Zara removes striped pyjamas with yellow star following online outrage

[DanTex]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/27/zara-removes-striped-pyjamas-with-yellow-star-following-online-outrage

Who can be enough of an idiot to design kids' pajamas like this? Assuming it's an honest mistake, that is.

[el_bryanto]

1. Assuming it's an honest mistake - maybe it's a Sheriff Convict playset?

"Yes your kids will have minutes of fun pretending to be a Sheriff, imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, only to rise through the prison system to be . . . . Sheriff Convict!"

yeah I don't know that it's an honest mistake.

Bryant

[Octafish]

2. Honest Mistake.

Like the time the United States invaded a country and tortured kids for profit.

[msanthrope]

5. Do you deny that Jews were victims of the Holocaust? nt

[msanthrope]

10. You don't have to reminded of it? Apparently you do. nt

[joeybee12]

18. Yes, you do...nt

[moriah]

21. If you conflate the two, yes, you do.

And anyone who thinks the Nazi persecution of the Jews justifies what's happening now with I/P also does, so you're not alone.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

50. There it is!

[msanthrope]

61. Didn't take long, did it? You know, I do this for a living...cross people and just let them talk.nt

[leftynyc]

53. What the fuck

does this yellow star on pajamas have to do with the Palestinians?

[msanthrope]

60. Kindly explain how the Palestinians are involved in the pajamas matter? nt

[pnwmom]

29. Do you deny that the star has the word "Sheriff" printed on it?

[LanternWaste]

32. A prominent yellow star on a striped uniform clearly screams "sheriff"

A prominent yellow star on a striped uniform clearly screams "sheriff"

[pnwmom]

33. No, the word Sheriff screams Sheriff. n/t

[LanternWaste]

35. The one doesn't deny the other....

The one doesn't deny the other.... regardless of how its innocence may be rationalized.

[moriah]

38. Maybe if the word had been in black or dark blue on the gold.

Instead, it's hard to see from a distance and embroidered or something from what I can tell -- it's translucent and the striping shows through.

From a distance, it looks like a really tasteless Halloween costume, and if I had a picture of me in that from my childhood I'd ask my family why, why, why? Think of the children!

[pnwmom]

40. I agree it was an oversight and should have been corrected. But I disagree with the OP's

implication that it might have been done deliberately.

The designer was probably some young person without much historical knowledge.

[tammywammy]

6. "victimhood"? n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

11. I have a movie recommendation for you.

It's from 2008. You can probably find it on Netflix. Watch it and then talk about victimhood again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_in_the_Striped_Pyjamas_%28film%29

[rurallib]

36. read that with my mentees one summer

those PJs made me think of the book immediately.

[Violet_Crumble]

49. That's the first thing I thought of as well

That movie was so heartbreaking.

It's good that Zara pulled those jammies but even better would have been if whoever designed them had noticed the bleeding obvious before they got past the design stage

[Gormy Cuss]

58. This same company pulled an item a few years back because the design looked like swastikas.

Once is an accident, twice is still deficient oversight. If it happens a third time, it's a pattern.

[JustAnotherGen]

51. Ditto this

And read the book first for the full impact.

[moriah]

17. Striped pajamas are more associated with prisoners, not sheriffs.

Maybe a bright blue onesie or something, and more distinctive lettering on the badge.

[Codeine]

25. Your posting history is ugly and bigoted.

People like you make DU suck even as our better posters leave for other pastures. Please go away. Your point of view is shameful and embarrassing.

[leftynyc]

54. +1000

[Sheldon Cooper]

28. Are you referring to The Sheriff Star of David?

There was a David in the Old Testament, but I'm pretty sure he was not a sheriff?

FYI: a six-pointed, yellow star on a striped pajama shirt does NOT conjure up images of the old American West, at least not for most people.

[pnwmom]

30. Except the star has the word Sheriff printed on it. n/t

[Sheldon Cooper]

34. Yep, and all the sheriffs in the Old West ran around in striped pajama tops.

How silly of me to forget! If people can't acknowledge how amazingly inappropriate this particular item is, there's nothing more I can say. I'll just shake my head and walk away.

[unblock]

39. and i suppose a swastika is just a nice geometric pattern?

or, puleeze, it's just a post with a bar across it, ablaze. why do people have to always remind us of the klan, for goodness sake. my gawd.

[sibelian]

46. You're not fucking kidding.

Fucking RIDICULOUS.

Items of clothing are not somehow BAD. What the incredible FUCK?

[leftynyc]

52. And the confederate flag

is a symbol of southern culture and pride and the swastica is an old Indian symbol. I'm betting you're not whining about victimhood in either of those cases. A YELLOW (on striped pajamas, no less) star has a very dark history and if the designer didn't do it on purpose he/she is a complete and utter imbecile. IMO your posting history is an embarrassment to this entire community. Go ahead and alert. I'll wear it with pride.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. You Weren't Kidding

I was expecting this to be satire when i read the title of your post. How incredibly dumb.

[Nye Bevan]

7. Weird. Granted, the star has the word "sheriff" on it,

but I'm pretty sure sheriffs do not tend to wear their stars on their pajamas. The most charitable explanation for this would be extreme ignorance. A less charitable explanation would be that it is a horribly sick joke.

[Cleita]

16. Also. Isn't the sheriff's star a five pointed star not a six pointed one like

The Star of David?

[csziggy]

19. Both five and six pointed stars are used

https://www.google.com/search?q=sheriff+badge&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch

I was surprised - I also thought mostly five pointed stars were the standard.

Of course, the designers of those pajamas could have stopped all chance of controversy by using a badge shape rather than any sort of star.

[Cleita]

20. That would have been much better. eom

[Chan790]

31. Also, 7-pointed stars.

SFPD uses a 7-pointed star and AFAIK always has.

I have no idea why, but it's distinctive.

[gollygee]

44. If you google "sheriff star" you find a ton of six-pointed stars

but that doesn't excuse it, especially when you take into account that they also made a handbag with swastikas on it. Both of those aren't mistakes. I just don't buy they did the one, and then also did the other, both times unintentionally.

[Downwinder]

8. Maybe with a five pointed Texas star.

[moriah]

22. Then people would have been saying it was Satanic. ;)

I like the other badge posted.

[jwirr]

14. This is horrifying. If they wanted it to resemble a badge they could have used another form.

[sibelian]

47. It's not "horrifying".

It is an item of clothing.

I think it's time we all stopped thinking in nebulous fuzzy symbols and started thinking in terms of what things ARE, don't you?

[Ms. Toad]

15. My first reaction was that it was a sheriff's star

because of the balls on the end of the star.

But I can also see that it looks like the holocaust star - and I am glad they pulled the product.

My point is - when it was pointed out to them, they did the right thing. The snark about being an "idiot" and "assuming it's an honest mistake" aren't necessary in response to someone making a mistake and having it pointed out to them. Would you rather they had dug their heels in? Reactions which continue to people who have acknowledged the mistake make it less likely that they will bother next time if all they get is more criticism.

[Behind the Aegis]

23. Perhaps more than subliminal messaging?

I did enjoy the defense remarks. Predictable.

[Lurks Often]

24. Someone who never learned about WWII & The Holocaust

[JI7]

41. more likely someone who did

[trumad]

26. unreal

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UTuIKG4dwms/T9t5UJH3zbI/AAAAAAAACqg/4TzQnrH1mK0/s320/Yellow+Star+number.jpg

[Scootaloo]

27. Well, at least the stripes aren't vertical

Poorly-thought design, though

[steve2470]

37. in 2007 they had a handbag with swastikas on it.....

This is not the first time Zara has made an unfortunate design choice. In 2007, the retailer withdrew a handbag from its stories after one customer pointed out the design featured swastikas.

The innocence excuse is wearing a bit thin, methinks.

[Sheldon Cooper]

42. Whoa, really?

I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, thinking it was just an amazingly bone-headed move, but this puts things in a whole new light. The innocence excuse is very slim indeed.

[gollygee]

43. Wow. OK, one time, maybe they're stupid and slept through their history class.

But twice? No way.

[whistler162]

48. Marketing to the Hindu/NAZI demographic

I guess. Depending on how the Swastika was turned...iirc.

[leftynyc]

56. Wow - I had no idea

Looks like this designer has some real personal issues and the people defending them here (as well as trying to conflate this with the Palestinian cause) should take another look at what kind of person they're defending. Or maybe they agree with the use of this - it's very hard to tell these days.

[ladyVet]

45. The swastika shape is an ancient symbol.

It was used and corrupted by the Nazis, but it has a long religious history behind it. So do stars, of various types.

Still, mistake to use it, with such horrid connotations to be brought to mind. Same with the star. Make the pajamas a solid color, make the word sheriff more visible, and there would have been no problems.

[riversedge]

55. I think it was the

combined effect of the grey and white stripes combined with the yellow start--The imagery just jumped out with me. I am glad they withdrew the pj's.

[Inkfreak]

57. I feel like not one person was awake in that design meeting. (nt)

[LadyHawkAZ]

59. There is just no way that was an honest mistake