Nov 20th, 2009
Psalm 109:8 update
UPDATE: Folks, please note that some of the designs that you’re finding as “still there” are simply thumbnails that haven’t yet churned out of our Marketplace. If you click on them, you’ll most likely find that the products themselves are no longer available. The thumbnails themselves will also disappear shortly thereafter.
Please understand that, given our size and the sheer number of people adding content to our site on a daily basis, you may run across a design that has been only recently pended. If you refresh your browser and take a breather, in short order you’ll find that that design has been yanked by our team.
Thanks!
–
This morning we made the decision to remove all Psalms 109:8 designs from CafePress.
The public debate started with questioning if the design was simply intended to be criticism of the President or something much worse. The discourse was surprisingly civil online, given the heated nature of the topic. Given that, and the positions of groups like the ACLU and the Anti-Defamation League, we decided to let the dialogue play out publicly before making a final decision.
Last night we posted a poll on our blog, read through the emails we’ve received and weighed the nature of the calls we’ve received on the topic. In the process we also learned that many of the original designers of the Psalm 109:8 designs had already decided to remove them on their own.
General consensus has proven that the design does point to a broader interpretation of the Psalm and thus has been deemed inappropriate for sale at CafePress.
We try to create an atmosphere of self-expression. Many of the things we encounter are not black and white, but grey. When the dialogue is civil, we want to let the larger community work things out rather than making an uninformed ruling. The dialogue has played out and common sentiment has reached agreement – this merchandise is not appropriate.
Thank you all for your input.
Guess all you have to do is overwhelm the polls and you get your way.
Thank you for reconsidering. However, please recognize that as a company, there are times you have a responsibility to exercise some control over content and not just “let the dialogue play out publicly.” Hate speech is hate speech, and often that isn’t “grey” at all.
[...] 11/20: Please see the updated Psalm 109:8 post. Thanks, all, for your civil input on this heated [...]
Thank you for taking right action by removing this inappropriate material.
Thank you. You’ve made the right decision, again.
It may be legal to sell such merchandise, but that doesn’t make it right.
If “all you have to do is overwhelm the polls and you get your way,” why didn’t you haters overwhelm the polls?
Thank you for making such a responsible (albeit difficult) decision. You can not divorce the single verse from the clear meaning of the entire Psalm. For those truly familiar with this biblical passage, the underlying message is clear and unmistakable: our President, Barack Obama is an enemy of God, and as such he should meet with a violent death rendering his children fatherless and his wife a widow. Whatever one’s feelings might be toward President Obama, this message is outrageous and unacceptable. Praying for the assasination of a United States President is shameful, unpatriotic and un-Christian. You have made an honorable decision and I applaud you for it.
Thanks CafePress. As heated as this was, we’ll publicize your taking the responsible position on this matter as much or more than yesterdays position.
Thank you!!! It’s refreshing to see a company doing the “right” thing!
Free Speech Fail!
Thank you for your recent decision. I will most definitely be buying your products in the future! Peace to you all at Cafe Press.
Thanks for pulling these products. While I am all for free speech, there are enough people interpreting Psalm 109 as a code to assassinate the President to make this more than political opinion. “Pray for Obama to have only 1 term” would be altogether different.
Some things AREN’T gray. Pairing up a bible chapter that calls for the premature death of a leader and the current President of the USA falls completely in the “evil” category. The fact that you pretend otherwise disgusts me.
There is a reason the reich-wing is known as the 24%ers. And the poll showed exactly that. 24% of the American population thinks there is nothing wrong for praying for the death of a president. Think about that. It’s pretty scary and sad.
Whew! Yesterday I thought that morality would require me to remove my Cafe Press item and not order anything more from your site. I am much relieved. Thank you for making the right decision. Hate speech has no place in civil dialog. Criticism of the government is essential to American life, but opposing the government through violence is anti-American.
Good call.
I’m deeply ambivalent about the issue
1) as a private business, you have the right to refuse to sell any item for any reason. You are not the conduit for free speech in this country. Can you imagine the NRA selling pro-gay marriage bumper stickers? The same concept applies.
2) with regards to the specific items – I beleive in free speech, and I beleive the owners should have had the right to sell them. Even taking the verse in context, it was not a specifec call for violence, but a wish that god would act, not men.
3) unfortunately, many people wouldn’t be able to see the distinction. My fear is that certain zealots would act as on a ‘mission from god’. They’ve done it before, they’ll do it again.
In the end, I agree with the decision you made, but am disappointed that it was a step that had to be taken. I think it speaks volumes about your business, that you are taking an issue of such moral and ethical weight so seriously.
Thank you for pulling this merchandise.
Promoting violence has no place in our public discourse.
@Jim.
Yes, it’s called capitalism.
BTW, are one of those people that if someone suggested that maybe W made a bad decision you would scream “treason! sedition!” to highest heaven?
Now that you have “made the decision”
when will it go into effect?
because I just now checked and all the Psalm 109 stuff is still online.
Color me curious…
Please have better discretion and show some moral fiber towards society in general. T-Shirts with slogans like the Psalm 109:8 are not good for anything other than playing to the lowest bottom feeders and are just plain stupid.
San Jose business community is better than that.
It should have been a no brainer. Thanks for the removal. BTW…I’m not an Obama supporter.
Good call, although somewhat belated. Many vendors have already moved their businesses elsewhere. Hopefully, if somebody decides to use your service to promote hate speech or incite to violence again, you will act more decisively.
Thank you for your responsible action and your calm approach.
Tee shirt messages like this one go well beyond free speech and into territory very close to advocacy of violence.
With the Secret Service already responding to an unusual number of threats, we don’t need more mindless calls for our President to die.
Let the far right instead try to win at the polls.
Thank you for reversing your position on this issue. As the creator of the “Boycott Cafepress” group on Facebook, and as someone who wrote initially to express my concern about this, I would love to get the phone call I was told I would be receiving that verifies this decision. I certainly applaud you taking this stance and I would like official confirmation of this – along with the assurance that you won’t reverse your position yet again.
This was disgusting and I’m glad you’ve reconsidered. Ugly times these are..I’ve gotten things from you in the past. I was happy with them. It’s good to know I can still use your services.
Thank you for pulling this hateful material, what is wrong with people that they think it is okay. Think what you want, but this sort of behavior is not only horrible, but divisive at a time when we need to pull together as a nation.
Thank you for removing the Psalm 109:8 merchandise. As a Christian and strong supporter of free speech, I still felt the intent was dangerous. Let those that feel that way talk about it all they want to but as a company you have the final say whether or not to print that on your merchandise. Thank you again!
Thank you so much. Calls to murder anyone, let alone the vulnerable President, and to widow his wife and orphan his children, are by no stretch of any imagination either Christian or acceptable.
With deep gratitude.
I want to order 10,000 bumper stickers with these words: Retroactive Abortions For Extreme, Conservative Christians. Will you print these? In other words – when and where do you see a corporate responsibility to STOP this racists, domestic terrorism – and that is EXACTLY how I view this. This Psalm t-shirt is one of many disgusting things you are printing. Very slanted business plan. I urge readers to go online and look at the imbalance in products and politics you proudly promote.
Hey Jim, of RightWingStuff…that’s call Democracy. The majority of votes wins.
Now if you are more interested in say, a Democratic Republic, that would mean the weak and under-represented are protected from the tyranny of the majority.
Ain’t due process grand?
Thanks for removing this ‘inflammatory’ merchandise. There is a underlining reasoning for the choice of words of that specific campaign, and they are not of peace. I hope CafePress continues to with-hold this kind of rhetoric from their site. In their case, I hope they do so… in light that I am a customer and if it resurfaces, I will take my patronage somewhere else. Thanks and God Bless.
btw, I would remind those who support Psalm 109:8 merchandise about Psalm 40:15:
“Put to shame and confound all who seek to take my life. Turn back in disgrace those who desire my ruin.”
Thank you Cafe Press for taking this issue seriously. Any responsible look at what the 109:8 reference means out there in the rather polarized atmosphere in our country today would have to take into account the prospect of some unstable zealot taking this as a “call” to action. No one would want to be responsible for violence that could very well occur. We all have to be bound by a common decency and respect for each other as Americans to keep the playing field safe for honest and sincere dialogue. I am glad that Cafe Press has exercised adult responsibility.
I specifically forbid you to reverse yourself again, Cafe Press. I want these items, and ALL items advocating violence against government officials, permanently removed from your site. Period.
1. I took the poll. Everyone is allowed only ONE vote…not ‘rigged.’
2. I agree, sometimes a company must take a stand on their own..
a bit to little, too late. I am afraid that in ‘letting the debate play out, you may have lost quite a bit of business.
You will need to work hard to get it back….and the Holiday Season is now upon us. Good Luck.
As a Christian, I am glad that this type of design has been removed. I pray for the president and our government and feel that this saying should not be associated with the word prayer. Thank you for removing it.
Thank you — While people certainly have a right to free speech, companies have a responsibility to the general public. Which you have upheld with this decision.
Thank you for being a civic minded company. This is why I support you.
I’m very glad to hear this. You’re doing the right thing.
Thank you for allowing reason to prevail. It makes me glad when a company I respect gives me a reason to respect them.
Not sure how you would “overwhelm the polls” – This one allowed one vote per IP address. I know, I tried to vote again. So in this case, I’m pretty sure there was no overwhelming going on. The majority spoke, those that got up and chose to do so anyway.
>Guess all you have to do is overwhelm the polls and you get your way>
Isn’t democracy great?
CAFE PRESS – I THINK YOU ALL SHOULD GO FUCK YOURSELVES…
HOW’S THAT FOR FREE SPEECH
Thank you! It is never OK (in fact it is completely illegal) to threaten the President’s life. You did the right thing.
The Isaiah 22:19 HATE that it has been replaced with is just that…HATE.
Pull it now.
Thank you!
Thank you for making a sane and responsible decision. The Psalm 109:8 materials were a disgraceful attempt to use scripture to promote a dangerous message calling for the death of our President. Those who disagree with our President would be well advised to rely on rational argument rather than reckless, eliminationist rhetoric to promote their views.
I have not commented before, as I had just become aware of this stuff the past couple of nights. But as a previous purchaser of both political and non-political merchandise on cafepress and someone who realizes that all decent, civilized points of view should be represented and treated equally, I am extremely disappointed that y’all needed anyone else’s judgement to tell you that Psalm 109:8 in reference to the president was hate speech and incitement to violence. I am hard put to read the combination of the two in any other way. Please exercise better judgement in the future. There are some opinions that are outside the realm of civilized discourse. This is one of them. I have a true prayer, and it is is that we do not live to see the prayers of these hatemongers fulfilled.
well-written response; correct ultimate decision.
thank you for both.
it’s clear looking online today that CP’s not getting this right at the beginning has upset many people with actual consciences (e.g. Helen, above) — and no doubt conversely the hate-filled dominionists (e.g. Jim, above) will nurse their grudges at finally being tumbled — so there will be an net adverse business impact.
but personally, I’m simply glad you took the time to reflect further, and ultimately to do the correct thing.
don’t know what sort of volume of these treasonous incitements have been produced, but it’s clear that people who do display them openly are at risk of having very awkward conversations with the Secret Service about their liability to prosecution under US Code Title 18, Section 871.
I applaud you for removing those horrible offensive items. Unfortunately, it’s obvious that your reasons for doing so have more to do with your bottom line rather than with what is right and ethical.
The majority of people polled were against this appalling merchandise and with good reason. But if the majority had been in favor – you would have continued selling the items.
We will continue to watch you and if these items come up for sale again, rest assured we will raise hell.
Freedom of expression is an admirable right and one I strongly believe in. Advocating the assassination of the President is NOT mere “freedom of expression” – it is a crime. That you would even hold a poll to debate that is frankly, disturbing.
Anyone fool who sees the “pray for Obama” slogan then looks up the adjoining scripture can see without any ambiguity EXACTLY what these people are “praying” for. It is dispicable, and not remotely “christian” to actively pray for anyone’s death, let alone our Commander in Chief. Shame on you all.
Thank you for being so thoughtful in your response.
I applaud your decision to remove the merchandise from your inventory.
But what does it say about a company which needed to take a poll to determine the right thing to do?
Sad..
How is advocating the assassination of the President “freedom of expression”? It is a crime. That you would even hold a poll to debate hopefully will bring the FBI and Secret Service to your door. I will not visit you in prison.
Thank you, I will now continue shopping with you.
“General consensus has proven that the design does point to a broader interpretation of the Psalm”
How can a consensus “prove” anything? A “consensus” means that the majority holds the same opinion; in other words, it’s the general opinion of the group. An opinion by its very nature proves nothing. Basically, the designers opinion differed from those at Cafepress and so the message was frowned upon.
thank you for doing the right thing CP.
any Christian who follows Christ’s edicts knows you don’t pray for the shortened life, or murder of an enemy. these people expose themselves for what they truly feel inside. how sad.
homophobia, misogyny, racism, hate – could lead people to do some stupid things – yes, there are things with every type of person that can be difficult to get used to, or use notice that are silly, but to directly do what these people wished for, is abhorrent and anti-Christian without question.
Thanks again CP! You did good.
Thank you for removing the items. You’ve made the right choice.
[...] Psalm 109:8 merchandise – CafePress decides to remove all Ps. 109:8 gear from its site as inappropriate under their ToS. I think that’s the right decision — and, for what it’s worth, I’d support it no matter whose name was associated with that particular “joke” prayer. [...]
THANK YOU; GOD BLESS!! CHRISTMAS IS AROUND THE CORNER!!
Glad you decided to take the t-shirts down. Hate speech, actually isn’t protected by the first amendment. i suppose whether it should be or not is up for debate, but facts are it isn’t. i found the t-shirts very tasteless, and was upset because i view shopping like voting, but with dollars instead of ballots and was going to have to buy shirts from somewhere other than ophelia’s art–and their stuff is very unique. Here’s to Obama’s health and safety and the happiness of his wife and children, while i’m at it.
Thank you for taking responsibility and removing that abominable product against the wishes of special interests. Though it shouldn’t have gotten that far in the first place.
Thank you for pulling this odious merchandise. I will reinstate my account and purchase pro-Obama merchandise in support of your decision.
Thank you for doing the right thing. The negativity, hate and racism in the country needs to come to an end. Your taking this step to take these offensive items out of your stock is one in the right directions. Thank you for the bold move you made.
Thank you for pulling Psalms 109:8 designs from your store.
Kaolin / Spirit Journey
Thank you CafePress for making the decision to stop selling Psalm 109 related merchandise. Apparently there are many (see above comments) interpretations of how you came to make the decision but I will choose to believe you did it because it was the right thing to do. THANK YOU.
Thank you for making the responsible decision.
And to all who will scream free speech I suggest that you re-read the Constitution. Speech is protected from government intervention, not consumer outrage or the financial interests of a company.
Thank you for pulling this merchandise. I wish it would have been pulled one time only but am glad to see it going.
It was irresponsible to sell merchandise advocating the murder of the President of the United States.
Thank you for taking our concerns seriously and pulling the offending merchandise.
(btw, you do have control over the thumbs). This is not a ‘free speech’ issue since that “bill of rights” concerns the government stepping in, but this is a matter of criminality advocating the violent removal of a duly elected official. The “message” is clear and the mandate is not the word of G-d but the hopes of the Psalm writer and perhaps some right-wing nut jobs who are no better than al qaeda and are using the Bible (like the Koran) to justify their dark intentions.
I’m glad CafePress decided to follow the law on this one; but I’m frankly disappointed in the time they took to come to this conclusion.
There will be plenty more of this from the hatriots who claim to hate in the name of Jesus.
CafePress and other companies had better be clear about their boundaries and the law, so they can make quicker decision.
You shouldn’t need a poll to tell you this was wrong.
But I’m glad you finally came around.
Sarah Smith
Very simply, I want to thank you for putting your conscience over your profits, recognizing the evil intent of the creators if this Psalm 109:8 scam, and refusing to participate in their hate and extreme ugliness by carrying their “merchandise”.
May they all reap what they sow, and receive a full measure of their own karma-they are hideous!
Thank you for making such a responsible decision. I had not heard of your company before this controversy, but because of how well you have handled it, you have won over a new customer.
Thank you for reversing your previous decision on the Psalm 109 merchandise.
Thank you for removing the Psalma 109:8 t-shirt. I do believe in freedom of speech, but anything that insinuates death to anyone (no less the Presedint of the United States) is disgusting. I never liked Bush, but I never prayed for him to die or anything horrible to happen to him.
Thank you. It is nice to know a company has values and is not willing to overlook them just to make money.
Wonderful! I thank you heartedly for pulling the Psalm merchandise. I feel that there are a thousand ways someone can say I don’t support Obama without resorting to hate and violence. Freedom of speech has not been damaged–we just want people to disagree without hate and violence. We all lose when this type of rhetoric goes on.
Thank you for standing up for reason, and doing the good thing.
And, on a totally difference reason, I do love much of your products, so I am happy I will be able to do business with you again.
Thanks for doing the responsible thing! Anything that can be interpreted in any way that garners that kind of hate should be outlawed!
To make a few bucks should you stoop down to this level. You are quoting a Jewish scripture and I, as a Christian, has rejected the Old Testament long time ago as irrelevent to my faith journey. I don’t believe in eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth that Christ himself rejected. These fundamental Christians are not reading the New Testament but cling to the Old Testament.
Thank you for pulling the Psalm 109:8 merchandise. I’m just disappointed that it took so long; that there even needed to be a debate about this material being “inappropriate”. This so blatantly crossed the line of free speech into the realm of sedition. It was a call for the death of our sitting President.
Bravo, Cafepress… these are the very same type of folks who have no problem killing abortion doctors… we should, as a society, STOP letting these people get away with what is erroneously called “free speech”. Free speech is just that – speech… however, these wingnuts take this “free speech” too far, turning it into “hate speech” which turns into hate ACTION. ENOUGH! ENOUGH! I’ve HAD ENOUGH of these people. I definitely could not STAND George “W” Bush, but NEVER did I advocate violence towards him. I’m tired of this inappropriate and unacceptable behavior I see coming from the “right”! And they have the nERVE to call themselves “Christian”?? Unbelievable…
Thank you for pulling the merchandise, but I’m not sure exactly what shades of “grey” you are talking about.
This material was advocating and “praying” for the death of the President of the United States, pure and simple.
Would you print t-shirts saying “KILL OBAMA!!!”
I would hope not.
And yet, this was the same thing. It should have been a quick and obvious decision.
Ultimately you made the right more, but it’s a little concerning that it took so long.
FINALLY!!!
Thank you for a wise decision. There is too much innuendo and suggestion of violence against our President and his family in the media already.
Thank you Cafe Press
Thank you for doing the right thing in removing all Psalm 109:8 merchandise. There is no doubt that we will see many more attempts at subtle provocation of violence toward our President by extremists. I am hopeful that as a company you will keep an eye out for such putrid bile and be more proactive in the future. I realize marketing and brand recognition are important and that it is difficult to buy better advertising than you currently just received for free- but I would encourage you to consider that there are some of us who know the game, and that you risk a very permanent boycott of your site and merchandise should you repeat this exercise.
Thank you for taking the correct action and removing the offensive Psalms 109:8 material from your site. Boycotting your site was a last resort, but I would have done it easily rather than see this disgusting, HATE-filled merchandise for sale. However, I do wonder why it took so long – and so many angry emails – to take this trash off an otherwise reasonably decent site.
THANK YOU! Thank you CafePress for doing the right thing by pulling the Psalm merchandise!
It is a grave concern that people continue to respect and acknowledge ancient man-made texts while discrediting scientific evidence. We can make a lot of money off these blind followers—but is the profit worth the continuation of such destructive mythology? Religion is as deadly as anthrax.
Absolutely pathetic.
It’s great to see that the brownshirts are still able to force companies to cave by pulling crap like this.
I’m done with CafePress after this cowardly response.
Thank you for making a difficult, yet informed decision to remove the Psalms 109.8 items off of CafePress,. This is the responsible position to take. Unfortunately, people feel that protected “freedom of speech” means they have the right to say what they want, when they want, without concern for the actions this speech may provoke. They do not understand that freedom of speech protection only applies to the Government not being able to stop people from speaking out against them.
While I understand that all people have differing opinions, the Psalms shirt only incites people who are not stable to begin with to take “God’s work” into their own hands.
We are currently in a very difficult place in our nations history, and I would hate for anything to happen to our President because of it. And to those who would wish harm to Mr. Obama, I say this… respect the office, if not the person.
Again, thank you for making the responsible choice. Though these people will find a way to make this awful stand, I’m happy that it will not be through your company.
Thank you for making this wise decision.
I’m pleased to see you have reversed your decision (again) and decided to act responsibly. These items were nothing more than a dog whistle to certain extremist elements in our society calling for the murder of our President. Regardless of your political leaning that cannot be construed as “free speech” and those that do construe it as such are only those who harbor such dark desires and tendencies.
However, I was shocked you could not see this after first deciding to remove the products and subsequently put them up to “let the public dialogue play out.” There was no question what they meant and it was only when faced with public outcry that you acted.
Thank you,
Your well reasoned explanation was good enough for me. The main thing is that these items have been scrapped. I lived through the JFK assassination, the attempts on Ford and Reagan, I never want to go through that again. All it takes is one loon to take things too far in political discourse, and the line is crossed into a terrible act. The Psalm 109 controversy is an item that could easily send some lunatic over the edge; certaily the last thing we need.
Sorry, but products that expressly advocate for the death of anyone aren’t in any “grey area” of appropriate speech, in my opinion.
In particular, the fact that this passage wishes harm to children, who are completely innocent of any political involvement, completely turns my stomach. Anyone who thinks this kind of ugliness is just normal political speech really needs psychological help.
CafePress’ Flip-Flip on this issue is pathetic.
I’m late to the game on this, but you did the right thing. Ignorance and hatred disguised as religion is a phenomenon worth stamping out. We decide what kind of world we want to live in and work towards it.
thank you for takeing down the psalm 109 it was the right thing to do and you stepped forward and did the right thing!1 i applaud you for doing this and you can rest assured i will be going to you to buy anything that strikes my fancy when it comes not only to politics!1 TAHNK YOU CAFE PRESS!! very commendable on your part
I received my first item from Cafepress yesterday and it is a wonderful customized ornament. It is also in the trash. I just found out about their Psalm 109:8 items and I don’t care if they yanked them. It was only due to outcry and that they will lose business. If that wasn’t the case, then why would they have carried this insidious crap in the first place? Are they that myopic? Horrible. I will never order from them or their affiliated sites again. Ever.
p.s. How about taking down the websites you can easily Google that happily exclaim all of the wonderful Psalm 109 items you carry? That would be a start. Unbelievable. Anti-Obama stuff–fine. Promoting harm to anyone is beneath contempt. Shame on you.
[...] with the Psalms 109:8 Sick ? Maybe dangerous, and you can’t buy them from Psalms 109:8 designs from CafePress [...]
Thank you for “doing the right thing!” It is greatly appreciated!
I saw that someone said free speech fail. and while i do feel that the freedom of speech right that everyone in the U.S enjoys it is clearly stated the things such as these were you are wishing for the death of the president are strictly prohibited. You can critisize him you can even speak out against him, however something that can be construed as wishing him dead is wrong, not to mention infringing on his/her(hopefully in the future) right to live.
Thank you for taking truly offensive material from your site. It’s sickening.
There are currently dozens of Psalm 109:8 materials for sale which I reported about 6 hours ago. I trust that no orders placed this weekend will actually be filled, since it appears no one is minding the store over the weekend to take down items that cafe press has decided are inappropriate to sell.
[...] hoopla over this Psalm has driven CafePress to drop all merchandise containing it. It’s a thinly veiled statement that encourages an outright assassination. Quoting the Bible [...]
i am happy you made this decision. thank you.
yay! thank you.
Thank you for re-thinking the 109th Psalm, I know this may have cause some distress in your sales, but you have choose to do the right thing thanks ever so much.
Marie
I’m still confused. Does this psalm mean Jesus Christ wants Barack Obama dead? Wow, what a messed up religion!
For all those free speechers out there. So, I guess you were in full support of when Wanda Sykes said she wanted Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys to fail, right? I mean, otherwise, that would make you hypocrites. And the right is never hypocritical, no, never.
I agree about taking down the prayer but the to keep a level playing field the same thing for an example should be done here as it is a prayer as well: See link below:
http://www.cafepress.com/+dear_god_bush_prayer_dark_dark_tshirt,203141415
[...] Cafe Press announced that it was again reversing itself and removing all the merchandise in response to strong public pressure: The public debate started with questioning if the design was [...]
Psalms 109
6 Set thou a wicked man over him:
and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned:
and let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few;
and let another take his office. Acts 1.20
9 Let his children be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg:
let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath;
and let the strangers spoil his labor.
obvious liberal bias…
http://www.cafepress.com/+fitted_tshirt,196389418
Does this mean that in the future all materials that quote Bible verses will not be carried by Cafe Press? To be consistent that would be the case.
You’re removing material with a particular Bible verse because the following Bible verse is questionable. If that verse taints any others in the vicinity why is the entirety of Psalms not off limits – or the entire Bible for that matter?
[...] Cafe Press announced that it was again reversing itself and removing all the merchandise in response to strong public pressure: The public debate started with questioning if the design was [...]
This was far too over analyzed….nobody was wishing death on the Prez….I will be looking forward to all the polls in the future on any other slogans that allegedly offend someone.
[...] has decided to remove all Psalms 109:8 designs for its [...]
[...] meaning led to Cafe Press going back and forth with regards to allowing sales of this merchandise. Cafe Press has decided not to allow sales of this merchandise: This morning we made the decision to remove [...]
Guess all you have to do is overwhelm the polls and you get your way.
——
Funny how conservatives don’t have a problem with that sort of thing when it comes to gay marriage and the like.
So we’re clear–letting two people who love each other=bad. Calling for the president’s assassination=good.
can we just ban any reference to anything from the bible from everywhere?
Additionally, anyone who knows what today’s date is, and is old enough to remember the heart-wrenching events in Dallas on this tragic anniversary, should forthrightly applaud CafePress’ removal of these items.
Those who infer that partial usage of the psalm renders it innocent of intent are fools or liars, and those who make a profit from selling items related to it are far worse than that.
Remember Dallas, and let’s recover our moral compass in this nation at last.
Wow. I guess freedom of speech truly is dead here.
No one was threatening bodily harm towards the president. If that had been their intention, they would have referenced other verses in the Psalms, not 109:8. They also would be under criminal investigation and probably in custody right now.
Some people may not agree with the suggestion that Obama should not serve a second term… but that in itself is no reason to pull the designs. Your warped and twisted interpretation of the design doesn’t change the fact that no threat was ever made.
WHY NOT READ THE ENTIRE PSALM. This is David talking to God about an enemy. NOT CafePress and NOT the owners of their shops, talking about our President Obama! You can’t change the Bible readings to suit your own self.
Funny how CP pulls down mulitple designs that MAY be contrary to Obama, yet for 8 years CP allowed and even promoted designs as bad or worse for Bush.
Double standard from CP yet again.
Thanks for doing the right thing on this. I was a child at the time of the Kennedy assassination. Calling for the President’s wife to be made a widow, and his children to be made fatherless – no matter how cutely veiled – is despicable. I’m glad I don’t have to join a Cafe Press boycott.
communism can’t abide the first amendment…..or the second……..or the fourth.
[...] This is, of course, directed at Barack Obama and comes across as a not-so-veiled threat. They began making merchandise of the verse…at least until CafePress removed the designs. [...]
It is amazing how liberals are controlling everything. It is scary.
Thank you so much for taking our requests to not sell the psalm 109 things seriously. As many people noted in their thank yous we must all remember the Kennedy shooting. There seem to be so many people buying into the threats and lies going around these days on the internet. If you do not like the way Obama and the congress is doing things, don’t vote for them next election. This is the way we do things in the USA.
Thank you for doing the right thing! Free speech does not extend to some kinds of threats, and this mindless hatred certainly qualifies.
How do some of these so-called Christians reconcile their viciousness with the acceptance and compassion Christ stood for?
I posted my opposition to the Obama Psalm 109 merchandise on my facebook page and asked my friends to boycott cafepress.com because you were selling it. Thank you for your decision to remove this merchandise. I have posted a copy of the email you sent to me stating that you were removing this merchandise.
Well, you made the right decision, but I am more than a little appalled that you would have had to think about it or even do a poll.
Someone below said that the weren’t advocating a person to do it, but just asking God to.
So you had to think about selling teddy bears that asked God to kill democratically elected President of the United States.
Shame on you that you had to think and then just do the most popular thing, and not automatically do it because it was right.
Oh, and those of you who are complaining about about the first amendment? Go back to school and learn what the first amendment is.
The first amendment says that the government cannot abridge someone’s right to free speech. Did you complain the whole time that the Bush administration were introducing and ignoring laws so that they could cut down on free speech?
What they did was against the first amendment, what Cafe Press did was not.
Whew! I thought I’d bought my last item from Cafe Press. Now that this abomination has been removed, I can shop again. Thanks for making a principled decision.
Just want to add my thanks to you for removing this hate speech “Psalm 109:8″ merchandise.
It is definitely NOT okay to menace the president, or anyone, this way.
What ever happened to the golden rule?
So now all those who felt it was perfectly acceptable to sell the Psalm merchandise should also run to Facebook and advocate a ban of CP for it’s obvious liberal bias? Liberal tears and unfounded fears win once again? I assume this means we should all also become watchdogs, complaining about anything that does not support our own view and take a poll of slanted proportions to have it eradicated!
Thank you, CafePress, for taking the very responsible decision in removing the Psalm hate speech. All those who think this is just political correctness gone too far should think again. If there was political correctness in 1930s Germany and 1990s Rwanda, the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide would never have happened. Hitler would have been yelled down the first time he tried to give an anti-semitic speech, and so would have Hutu extremist radio pundits in Rwanda stoking flames of hatred. Again, CafePress, thank you greatly for doing your part to keep hate out of the public.
You have got to be kidding. No one is including the next verse in anything, except for you who are trying to pick a fight. The quote is merely a hope that we do not have to have Obama for another term. It is not those who are humorously displaying the bumper sticker or t-shirt who are haters. It is those who are wanting to stop any kind of discourse. Just because I may disagree doesn’t make me any less of a Christian.
Bring back psalm 109:8-9 unless you dont belive in freedom of expression.
Let’s keep a level playing field the same thing for an example should be done here as it is a prayer as well which calls for the death of a sitting President: See link below:
http://www.cafepress.com/+dear_god_bush_prayer_dark_dark_tshirt,203141415
I’m sure this was not an easy decision to make. While I usually do appreciate some of the more ‘extreme’ political posturings on clothing, that one did seem to overstep. And thank you for this public discourse on the site.
EVERY PERSON WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A THREAT IS COMPLETELY INSANE!!!! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY AND IT ACTUALLY WAS!! LEAVE YOUR USELESS THOUGHTS TO YOURSELF!!! If this would have been referenced to Bush it would not have been taken down. You all are hyprocrites.
Upon reading the verse that follows Psalm 109: 8, I would have to agree with most of you.
HOWEVER, why wasn’t this same attitude taken with President Bush? I saw many things that called for his death. So, with that, I do believe you are hypocrites.
Thank you!!! I am buying Christmas presents from CafePress starting NOW!!!!
[...] 24, 2009 Cafepress recently removed this shirt. Deceptive Psalm 109 [...]
Way to go Socialists! Thanks for proving yet one more time that the libtards will not be happy until all freedoms in America are eliminated. I cannot believe that a few left wing nuts can control the freedom of speach. I will now stop and pray for Obama Psalm 109: 8
I recently received an email noting this shirt, identifying the controversy, and asking for all to weigh in against it.
We live in a society that unfortunately, doesn’t need much to go way off the deep end. We are superficial and tend to jump to conclusions. This Psalm says a lot. It talks about how a righteous man is suffering from unjust criticism and attacks. Hmmm… It asks God to repay the person who is UNJUST with a list of a whole lot of unpleasant stuff including what is in verse 8 and 9. Hmmm, maybe some supporters of the President think he’s just, and maybe SOME are saying this should happen to HIS opposition…
It would be nice to think that something like quoting the Word would result in a lot more people actually reading the Word – not just a sentence or two but whole chapters. And maybe, just maybe, if it wasn’t clear what the Word was referring to maybe we could hope that more people would actually do some RESEARCH to confirm the meaning of the scripture, not taken out of context, but with an eye on the intent of the WHOLE Word and not just a few specific positions, actions, or stands.
This verse alone appears to be inflammatory at best and at least volatile. It’s only real redeeming virtue would seem to lie in the fact that it may result in more people actually praying for the President and/or cracking open and reading their bible.
I LOVE IT >>> GREAT VERSE ! PRAY FOR OBAMA >>> PSALM 109:8
People, come on. I get it. It offends some people. But seriously??? Even those of us that are not that religious can see this is just meant as a joke. Come on. Enjoy free speach. If it bothers you, ignore it and move on. Or produce another bumper sticker that counters it. In the name of free speach. but lets not get so ruffled over the opinion of others that we refuse to give them free expression of their (distasteful) thoughts. Tolerance to all.
So based on results, you’ll be removing ALL items that make references to/quotes from the Founding Fathers as well: their views on what they foresaw as the current administration?
To wit:
————-
Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.
Thomas Jefferson
————-
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
————-
There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.
John Adams
————-
The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.
John Adams
[And he's not just *saying* "wish"...]
————-
These great men recognized what would take place with one possessing self-believed absolute power…
I think most folks neither know nor care what the next verse is nor what the book contains. They merely wish a closure to an unpopular administration. Many wish the president would go away and many more hope this will be his only term. They wish nobody harm and certainly not the President.
For crying out loud! Lighten up! It’s a JOKE!
Surly there are more important matters to take up than this?
Such as exactly what Obama did to deserve that Nobel Peace Prize.
Just kidding. Since nobody really knows, that’s not worth talking about either.
So, what other scriptures have you deemed unacceptable?
Political correctness at it’s best. Way to go Cafe.
[...] Obama and his family are going to have to design their wares elsewhere. On Friday, staff posted the following message:This morning we made the decision to remove all Psalms 109:8 designs from CafePress.The public [...]