Voter activists object to 'old people' slogan; designer says 'lighten up'
11:11 PM CST on Thursday, February 26, 2004
Not far from the "Beer – it's what's for dinner" T-shirts at Urban Outfitters is a jersey that's rocking voter outreach efforts. "Voting is for Old People," says the red, white and blue retro shirt. Although the funky Philadelphia-based store describes the baseball-style shirt as ironic, groups that are trying to get out the vote aren't amused. They say a store that caters to kids should tell its customers that voting is cool. "A lot of people are trying to explain to kids why it's important to vote," said Scott Goodstein, political director of Punkvoter.com, a grass-roots group aiming to turn punk rock fans into a political force that can defeat President Bush. "What value is this adding to society?" None, said John Keddie, the 25-year-old Californian who designed the shirt. And that's the point. "Basically, we did the shirt because we thought it was funny," he said. "We think about what uptight people would feel a little uncomfortable with, and we go with that." While Urban Outfitters is touting the T-shirt's "pinch of irony," it's drawn fire from some and inspired a competing Web site selling copycat "Voting is for all people!" shirts. Rocker Al Jourgensen of the band Ministry fired off a letter to Richard Hayne, Urban Outfitters chairman and president. In it, the Grammy-nominated artist deemed the $28 shirt "an anti-American abomination." "Your T-shirt design is knowingly irresponsible," Mr. Jourgensen wrote. "It is a disgusting effort to reap profit from cynicism while suppressing civic involvement and encouraging apathy, not to mention referring to our senior citizens as old people." Russell Simmons, founder of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, also has criticized the chain for selling the shirt. Urban Outfitters has released a brief statement, saying that the jersey was never intended to be "an anti-voting T-shirt." "We are a company primarily made up of young men and women who are every bit as concerned with the future of this country as any other individual," the statement said. "We clearly never intended to discourage anyone from actually voting." Mr. Goodstein of Punkvoter .com remained unconvinced, saying that the store is subtly undermining voter education efforts. The store, though, isn't known for being politically correct. At the Dallas Urban Outfitters in Mockingbird Station, a stack of the voting shirts sits among other retro tees, some proclaiming "Everything is bigger in Texas" and "Cowboys make better lovers." Last month, a T-shirt emblazoned with dollar signs and the message, "Everyone loves a Jewish Girl," was pulled from stores across the country after complaints rolled in from the Anti-Defamation League and others. And Urban Outfitters' decision to sell a Monopoly knockoff dubbed Ghettopoly was roundly criticized last year before sales were halted. Mr. Keddie said his T-shirts often touch a nerve but should be taken lightly. He sold the voting shirt on his Web site, vintagevantage .com, for several months before Urban Outfitters bought the design. He said his critics should "lighten up." "They're missing the irony of this," he said. "This has done nothing but raise awareness of young people and voting." E-mail cmccain@dallasnews.com
