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作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
STATEMENT CONCERNING THE RECENT ACTIONS OF
ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH
BY Jamie Chan '03, Darren Joe '02, & Jung Ju '03
MEMBERS OF THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
RACISM can be very subtle, often disguised as humor or excused as a facet of pop culture. Last week, Abercrombie and Fitch, a popular clothing label with over 200 stores nationwide, issued a new line of Asian-themed graphic t-shirts that display racially charged slogans such as "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make it White" alongside stereotypical caricatures of slanted eyed Asians wearing rice paddy hats. In reaction to protests initiated by Asian American student college groups across the country, Abercrombie recalled the controversial attire and company spokesman Hampton Carney issued a statement expressing regret that the t-shirts may have offended some people.
We responded this week by presenting an information table located at Frist Campus Center with statements denouncing the "ethnic" t-shirts and petitions demanding that Abercrombie take further corrective measures for their insensitive act. Since the company has already issued a recall of the t-shirts, some may find this protest unnecessary. However, we believe that it is imperative to press the issue for the following reasons:
First, Abercrombie has refused to acknowledge the racially offensive nature of the t-shirts. According to company spokesman Hampton Carney, the company thought "everyone would love [the shirts], especially the Asian community… …they were cheeky, irreverent, funny… …[and] designed with the sole purpose of adding humor and levity to our fashion line." Nowhere in their formal statement of apology does the company acknowledge or address the racial implications of the t-shirts or the corporate actions that led to their design and approval. Instead, Abercrombie issued a half-hearted apology, defending their position that the shirts were humorous and witty without any mention or explanation of how their stereotypical depictions were harmful and insensitive. Abercrombie has yet to take responsibility for their mistakes by failing to address the racist caricatures and slogans in their shirts.
It is especially necessary for a company like Abercrombie to take corporate responsibility for its actions. The company promotes a certain image and lifestyle directed at its young and easily influenced consumer base, in effect dictating what is 'cool' not only in clothing, but also in mindset and attitude. With such a powerful influence on American youth, what message does Abercrombie convey about cultural diversity, minority issues, racism, and stereotypes when it issues racially offensive shirts and then excuses them merely as an attempt at humor? The company fails to realize that by condoning its racially insensitive remarks and caricatures, it prompts its young customers to disregard the stereotypes implicit in the shirts and take them for humor and amusement.
Second, Abercrombie actually benefits from this latest controversy. As in prior notable controversies, such as a sexually provocative advertising campaign and the publishing of alcoholic drink recipes in their quarterly catalogue, the company thrives on sensational publicity. For example, when news that the T-shirts would be pulled from stores reached the general public, a consumer frenzy led to a mad rush to buy the shirts before they were pulled from the shelves. The leftover supply of these shirts are currently selling for $500 a piece on eBay, generating greater hype for the company. Furthermore, the company is receiving praise from the media for its quick response to its consumers as they pulled the shirts. It is a crime that Abercrombie gains greater name-recognition and garners praise for their irresponsible actions.
Lastly, the Princeton community should be educated on why many find the shirts themselves offensive. The caricatures used by Abercrombie are similar to propaganda circulated in the late nineteenth century used to ignite widespread hostility and fear of Chinese immigrant laborers, many of whom owned and worked in laundromats. The depictions helped fuel xenophobia towards Chinese immigrants, contributing to the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited the entrance of Chinese laborers into the country for 61 years. The shirts are insensitive to the historical legacy of Asian American's experience here in the United States. The stereotypical caricatures-slanted-eyed laundry service and restaurant workers who speak broken English-are historically demeaning depictions of Asian Americans, ones that have been used to emphasize their foreignness and outsider status in American society.
Even if one is not aware of the history behind these depictions, the contents of the shirts are still offensive. The statement, "Two Wongs Can Make it White" is a play on the saying "Two wrongs make it right." This not only implicitly equates Wong with wrong and White with right, but also suggests the physical inferiority and diminished worth of Asians, as it takes two Asians to equal the value of one White. The emphasis on the mispronunciation and misspelling of words by the Asian characters in the slogan "You love long time" and "1-888-GOO-PEZA" implies that Asian Americans cannot speak English properly. One shirt even has a line reading, "Buddha Bash-get your Buddha on the floor," Abercrombie must have forgotten that Buddhism is an actual religion practiced by millions worldwide. How disrespectful would a shirt saying, "Christ Bash-get your Christ on the floor" be?
When a stereotype is cast over an entire group of people, it not only trivializes their culture and heritage, but also undermines the very identity of the individuals it ridicules. Many Asian Americans, including our own grandparents, relatives, family friends, and even parents work or have worked in laundromats and restaurants and speak broken English. By reducing the existence of real individuals to slant-eyed, subserviently smiling caricatures, Abercrombie trivializes and disrespects the lives and occupations of many Asian Americans-those who have already fought racism and discrimination to establish themselves in America, and those who are still fighting today. Their daily struggle to survive and to find a place in society as Americans is taken a step backward as Abercrombie encourages the acceptance of their mockery. We find this to be degrading, offensive, and not at all "cheeky."
As a result, we would like to issue the following demands to Abercrombie:
1. Permanently remove the entire line of offensive "Asian" T-shirts from all market venues.
2. Issue an official apology from the Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Michael S. Jeffries to be published in the form of a one-page advertisement in all major newspapers and to be posted on the main page of the company web site, the next quarterly catalogue, and in all Abercrombie and Fitch stores.
3. Encourage the return of previously bought "Asian" T-shirts with guaranteed unconditional refund and incentives (i.e. vouchers or discount on future purchases).
4. Donate the already made profits from the T-shirts to national Asian American organizations that encourage understanding of diverse cultures and histories and hire an Asian Pacific American consultant team to ensure sensitivity to minority issues.
http://www.cs.princeto n.edu/~savraj/af/index.php >相关资料和网上签名
作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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