'Crazy' teddy row hits US state

[emad]

BBC

A company in the US state of Vermont has sparked controversy with a teddy bear in a straitjacket emblazoned with a love heart for Valentine's Day.

State governor Jim Douglas and mental health advocates have attacked the "Crazy for you" cuddly toy, saying it stigmatises mental illness.

But it is proving popular with shoppers, and the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. will not withdraw it from sale.

Its president said the company was "truly sorry" for any offence caused.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4219607.stm

[gorbal]

1. That Teddy is Hilarious

I think I might be a bit weirded out if someone bought it for me. Probably a good way to tell if you b-friends a stalker; keep it on the market.

[NashVegas]

7. I Think It Looks Kinda Sexy ...

[Name removed]

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[emad]

3. Do they still actually use straitjackets these days or is it the chem

cosh?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[emad]

8. So, a teddy with a syringe sticking out of his forearm and/or

leather restraints not such a cool marketing alternative to the idea in the newssnip???

[GetTheRightVote]

5. I just do not get them get upset about it anyway, sense of humor needed

:kick:

[ashling]

6. Having worked in a state run psychiatric institution

on an acute care ward where this type of restraint had to be employed all too frequently, I feel that it was, to say the least, in very bad taste.

However, the jacket could come in handy, because anybody who would spent $70 on a goddamn stuffed bear needs to be restrained for their own protection!

[NashVegas]

9. Vermond Teddy Bears $$

Some people would pay the cost of a used car for an Aga Cooker (stove).

The fact the bears are made right there in Vermont also has an appeal, in both a Norman Rockwell and a buy-American kind of way.

[Swamp Rat]

10. Straitjacket Teddy is cute, but the Commie Red Tiggers are dangerous!

:D

[mordarlar]

11. I'm crazy and i am not offended ; ) i think he is cute