Post subject: Target Pulls Che Guevara From Shelves
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 6:19 pm
too drunk to moderate properly
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
Quote:
Che Guevara CD case pulled from shelves By Michele Gershberg Fri Dec 22, 3:56 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp said on Friday it had pulled a CD carrying case bearing Ernesto "Che" Guevara's image after an outcry by critics who label the Marxist revolutionary a murderer and totalitarian symbol.
Target had touted a music disc carrying case for Che admirers emblazoned with the Argentine-born guerrilla's iconic 1960 portrait by Alberto Diaz, or "Korda." A set of small earphones was superimposed on the image, suggesting he was tuned in to an iPod or other music player.
"It is never our intent to offend any of our guests through the merchandise we carry," Target said in a statement. "We have made the decision to remove this item from our shelves and we sincerely apologize for any discomfort this situation may have caused our guests."
Some business columnists had decried the product, sold under Target's brand, saying the trendy discount chain was giving in to a misguided fashion craze while ignoring Guevara's role in bringing Fidel Castro's Communist rule to Cuba.
"What next? Hitler backpacks? Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?" wrote Investor's Business Daily in an editorial earlier this month, citing the Guevara case as a model of "tyrant-chic."
Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady said Target made an "admirable decision" to correct the actions of some company employees who "allowed Target to become a target itself of the Che myth."
In a rare moment of accord, some social activists said they were not sorry to see Guevara taken off Target's shelves, but on different grounds.
"Che would just be rolling in his grave if he knew his face was making money for Target," said Nell Greenberg, spokeswoman for San Francisco-based Global Exchange. "Everyone who does support that legacy of social justice is certainly not going to be opposed to stopping Target from using that tool."
Guevara's image is literally stamped into the capitalist consumer society that he died fighting to overturn. His portrait adorns everything from schoolbags to T-shirts and women's lingerie.
The picture of a stern-faced Guevara sporting a beret with a single star was popularized on posters after his 1967 execution in Bolivia, where he tried to foment a Communist uprising. Its place as a symbol of idealistic revolt has held strong in the decades since, from students rioting in Paris in 1968 to Palestinians launching an uprising against Israel in 2000.
For people gift-shopping, Guevara's image is part of a motley of symbols of retro cool that populate flea market stalls and chic designer boutiques.
It has also been used by globally recognized brands. Swatch put Guevara on a wristwatch and Smirnoff vodka featured the picture in an advertising campaign.
Guevara's own family aims to end the industry of Che merchandise, seeking lawsuits against companies they believe exploit his image and undermine his political philosophy.
I don't know a lot about Che Guervara, but I know his sainthood/demonization is far more debated than Hitler, Pinochet, and Pol Pot.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:30 pm Posts: 7110 Location: the Zoo.
Target's a bunch of pussies. If you're going to sell a product, you should know what it is and how your consumers might feel about it. Furthermore, if you decide to sell this item after examining potential reprecussions, you should show some kind of conviction and stand behind your product.
Regardless, I agree with the idea that Che merchandise is a joke and that 99.999% of people with something Che-related don't know anything about what Che believed in or represents, so I can't say I'm too upset to see this stuff disappear from shelves.
I also have to state how ill-informed and melodramatic the comparisons to Hitler and Pol Pot are. I'm not a follower of Che, I don't believe in the pseudo-hardline, violent methods he used to achieve his goal, but the idea that he's anywhere NEAR Pol Pot and Hitler in terms of violence is asinine. Those two attempted to "purify" their races by disposing undesirables. Hitler systematically exterminated MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. Those two men, as well as Pinochet, were corrupt totalitarian leaders. Che Guevara was an arguably misguided revolutionary attempting to balance the inequality that was and is rampant throughout Latin America.
Whether you agree with his approach to this or not, comparing Guevara to Hitler, Pol Pot, and Pinochet is a retarded exercise in hyperbole.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:52 pm Posts: 6822 Location: NY Gender: Male
Jammer91 wrote:
What album was it? Rage Against the Machine
If you had read the first two paragraphs of the article you would have had your answer. That would have taken less time than posting and then revisiting the thread to find an answer.
Post subject: Re: Target Pulls Che Guevara From Shelves
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:27 pm
too drunk to moderate properly
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
tyler wrote:
B wrote:
If you don't want it, don't buy it. WTF?
How about if Target doesn't want to sell it, they don't sell it. WTF? Why is this a story?
Or is it only consumers who are supposed to have choice and not merchants?
Did I criticize Target? It's pretty clear that my criticism lies with the "some business critics" mentioned in the story.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Last edited by ¡B! on Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: Target Pulls Che Guevara From Shelves
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:29 pm
Unthought Known
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:30 pm Posts: 7110 Location: the Zoo.
tyler wrote:
B wrote:
If you don't want it, don't buy it. WTF?
How about if Target doesn't want to sell it, they don't sell it. WTF? Why is this a story?
Or is it only consumers who are supposed to have choice and not merchants?
Shouldn't Target have decided this before putting it on their shelves?
Anyway, the major point here is the people who whined about this are fucking d-bags. Book stores sell Mein Kampf for god's sake. I'm not Christian, so I'm going to bitch and whine and cry and demand that all stores selling the bible cease immediately.
Post subject: Re: Target Pulls Che Guevara From Shelves
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:04 pm
a joke
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 3:08 am Posts: 22978 Gender: Male
inadvertent imitation wrote:
tyler wrote:
B wrote:
If you don't want it, don't buy it. WTF?
How about if Target doesn't want to sell it, they don't sell it. WTF? Why is this a story?
Or is it only consumers who are supposed to have choice and not merchants?
Shouldn't Target have decided this before putting it on their shelves?
Not in all cases. Im sure lots of stores purchase something to sell without realizing that some may be offended by it. If it helps their business to rid themselves of it, they pull the product after the fact.
Post subject: Re: Target Pulls Che Guevara From Shelves
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:12 pm
Unthought Known
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:30 pm Posts: 7110 Location: the Zoo.
edzeppe wrote:
inadvertent imitation wrote:
tyler wrote:
B wrote:
If you don't want it, don't buy it. WTF?
How about if Target doesn't want to sell it, they don't sell it. WTF? Why is this a story?
Or is it only consumers who are supposed to have choice and not merchants?
Shouldn't Target have decided this before putting it on their shelves?
Not in all cases. Im sure lots of stores purchase something to sell without realizing that some may be offended by it. If it helps their business to rid themselves of it, they pull the product after the fact.
Well, yes. I understand the financial purpose in Target removing the product from their shelves. If there's going to be a commotion, they have to remove it. Their job is to be as appealing to consumers as possible.
The people who complained about this can still fuck themselves.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 2:47 pm Posts: 13660 Location: Long Island Gender: Male
Go_State wrote:
Jammer91 wrote:
What album was it? Rage Against the Machine
If you had read the first two paragraphs of the article you would have had your answer. That would have taken less time than posting and then revisiting the thread to find an answer.
what's funny is that i read the whole article like 5 times and was still wondering what CD it was from. This weed is goooood
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:14 pm Posts: 15317 Location: Concord, NC Gender: Male
inadvertent imitation wrote:
Regardless, I agree with the idea that Che merchandise is a joke and that 99.999% of people with something Che-related don't know anything about what Che believed in or represents, so I can't say I'm too upset to see this stuff disappear from shelves.
i could not agree more.
_________________ 255 characters are nowhere near enough
Regardless, I agree with the idea that Che merchandise is a joke and that 99.999% of people with something Che-related don't know anything about what Che believed in or represents, so I can't say I'm too upset to see this stuff disappear from shelves.
i could not agree more.
Yup.
When I spend time in Boston I see a fair amount of the college kids with those Che Guevara t-shirts. I think they buy into the folklore of who he was and not the reality.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:01 am Posts: 19477 Location: Brooklyn NY
The American mall is a hive of propaganda. Walk into any clothing store. I don't really give a shit about Che Guevara as a symbol, he makes a much more interesting historical figure. But message-wise, the degree of difference between him and your average clean cut, gym-stud clothing model is miniscule.
_________________
LittleWing sometime in July 2007 wrote:
Unfortunately, it's so elementary, and the big time investors behind the drive in the stock market aren't so stupid. This isn't the false economy of 2000.
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 5:55 am Posts: 4213 Location: Austin TX Gender: Male
glorified_version wrote:
The American mall is a hive of propaganda. Walk into any clothing store. I don't really give a shit about Che Guevara as a symbol, he makes a much more interesting historical figure. But message-wise, the degree of difference between him and your average clean cut, gym-stud clothing model is miniscule.
huh?
_________________ Pour the sun upon the ground stand to throw a shadow watch it grow into a night and fill the spinnin' sky
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 2:18 am Posts: 3920 Location: Philadelphia
Clubber wrote:
Go_State wrote:
Jammer91 wrote:
What album was it? Rage Against the Machine
If you had read the first two paragraphs of the article you would have had your answer. That would have taken less time than posting and then revisiting the thread to find an answer.
what's funny is that i read the whole article like 5 times and was still wondering what CD it was from. This weed is goooood
I think it was a carrying case for CDs, not an actual CD.
_________________ I remember doing nothing on the night Sinatra died
And the night Jeff Buckley died
And the night Kurt Cobain died
And the night John Lennon died
I remember I stayed up to watch the news with everyone
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:54 am Posts: 10731 Location: The back of a Volkswagen
You know how Target sells track jackets and t-shirts bearing the names of various countries and cities? I think it was about two years ago when I noticed they had some items with "CCCP" and the hammer and sickle logo from that line of clothing on the clearance rack. None of the other cities were on the clearance rack, so I wonder if maybe they got some complaints that Target was selling merchandise featuring the former Soviet Union.
good things:
1.) rebels
2.) handsome minorities
3.) fighting for the oppressed
4.) labors camps for gays
5.) pissing off the "man"
It should be pretty obvious why fucking idiots, sorry I meant target shoppers, would want those shirts. After all, they may be sold out of "Scarface" t-shirts.
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