Urban Outfitters Swing and Miss with Controversial Sweatshirt
Video by Max Holm and Kelly Reinke
Controversy hit Urban Outfitters Monday after the company released red-blotched Kent State sweatshirts. The sweatshirts have been viewed in a negative light because of the 1970 shooting in which the Ohio National Guard fired on students protesting the Vietnam war, killing four students and wounding nine more.
In and around Urban Outfitters in Los Angeles, opinions differ on how offensive the Kent State sweatshirts are given how many people might not know about the 1970 shootings. For example, one Angeleno, Janet Aparicio, wouldn’t have found it offensive if she hadn’t known about the shootings in 1970. “I couldn’t relate if you didn’t tell me about the shooting,” she said.
One shopper In Los Angeles was extremely offended by the sweatshirts. Stephanie Brill was “in shock” about the release of the sweatshirts and now feels embarrassed to own any clothing from the store and will “try and refrain from shopping there any longer.”
In the meantime, Urban Outfitters has taken down the item and issued a public apology in which they stated, “It was never our intention 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.”
As a former californian who escaped decades ago from the 'politically correct' nazism of a once great state, what would these two interviewee's do if they had to face 'real' difficulties in their artifically sheltered lives?