Abercrabbie and Bitch

A lot of fuss is being made, and rightly so that the maker of Abercrombie & Fitch line of clothing is a horrible person and that I would say is absolutely true. Most are saying he's a horrible hypocrite because he doesn't fit the model of beauty and perfection that he so exclusively wants to cater to. People all over are making macros and memes that essentially say "Dear Pot, You are also black. Signed, Kettle".

And we need to stop doing it.

He said we're fat, so we call him ugly. What are we, fucking five year olds? When was the last time that defence worked?

Yes it's a horrible exclusionary marketing strategy to openly say that fat and "uncool" kids have no right to wear the clothing you design (which is really just a t-shirt with screen printed or fabric labels on them that any one with enough gumption could manufacture). Yes, it's a cruel thing to say openly and a foolish move to think that the world will not react, but it has. And it has made the name popular in demographics that are not their target market. It's made his line of clothing a target for ire in every other demographic, except his target market. At least I hope his target market has heard the stupidity that has come out of his mouth. Because clearly, Mike Jefferies can't.

I would have a lot of bones to pick with Mr. Jefferies were we to meet and have an intelligent conversation. What he's said is disgusting and hurtful to a vast cross section of the western population. However, retaliating by calling him ugly and/or fat is not going to help this problem go away. I don't care what he looks like, someone that ignorant and/or cruel doesn't deserve to be preserved in our collective memory via the wit and humour of memes and shared FB photos (whatever that means). I don't suggest we turn the other cheek. I suggest we simply call him out for the hurtful words he has made very public and request an apology from him.

If we continue to do this — and by we I mean anyone who wouldn't fit in his boring clothing or are pissed that he's a jerk — we are only going to get the same message:  "Dear Kettle, Ditto. Pot."