There are a couple things many things that bug me about the world/people/U.S. Today I’m going to discuss a couple.
1)) Hillary Clinton’s $90 million study on video games and children and
2)) The Urban Outfitters “New Mexico is cleaner than regular Mexico” t-shirt
1)) Hillary Clinton video game study
WHY?? Seriously. Is this some stunt to get all the concerned/angry mothers on her side? Is this some political media stunt to gain attention? Video games and violence have gone hand in hand for years, along with studies of their effects. Why the huge media attention now? The article Hillary vs. the Xbox: Game over [7/27/05] by Steven Johnson in the LA Times is a perfect response to the issue.
I’d like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids — a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.I’m talking, of course, about high school football.
One thing he didn’t really touch on: the money being spent studying video games. The only good thing about it, is that people have jobs! Hooray for employment! The other side is, isn’t there alot better things to be spending money on? Grand Theft Auto has created media attention since GTA3 Vice City. Oh and get this, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the game that has sparked all this attention by Hillary, was released in October 2004! I guess it took her awhile to play the game, then decide it’s better to make a big deal about it because she couldn’t beat it.
2))Urban Outfitters “New Mexico is cleaner than regular Mexico” t-shirt
Guess what, there are tons of offensive t-shirts out there. It just depends on who you talk to. That’s what free speech is. Big deals like this make me want to shop at the store more / buy the shirt. I like to shop at Urban Outfitters and I won’t stop. Don’t forget the business side of it. Funny sells. Especially when it comes to t-shirts, and even more so in the 15-28 age range. It’s things like this that I wonder who first decided it would be a good idea to attack Urban Outfitters. Was it an angry customer? Somebody with an agenda? Both? However it may have started, this is just another trend in the media. Pick on something that everybody else can pick on to. Also, Urban Outfitters didn’t create that shirt, they just bought a bunch from… well lets see if you can find the original seller/creator.
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July 28th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
Poetic/artistic license comes to mind, I respect your work, Daniel, and I respect your opinion. The Urban Outfitter’s t-shirt in question offends those who fight the dirty mexican stereotype daily. Young people like you but of Mexican descent have to face prejudice that the t-shirt perpetuates.
You do as you please, kiddo, but when you care deeply for a Mexican person you may not find the t-shirt as funny anymore. Two of my nieces are half-Mexican, that’s why, regardless of how funny Urban Outiffter’s buyer thought the t-shirt was, I’m not spending a red penny there any longer — and yes, I used to shop there quite a bit.
July 28th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
Daniel, forgive me, one more thing, the t-shirt could have said: “New Mexico, richer than regular Mexico” because in essence chronic unsanitary conditions result in poverty-stricken countries. Many have argued that Mexico is a corrupt place, where the rich get richer, there’s no middle class and the poor masses live in filth. But that doesn’t make the t-shirt funny, it makes it a statement of a sad truth which Urban Outiftters is not giving any proceeds from sale of the shirt to correct!
July 29th, 2005 at 12:19 am
So then what is the problem? 1) That Urban Outfitters sells the shirt? 2)The stereotype set specifically towards mexicans, presented by Urban Outfitters.
Personally, I love mexico. The culture, the people, especially the food. Yet the thing is how many stereotypical shirts are there out there, yet arn’t sold by Urban Outfitters. What about all the anit-patriotic shirts. What about any number of other obscene t-shirts? I think the real issue that people are getting at is that the Urban Outfitters coporation sells the t-shirt. Thus people get angry because a corporation as large as Urban Outfitters should not endorse something so “politically racy.” Since they sell it (or maybe used too) people have a reason to get fixated on something and make a big deal about it. In this case, the “dirty mexican” stereotype.