Gadzooks!!
Recently, I shopped in a Gadzooks store at the mall. The brand they carry is forever21, and while I don't feel forever 21, and don't want to, they have good deals on soft cotton muscle shirts and jackets I call Military Proletariat. We'll have to discuss my bizarre sense of fashion elsewhere, as it varies somewhere between Ellen DeGeneres and Common, the soulful rapper, with a touch of Workers of the World, Unite! thrown in for good measure. I live a weird life.
Anyway, I was taking the clothes out of the bag, and my husband said, "What the hell is that on the bottom of the bag?" I flip it over, and there it is in black print: "John 3:16". I thought, have I shopped at a Jesus store and didn't know about it? I didn't notice crosses on shirts and WWJD bracelets at the counter. I googled the brand and found nothing in their mission statement about being religious. So I emailed them about it. We'll see what they say, if they ever bother to reply.
But WTF?!? I don't want to be proselytized anywhere, especially if my own damn dollars went into it! Are Xtians that hard up that they have to sneak the message in on the bottom of shopping bags??
Maybe it was the quality control guy's number, you know, John looked at this. Batch 3. Lot 16. Somehow I doubt it.
--Virgil
posted by contemplator at Sunday, April 09, 2006
15 Comments:
Oh no!! That is just sickening. I had to look it up...
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Well, if that's not proselytizing, I don't know what is. I've never been in Forever 21 but I have seen the store. It attracts young girls, right?
I think you should write a letter! LOL, I'm almost tempted to go to the one near me just to check out the bag!!
They owners are devout Christians:
http://www.visualstore.com/index.php/channel/36/id/9538
You may want to skip Chick-fil-a at the mall, too.
MargaretWV
*The* owners. {sheesh}
Did that link get truncated? After php/ is:
channel/36/id/9538
MargaretWV
Truit Cathy's (Chick Filet founder) religious beliefs will never keep me from his tasty chicken and waffle fries.
Never!
Interestingly, his faith turns out to be one hell of a business strategy. By closing on Sundays, he provides a valuable benefit to his employees - a guaranteed day off on the weekend - a rare benefit for retail type employees. I believe Chick Filet employee turnover is among the lowest in the fast food business.
Well, I don't really care for chick-fil-a, so the news didn't rock my world. I wondered if Gadzooks maybe just bought their bags from a devout company or something?
You know, people would be up in arms if a Darwin fish was stamped on their shopping bags. I don't really care about people's personal faith--it's all fine with me as long as you're rational when you come around. But I don't like feeling that my dollars went to possibly support a big televangelist project or something.
Wow, the Gadzooks here is for nothing but tweens. And, their clothing selection screams that fact at you lound and clear. Not that I'm stereotyping their "cutomer base," but I certainly don't picture them as appreciative of proselytizing.
Being from Atlanta, I can take you to the exact place that was Truitt Cathy's first restaurant. I grew up knowing that he was a good christian. I've never let that stop me from enjoying the number one combo. It is the best prepared fast food that I know of, and I'm willing to spend the money on good food no matter whose god benefits. And if you've never been to a Dwarf House, well . . .
The proselytizing was subtle. A few symbols on the bottom of the bag. But if they're "devout", I bet a portion of their sales goes to support religious projects, and if I want to give charity, I've got my own things. And organized religion AIN'T one of them. My bet is they never answer my email.
Samuel, Dwarf House sounds higly politically incorrect. What is it anyway?
Mmmm...Nothing says Christian like child labor.
I also saw the statement on the bottom of the bag, and wondered if anyone else noticed.
Googling led me to your sight, and wow, I can't believe the hate that's on this page.. What's so wrong with a small bible verse reference on the bottom of a shopping bag? It doesn't mean that your money is funding religious endeavors...maybe it is a verse that provides some people with hope. By making it small and on the bottom of the bag, they are not forcing it down your throat. It might make you not want to shop there, but it makes me want to shop there even more. God Bless.
Yawn.
You know, I'll repeat myself just for you, although I don't normally acknowledge cowardly anonymous comments. If there were a Darwin fish on the bottom of that bag, would you still feel the same way?
My guess is no. My guess is that you would feel it was being subtly pushed on you and that potentially a portion of your dollars went to support something you didn't stand for.
I feel the same way about having bible messages sprung on me. If they *meant* it, anon, they wouldn't have to hide it on the bottom of the bag.
it's on mine too!!
wow
maybe we win a bible or something!
It's on my bag too
do I win a free bible????
Look. I dont usually leave random comments on blogs but this is going to far.One little bible verse isn't that big of a deal. If youve got a problem with it then dont look at the bottom of the bag! If you like the clothes and you dont agree with the "message" then dont look at the bottom of the bag!
Julie, if a person doesn't know it's there, how do they know to ignore it? How do they know to not buy the clothes if they don't know they're supporting an agenda they clearly haven't been told about upfront?
Again, if this were going to secular humanist organizations or atheist orgs or to evolutionary research, would people just shrug it off and say "Just ignore it?" I think you and I both know that's not true.
I've happily ignored them for over three years now, once I realized that my money was being secretly used to promote an agenda I'm not on par with.
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