Demonstrators protest 'problem solved' T-shirts

[Algorem]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/NEWS17/701220354/-1/NEWS

By JANE SCHMUCKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


A T-shirt sold at Kmart stores that shows a boy pushing down a girl and calls the action "Problem Solved" drew more than 50 protesters to the sidewalk in front of the chain's Alexis Road store yesterday afternoon.

Many passing drivers honked their horns - apparently in support - as parents of young people who were slain in domestic violence, representatives of the Toledo chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Take Back the Night Collective, and others shivered in the 27-degree temperatures...

During the rally, which lasted about 35 minutes, three parents of domestic violence slaying victims walked across the parking lot to the store to present a letter written to Aylwin Lewis, chief executive and president of Sears Holdings Corp., the parent firm of Kmart and Sears stores...

Reached there, spokesman Kim Freely said: "We've heard and respect the opinions of our customers and the item is no longer available at Kmart. And we have no plans to reorder it."...




Mother of murder victim outraged by shirt she says promotes violence

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/NEWS17/701220354/-1/NEWS

Article published Saturday, January 20, 2007

By CHRISTINA HALL
BLADE STAFF WRITER


For $8, Pat Rizzi bought a T-shirt that she says screams domestic violence.

The first panel on the Attitude Tees-brand garment, dubbed “Problem,” appears to show a stick-figure girl animatedly expressing her unhappiness with an equally unhappy stick-figure boy.

The next panel, called “Solved,” shows a smiling boy pushing the girl through the panel and the girl falling head-first down the side of the shirt.

Mrs. Rizzi — whose daughter Michelle Rizzi Salerno was found slain nearly seven years ago — plans to take the shirt to a protest tomorrow in West Toledo in which she and others hope to have the T-shirts forever pulled from the shelves of Kmart stores across the country...

[Hosnon]

1. Good God. I understand that it might elicit a knee-jerk laugh but a second of

reflection should make anyone realize how disturbing that T-shirt is.

How did this make it to production?

[saigon68]

25. Here's a DISTURBING T-SHIRT

Roberts and The Half-Wit Shirt
Our 100% cotton, high-quality t-shirt is pre-shrunk, durable and extremely comfortable. Features high quality digital printing with Archival Inks. Very sharp, bright and fade resistant wash after wash.

[chaska]

2. Wow, K-mart's got some kinda brainiac buyer.

What kind of moron...? I guess whoever does their buying (decides what they will sell and orders it) just doesn't look at every item. Surely that's gotta be it.

Good for them for doing the right thing.

[MissMillie]

4. It is absolutely true that the sad part of this is that the person who

designed the shirt actually made money off of it.

[Ian David]

7. Wal-Mart was selling Neo-Nazi themed t-shirts, and fought tooth and nail...

to sell copies of Protocols of The Elders of Zion.

[sakabatou]

15. Oy Vey

[Deep13]

3. One the one hand, it's in pretty bad taste.

Domestic violence is a problem and the victims of it suffer in silence of feeling trapped in the economics of the situation or in fear of retaliation. On the other hand, it's just a T-shirt and some people find catharsis funny. I doubt anyone is going to look at it and say, "Murder! Why that's the perfect solution!"

[sinkingfeeling]

9. I doubt anyone would look at it and say, "Murder! Why that's the perfect solution!" I'd bet

that Bush or Cheney or any of the Neocons would!

[Deep13]

10. I think they were already thinking that.

:(

[onenote]

5. link to picture of shirt

only one i could find was on ebay, but I thought people might want to see the shirt.
http://cgi.ebay.com/PROBLEM-SOLVED-T-SHIRT-WITH-A-MAN-A-WOMAN-SIZE-M_W0QQitemZ150081644012QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

(I'm in no way endorsing this shirt, by the way).

[mcscajun]

8. Thanks for the link -- I went over to eBay and Reported the Item

as offensive, promoting violence.

[FtWayneBlue]

17. Yep.

I reported it as well.
Offensive and promoting violent crime.

[Quantess]

29. Thank you for providing that link.

Oddly, it's not as horrible as I imagined. It's still unacceptable, but it's not as violent as I had pictured in my mind.

But still... the message stinks. This moronic, commercially sanctioned, BOY vs. GIRL, GIRL vs. BOY, superiority-inferiority flamewar, is really unhealthy for young minds.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. It's in the boys department, eh?

So in other words, it's one of those kids shirts that involve sibling rivalry, eh?

[Debi]

11. Well then, maybe all the t-shirts showing a girl pushing a boy down

with the same wording were already sold out? :shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. I don't know.

But I've seen plenty of shirts for girls with the same sort of sentiment against their obnoxious brothers.

:shrug:

[Quantess]

20. Either one is unacceptable. This particular t-shirt is the worst I've heard of.

The commercially sanctioned boys vs. girls thing has got to stop!

If I had a child, I would never allow him or her to have a t-shirt, or sticker, or poster, etc. that derides the opposite sex. It smacks of an inferiority-superiority complex, and it lets people know that the kid has issues.

One question: Why did the woman buy the offensive t-shirt?
In this particular case, she should have shoplifted it. Seriously though, she rewarded K-Mart by buying it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. "Why did the woman buy the offensive t-shirt?"

I don't know. Because her kid asked for it? Because he's got an ongoing rivalry with his sister, and the mom's old enough to remember when she was going through that phase?

It's a T-shirt for fuck's sake. For kids. With stick figures.

[freeplessinseattle]

26. her daughter was murdered. not by sibling rivalry eom n/t

[Solo_in_MD]

12. Any one remember the girls shirt with the phrase "boys are stupid, throw rocks at them"?

It was part of a series of boy bashing shirts that were being sold for widely until it was protested. They are still for sale here: http://www.girlytops.com/ Then there is this on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_are_stupid,_throw_rocks_at_them!


There is more than enough tastelessness and such to go around on all sides.

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. The problem is, male bashing is much more acceptable

Anyone ever see the "humor" card of a gingerbread man with his head bitten off, captioned, "The perfect male"? If it were a cookie with a dress and was captioned "The perfect woman," you know that there would be Hell to pay. But somehow....

[Quantess]

28. Yes, somehow, male bashing is acceptable with many people. Sadly.

"Tables are turned! Hah!" "What's good for the goose is good for the gander!":eyes:

I can understand bitterness for the opposite sex immediately after a bad breakup (edit to add: or, being a victim of a violent crime), but, to carry that sentiment throughout your life is just plain pitiful, whether it's a woman or a man. In either case, the attitude is self-destructive, and is a recipe for an unsatisfactory love life. And, I'm just talking about ADULTS! For children, it's going to be a magnitude worse, in the long run.

However, this particular t-shirt is more offensive than others of its ilk, because it shows male physical aggression toward a female.

A t-shirt showing female physical aggression toward a male would not be acceptable either, but it should be obvious to everyone that men can, and do, physically hurt women much worse than vice-versa.

[Porcupine]

31. So male bashing is bad taste but female bashing is violence?

or it might be a little ok to bash your partner if you are the smaller person in the relationship? Would that mean the 125 lb person is less liable for hitting a 200 lb person in a relationship regardless of gender?

:wtf:

Violence is bad ok? Encouraging violence is bad.

It's a gender neutral issue.

[Quantess]

35. Excuse me, but, what did I say that was so wrong, in your judgement?

Please re-read my post.

[Deja Q]

24. I had no idea that one existed either. When was it scribbled up and sold?

Within the last 9 years, I'd guess...

[Solo_in_MD]

27. About that

the maker has stores around the country the sell it and worse. My daughter was in once a couple of weeks ago.

[mikelgb]

13. I seen much more disturbing aparrel

I have many friends that might wear this shirt and they would never really do such a thing

[SemperEadem]

14. doesn't this present day society teach children just wonderful values?

the (pervasive)mindset that said it was ok to design, let alone market, this t-shirt is what needs to be called into question. It is indicative of modern, popular culture.

any shirt which shows any child pushing down or demeaning another child is unacceptable.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. It's disgusting.

This is clearly the worst thing to happen to children's t-shirts since Bart Simpson's "I'm an underacheiver, and proud of it" T-shirst led to the greatest single point drop in SAT history.

[Kolesar]

33. "the greatest single point drop"

Look it up--it's all true!!

[rocktivity]

21. Here's what it looks like

Not for children.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Deja Q]

23. And people wonder WHY brutality and thuggery are tolerated.

Good for Mrs Rizzi. The line has got to be drawn here.

And sure as fuck hell should have been drawn years ago.

[HuffleClaw]

30. if ya don't like 'em don't BUY 'em

problem solved.

[Sin]

32. And some days its Just a T-Shirt.

I guess None of you have ever been to T-shirt hell I'm quite Sure your eyes would just melt if you saw what they had there.

[The Animator]

34. Personaly, I find it amusing. Not hilarious, but amusing.

For those here that don't know me. I'm usually pretty laid back here. I rarely if ever takes sides in any debate. I'm like the thread killer or something. I make some statement about compromise, and trying to find some kind of middle ground, and that's pretty much at the end of whatever flamewar thread I've stepped into. First amendment issues however, are an entirely different animal.

This is a freedom of expression issue, and I'm going to be honest here. Yes there are people in this country that say and think things that we don't like. Tough Shit. The payback is that I get to say stuff they don't like either. I make this stand because I'm an artist, and sometimes I create things that people don't like... but I don't care about that. I didn't make it for them. I made it for me, and people who like the way I think, and love they way I draw. One of these days there's going to be a big freaking controversey about something I've made, and guess what... it's gonna be a first amendment issue... It would be hypocritical of me to expect protection under freedom of expression if I didn't stand up for others who need the same.

I don't necessarily like the message in question, but I don't have to. I just recognize that they have just as much right to wear their T-shirt as I have to wear mine.