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Urban Outfitters Web Master About To Be Scapegoated First (And Then) Fired? Urban Outfitters Web Master About To Be Scapegoated First (And Then) Fired?

09-16-2014 , 01:53 AM
http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf..._more_business

Urban Outfitters must be full of under-30 executives who think this kind of thing is funny. There must have been somebody at the company who said "Boss, I don't think this is a good idea," but that person was overruled and/or ordered to put the ad up anyway. I can't imagine any senior executive over the age of 55 OK-ing or directing such a stupid "marketing" gimmick.

A lawsuit against Urban Outfitters filed by relatives and/or survivors of the Kent State massacre will probably be forthcoming. (One of the survivors, I think his name is Dean Kahler, has been in a wheelchair ever since the day he was cut down by a bullet fired by one of the guardsmen.)

It's amazing that stuff this dumb and stupid happens in corporate America.

Last edited by Alan C. Lawhon; 09-16-2014 at 02:03 AM.
09-16-2014 , 02:01 AM
Can you sue someone for being offended now?
09-16-2014 , 02:17 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anais
Can you sue someone for being offended now?
09-16-2014 , 02:59 AM
Is this in any way taken out of context or did they seriously just offer that as a "LOL" sort of thing?

Was just reading Joe Bonomassa's wikipedia page where he says ""You know, my heroes were the columbine guys – Paul Kossoff, Peter Green, Eric Clapton. There’s so many – there’s Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher..."

So apparently, "Columbine" was some sort of venue or label or something associated with music, but if you title an article "Guitar God Proclaims "My Heroes were the Columbine Guys" on the anniversary of the Colorado school shooting, the truth becomes a lie by implication.
09-16-2014 , 08:01 AM
I thought that was a pretty good shirt.
09-16-2014 , 08:13 AM
I like how all the highly improbable things Alan is wildly speculating about are in no way supported by the story he linked to.

Also lol'ing at $129 for a stained sweatshirt.
09-16-2014 , 08:17 AM
lol at they were not attempting to "allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such." Yeah ok, I believe that!
09-16-2014 , 08:24 AM
i haven't heard the term web master in a good 5 years
09-16-2014 , 09:44 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by adacan
lol at they were not attempting to "allude to the tragic events that took place at Kent State in 1970 and we are extremely saddened that this item was perceived as such." Yeah ok, I believe that!
adacan:

Their "extreme apology" will come once the lawsuit(s) are filed. I doubt if they want any more bad PR over this incident, so there will probably be some quick (quiet) out-of-court settlements in order to make this unpleasantness go away. In the unlikely event that Urban Outfitters actually chooses to fight the lawsuit(s), it will be interesting to see if any senior-level executive takes full responsibility for the decision to run the ad, or if they attempt to scapegoat a lower-level employee - such as the web master. (If a case actually does go to trial, I suspect they'll attempt the latter tack - i.e. try to blame it on a "dumb decision" by a lower-level employee whom they have fired.)
09-16-2014 , 09:48 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobman0330
I thought that was a pretty good shirt.
bobman:

I suppose you would have enjoyed being at Kent State on May 4, 1970 and having the "color" added to your very own sweatshirt courtesy of the Ohio National Guard.
09-16-2014 , 10:26 AM
What lawsuit(s)? What the hell are you talking about?
09-16-2014 , 10:29 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan C. Lawhon
bobman:

I suppose you would have enjoyed being at Kent State on May 4, 1970 and having the "color" added to your very own sweatshirt courtesy of the Ohio National Guard.
Do you get all pissy whenever you hear "Ohio" on the classic rock station too?
09-16-2014 , 10:38 AM
I definitely get pissy whenever somebody starts playing classic rock.
09-16-2014 , 10:44 AM
A nice example of why its so hard to like the right these days. First comment in the story posted above.

Quote:
USMC1956 3 hours ago

The Kent State rioters got just what they deserved. The one's in MO. should have got the same!
I read more of this guy's quotes and surprise - he's Republican, racist, encourages people to hit women and all sorts of violence. Food stamp jokes, etc.
09-16-2014 , 10:56 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kurto
A nice example of why its so hard to like the right these days. First comment in the story posted above.

I read more of this guy's quotes and surprise - he's Republican, racist, encourages people to hit women and all sorts of violence. Food stamp jokes, etc.
Yeah, the right has become a bastion for *******s.
Its why they're decreasing in relevance. I've given up on America because the American population is too ******ed to their core to expect 'those people' to reverse course but if there's a slight glimmer of hope, it's that the hyper-authoritarian right wing *******s are losing ground...

... aaaaaaaaaaaand, the FBI announces its facial recognition program has reached full operational capability. . Read the comments.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
09-16-2014 , 12:02 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WM2
Yeah, the right has become a bastion for *******s.
Its why they're decreasing in relevance. I've given up on America because the American population is too ******ed to their core to expect 'those people' to reverse course but if there's a slight glimmer of hope, it's that the hyper-authoritarian right wing *******s are losing ground...

... aaaaaaaaaaaand, the FBI announces its facial recognition program has reached full operational capability. . Read the comments.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
Wow - everyone loves it.

I really think the younger generation are just not concerned about privacy. They're growing up sharing everyone about their lives through social media - the idea of privacy seems kind of foreign to them.
09-16-2014 , 12:21 PM
Man, the internet is just full of people who don't understand how lawsuits work.

Quote:
I really think the younger generation are just not concerned about privacy. They're growing up sharing everyone about their lives through social media - the idea of privacy seems kind of foreign to them.
Pretty much how I feel.

I know I should be way more bothered by this invasion of privacy stuff that I am, but it's so hard to shake the fact that it doesn't impact me personally in any meaningful way.
09-16-2014 , 12:25 PM
The parentheses in the title tilt me.
09-16-2014 , 01:02 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dids

Pretty much how I feel.

I know I should be way more bothered by this invasion of privacy stuff that I am, but it's so hard to shake the fact that it doesn't impact me personally in any meaningful way.
As someone who works in the field of private data acquisition and management (unrelated to compiling information on people), all I can say is if you really knew what was out there, you'd realize just how much it impacts you, personally, or the potential for it to impact you at any time.

If people understood the rather horrifying pieces of intimate information on them available through private data brokers like TLO, they'd... wait. No, no they wouldn't demand anything. They wouldn't care, if they're not doing anything wrong what do they have to worry about, thank you for your service. tlo.com/vehicle-sightings.php

Last edited by WM2; 09-16-2014 at 01:07 PM.
09-16-2014 , 01:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kurto
A nice example of why its so hard to like the right these days. First comment in the story posted above.



I read more of this guy's quotes and surprise - he's Republican, racist, encourages people to hit women and all sorts of violence. Food stamp jokes, etc.
nice job, you nailed him
09-16-2014 , 01:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan C. Lawhon
Urban Outfitters must be full of under-30 executives who think this kind of thing is funny.
Could it be that this is not the only reason for this?
09-16-2014 , 02:05 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by WM2
As someone who works in the field of private data acquisition and management (unrelated to compiling information on people), all I can say is if you really knew what was out there, you'd realize just how much it impacts you, personally, or the potential for it to impact you at any time.

If people understood the rather horrifying pieces of intimate information on them available through private data brokers like TLO, they'd... wait. No, no they wouldn't demand anything. They wouldn't care, if they're not doing anything wrong what do they have to worry about, thank you for your service. tlo.com/vehicle-sightings.php
It's not about "not knowing what's out there". I assume it all is. It's about

1- Knowing how unimportant I am. I'm nobody's target, because I don't matter. On an individual level, there's a lot of narcissism in some people's objections. Yes, we should be outraged on a broad scale, the dangers are pretty clear. It's just very hard to make that resonate with people on a personal level.

2- Knowing that what's out there for me simply isn't that bad. Yeah, anybody who just flat stole my identity would make my life suck. But there's nothing somebody could dig up that I've said or done that would have a big negative impact.

You're always going to have a struggle getting people to see things your ways, because the vast majority of us are kinda selfish and lazy and aren't going to be called to action by something that doesn't directly impact us.
09-16-2014 , 04:10 PM
Of course you or I might not be prime targets. But other people are, or we might be targets in the future. That said, it's hard to get the average citizen worked up because the problem is too big and, like you said, it doesn't really affect him personally. Although we could see some movement in this area if the surveillance hits a little closer to home.
09-16-2014 , 04:13 PM
Also I need to be first on the market with "honorary" Waco shirts, complete with authentic-looking burn marks!

But it's totally not related to that other thing that happened in Waco, trust me.
09-16-2014 , 06:02 PM
Wasnt the shirt just some damaged second they put up for sale. I havent exactly followed the story with a magnifying glass but I am pretty sure a lot of people freaked out over nothing and drew their own conclusions. Its just another pathetic example of people having a hair trigger for outrage.

I am pretty ****ing sure urban outfitters wouldnt sell one shirt (not one design, one shirt) to celebrate a shooting. Thats just a dumb conclusion to leap to.

      
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