a shirt slogan.

People prefer to ignore that option!

TK Maxx pull ''offensive'' french shirt

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