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!
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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.
UPDATE 11/20: Please see the updated Psalm 109:8 post. Thanks, all, for your civil input on this heated topic.
Over the last 10 years, we at CafePress have become accustomed to the T-shirt being a springboard for people to express their views – including those that are political, religious and various combinations of the two. The discussions that result from these designs can initiate healthy political dialogue or debate and, sometimes, strong criticism.
The past couple of days have illustrated this point rather clearly, as user-designed merchandise with “Pray for Obama – Psalm 109:8” has come to public attention.
When folks started talking about the Obama Psalm 109:8 merchandise, we weren’t particularly shocked to find that a T-shirt had caused heated political discourse. What did catch our attention, though, were the folks claiming that Psalm 109:8 was being used to advocate Barack Obama’s assassination.
We take our Content Usage policy seriously here, and no content that advocates the harming of any human being is acceptable. But is that what Psalm 109:8 is trying to convey in the context of a T-shirt?
Psalm 109:8 states: Let his days be few; Let another take his office.
To date we have treated these designs much in the same way we took the “No W” and “Impeach Bush” merchandise. But does it mean something more?
As the leaders in User Generated Commerce we strive to manage our content in a way that protects self-expression and free speech, while also making sure that we’re not allowing the promotion of violence.
Sometimes, though, iconography and words can take on new meaning over time – and this is often as a result of public discourse. If we see that the overall public discourse has determined that the meaning of this use of Psalm 109:8 goes beyond it’s literal meaning, and is being construed as threatening to the President, we will revisit our decision to allow the designs.
We’d love for you to weigh in on the Psalm 109:8 designs:
To see how experts – including representatives from the ACLU and the Anti Defamation League – have weighed in on the subject, check out this article.
Obama’s surprise Nobel Peace Prize win last week created an unprecedented uproar of conflicting popular opinion, and the designs keep coming in as the debate over the award continues.
As the Nobel committee staunchly stands behind their decision, public opinion flares wildly on both sides. To date the CafePress community has brought about 7,000 Obama Nobel Peace Prize products to life – 57% supporting and 43% opposing the prize.
Perhaps more significant, though, is the foresight of the CafePress community. The Obama/peace theme isn’t a new one ’round these parts; we saw this trend from the get-go when Obama merchandise started to hit the catalogue. Since early 2008, customers have flocked to merchandise featuring the iconic Obama “O” transformed into a peace sign, as well as with the similar messages of “hope” and “change.” With over 180,000 Obama/Peace products made before the award, the feeling that Obama would be the President to leave a legacy of peace speaks loud and clear on the T-shirts. This flavor of candidate messaging was a new one; a search for peace-related President George W. Bush merchandise turns up 375,000 products, mostly displaying ironic messages of war and impeachment.
As the battle of public opinion rages on, we’ll continue to see folks inserting themselves into the social consciousness of this historical moment (and others to come) by making bolder, louder statements via the almighty T-shirt.
March organizers Equality Across America to demand equal civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people across the nation. They also set up a shop with cool National Equality March T-shirts and gear so activists could sport their support for a good cause.
The march followed a Human Rights Campaign dinner that included remarks from President Obama, who promised to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and voiced general support for the gay equal rights movement. More specific issues of timelines and legal actions weren’t covered, but the ever-arresting Lady Gaga (who had the night before performed at the HRC dinner) made sure that the President knew that the finer points needed to be addressed by saying, “Obama, I know you are listening… We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality.”
Not surprisingly, the trend we’ve seen isn’t isolated to our own website. The AP just ran a story about the falloff of Obama merchandise and its effect on vendors (and yep, we’re mentioned).
The trends we see would indicate that consumers refine their politics through merchandise once a candidate is elected. Whereas “Hope” or “Change” were enough to symbolize everything Obama pre-election, these days both pro and anti-camps tend to focus more on policy. Of course, supporting the President can be as simple as a straightforward “Obama” T-shirt, but we do see increasing numbers of more specific designs on both sides of the political fence – from healthcare to beer summit – that transcend the generalized persona and drill down to specific concerns of the American conscience.
This pattern is a replay of the Bush years, though as noted in the AP article the Bush years gave rise to considerably more ring-spun backlash – both in volume and proportion - than the current Administration has generated. What is similar, though, is that We the People’s initial foray into Bush merchandise was of the generalized pro-Bush/anti-Bush flavor, which then evolved to more specific grievances or support.
What this means for us: with T-shirts serving as an American cultural barometer, the merchandise is getting more individualized, more timely and more headline-driven. Stay tuned.
The classic 1980 hit “Fame” is all polished up for the 21st century with a new script and cast (though Debbie Allen is back as the Principal), and although the movie isn’t out yet the fan-created merchandise fun has already begun.
The new movie launches September 25th, so you still have some time to make your own T-shirts or outfit yourself in someone else’s. Dream it. Make it. Wear it.
Now let’s see if you can get through this post without getting Irene Cara’s timeless “Fame” theme song out of your head… because I can’t. Now I too want to live forever, and I wanna learn how to fly (high).
Supreme Court nominees aren’t usually T-shirt fodder – heck, either are Supreme Court Justices – but Sonia Sotomayor can chalk up another win for breaking the norms.
Her much-debated “wise Latina” remark has become an empowerment slogan for other like-minded ladies, and when folks feel empowered by a catch phrase it’s only a matter of time (very little time, usually) before it makes its way to the ever-flexible canvas of a cotton T-shirt.
The AP covered the pop culture trend today, noting that the appeal of “Wise Latina” T-shirts is partially cultural. Said one interviewee: “In Hispanic culture, there is such a veneration of the older Latina figure. She represents that.”
So if you’re looking for that perfect gift for your own wise Latina, hey – look no further. Even if you don’t want to go political, we gotcha covered.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the anti-Obama T-shirts in our catalogue, all made by folks who are getting something off their minds and onto their chests (and the chests of those around them). It would seem that a T-shirt is worth 1,000 polls…
One of the more discussed designs is the Obama/Joker design, which went viral both online and as a subversive poster campaign in the real world. This image was the first real iconography to catch on in the anti-Obama movement, and it certainly got some attention from the Left. Some decried it as “racist,” (these folks apparently aren’t big Batman or circus fans), while others went on record to doubt the intelligence of the design itself.
Perhaps, under a new administration, the collective memory slate that once held notes of political outrage has been wiped clean. Indeed, those decrying the Obama/Joker image seem to have forgotten that President Bush earned himself similar artistic… er, tributes. A simple search for “Bush” reminds us that the process of Presidential policy critique via the almighty T-shirt isn’t remotely reserved for the Right.
The trend of anti-Obama merchandise is to be expected. This is, after all, the artistic cycle of political opposition; those opposed to a specific candidate spend the majority of their pre-election energies on promoting their candidate of choice, not focusing on The Other Guy (or Girl). In fact, the only candidate we’ve seen garner a big anti-following well before holding the Presidential office is Hillary Clinton, who started the whole retro communist/socialist propaganda art theme long before Obama was the target.
Which is to say that all the folks making McCain ‘08 merchandise should be expected to join the new political dialogue, and that dialogue centers around President Obama and his policies. Those who made the pro-Obama T-shirts have, already, done their jobs: their candidate was elected, their merchandise is still – for the most part – relevant in supporting him.
For those interested in the trend, here’s some factoids for you:
There are about 1 million anti-Obama products, vs. 3 million pro-Obama products
Sales of pro vs. anti are fairly evenly split, though anti can spike if there’s a good, T-worthy catch phrase or policy that comes up (like the Great Stupidly Debate & Happy Hour)
The anti-Obama sentiments post-election tend to focus on policy issues – socialism is a big theme, as well as generalized “I told you so” messaging. Pre-election, the anti-Obama sentiments trended more towards a generalized answer to the ubiquitous Hope/Change messaging, with “Nope” being a main theme.
Overall, the anti-Obama merchandise is, in its infancy, displaying much the same pattern as the anti-Bush merchandise. One big difference: anti-Obama merch tends to be almost exclusively about what Obama does; anti-Bush merchandise had a lot of content specifically related to what Bush said. The “acting stupidly” remark was the first Obama public gaffe to make its way as a trend to ring-spun cotton, so we’ll just have to wait it out to determine whether or not the Obama administration will go the way of Bush, inspiring designers with “Obamisms” or some such.
And with the series finale keeping everyone wondering, L Word fans can keep the dream alive with fan-created L Word T-shirts. Because after all, who knows? Maybe Dexter killed Jenny.
A public memorial service for Michael Jackson is taking place at the Staples Center today. The service is open to 11,000 fans, who registered online for a ticket lottery.
The site received 500,000,000 hits within its first hour of being launched, and over 1.5 million people registered for tickets. Los Angeles authorities are asking that anyone who didn’t receive tickets please refrain from heading to the Staples Center, as the city is fearing that anywhere between 250,000 to 750,000 people might show up. As it is, there have been hordes of fans and reporters and helicopters descending on his Holmby Hills rental house and the Neverland Ranch property since his death.
Reports are estimating that more people will watch this funeral than those of Princess Diana or Elvis.
The services will be aired on television and online, so anyone wishing to pay respects to Michael Jackson may do so without traveling to a city already famous for its incredible traffic jams.
Fans of Showtime’s Dexter are in luck – now you can design your own 
