An impostor Abercrombie & Fitch website fooled consumers by selling fake "Abercrombie & Fitch N***er Brown Pants." Links to the website quickly went viral thanks to the social media network Facebook, and A&F soon shut down the fake website.
But there is a reason so many people believed the website was real.
We can't forget your racist hiring policies and the offensive products you were selling just a few years back, Abercrombie.
Let's review Abercromie's history:
1. Hiring only white people. In 2009, A&F settled a $40 million class action lawsuit for forcing all minority employees to work in the stock room while allowing white employees to be on the sales floor. CBS News reports that a former A&F employee stated, "A corporate official had pointed to an Abercrombie poster and told our management at our store, 'You need to have more staff that looks like this.' And it was a white Caucasian male on that poster."
2. Selling Racist t-shirts using pseudo-Chinese character font. I can't imagine who approved the Two Wongs Can Make it White, Abercrombie & Fitch T-Shirt. In April 2002, A&F launched a line of racist shirts with offensive Asian stereotypes. The shirts featured Asian caricatures engaging in forced stereotypes of kung fu fighting and offensive religious references to Buddha. In response to these shirts, Los Angeles based cartoonist and "Angry Little Asian Girl" creator Lela Lee told the LA Times, "We're used to depictions of Asians as kung-fu fighting, fortune-cookie-speaking, slanty-eyed, bucktooth servants. We're really tired of it."
3. Selling Sexist t-shirts. Back in 2005, A&F produced sexist shirts and received some push-back from teen groups who staged "girlcotts." A&F shirts had slogans such as, "I had a nightmare I was a brunette" and "Who needs brains when you have these?" printed across the chest.
4. Sexualizing young girls. And let's not forget about the A&F "push up padding" bikinis for children that came out in 2011. Enough said.
Given Abercrombie's sordid history, it was not implausible to believe the N-word pants were real. Needless to say, SBW maintains its Two Person Boycott of that store. We encourage you to join us.
President Obama wades in to the War on Rush after talk radio host Rush Limbaugh called contraception advocate Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute." As a result, over 24 advertisers (and counting) have pulled their ads from his show. Not only did Rush refer to Ms. Fluke as a "prostitute," he propositioned her to post pornographic videos online. Following a media firestorm, Rush apologized. A White House reporter asked the President his thoughts on the situation.
"I thought about Malia and Sasha, and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones I may not agree with them on," the President said at a White House news conference. "I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way, and I don't want them attacked or called horrible names because they're being good citizens."
If Ms. Fluke chooses to fight back against Rush's personal attack, she may have some legal recourse. According to House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), "I'd like to see her take him to court." Hoyer told "The Montgomery Adviser," "She is not a public figure and, for that reason, she should be able to sue for slander, libel or whatever else might be involved."
Many Democrats are using this verbal assault against Ms. Fluke as a call to arms. The DNC has dedicated a page on its website to the rally against Rush calling citizens to Stand with Sandra. The DNC has placed Ms. Fluke as the face of the contraception debate and is asking Democrats to join President Obama and Stand with Sandra (via a monetary donation.)
However, not everyone believes Rush's foul name-calling is reprehensible. Left wing comedian and talk show host, Bill Maher went to Twitter to defend Rush Limbaugh's name-calling. Maher tweeted, "Hate to defend but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout." But, Maher is no saint because he too has a history of making incendiary remarks against women. He has referred to former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin and Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann as "boobs" and "two bimbos."
Both Republicans (ie. Rush) and Democrat (ie. Bill Maher) fail to find articulate ways to make their points and then just shout anti-female epithets. Disrespecting woman is not merely a Rush problem or a Republican problem, it's a systemic issue. One SBW blog reader messaged us about this issue and eloquently said, "Misogyny is Misogyny." Quite true SBW reader!
Women's History Month, not withstanding, we just want a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
