American Eagle pulls an Abercrombie, tramples Hindu values

By Mayka Mei

History repeats itself, and right now America is running around in a hamster wheel of ignorance.

Perhaps you'll recall the Abercrombie and Fitch fiasco of last year with their tasteless "Two Wongs Can Make It White" t-shirts. The selling of the offensive shirts sparked nation-wide protests.

In the end, Abercrombie's primary excuse for having created the shirts was that they thought the Asian population would find the stereotypical slogans and images funny.

Well, chalk up another one for disrespect toward minorities. This time, American Eagle is the culprit, and the Hindu community is being offended.

In Hindu religion, the Lord Ganesh, the most favorable god, is an elephant. Hindus also consider shoes "dirty" and require that they be removed before entering homes or temples.

American Eagle put these two traits of Hindu faith together, and what did they get? Flip-flop sandals with Lord Ganesh elephants printed on the in-soles!

The idea is so cute. I just can't wait to slip the shoes on my feet and trample on the god of my friends' religion.

But American Eagle's genius doesn't end there. They were really keeping everyone's fashion interests in mind when they designed handbags featuring Lord Ganesh to coordinate with the shoes.

You can see him happily sitting atop a pile of peanuts (Obviously all elephants love peanuts, especially god elephants.). To the left of Lord Ganesh's head is an upside-down om symbol.

The om symbol is considered the essence of all Hindu mantras and holds as much significance as the Christian cross. Flipping a cross upside down is regarded as a sign of doom and the apocalypse.

Therefore, American Eagle designers must be a group full of skilled and experienced fortune tellers letting you, the general consumer public, know that the end of the world is coming and that it's directly connected to a cartoon version of a religious deity.

They should have just made an entire "Religion is Funny!" clothesline. I want to see shorts with Jesus' face on the rear. That would go so well with a Star of David bandana.

Fortunately, American Eagle's complete ignorance and insensitivity to the Hindu religion has not gone unnoticed. American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) brought forth their distaste with American Eagle officials and received an apology and a promise that the sandals would not be sold. (Note: The sandals, although some have been sold in the U.S., have been completely pulled off the shelves. The handbags are still available.)

"Our goal at American Eagle Outfitters is to make AE brand merchandise that is fashionable and affordable for our customers in an inclusive and equitable environment. We value diversity and respect the ideal of freedom of expression of all religious and cultural beliefs," Said Neil Burman, Jr., Vice President and General Counsel in American Eagle's formal apology.

Respect? I'm not so sure American Eagle knows the meaning of the word.

I just don't understand how, among throngs of executives and corporate officials in American Eagle's stable, no one considered the possible offense that these sandals and handbags would create.

One would think that sensitivity toward the buying public would be taught in business ethics. Repeatedly, offensive and derogatory products make it to the shelves seemingly without any forethought. If there are workshops and training sessions that address race relations among employees, shouldn't that same sensitivity and attention be paid to the products that those employees are being paid to push?

First Abercrombie and Fitch, now American Eagle. Who's next? Aeropostale? Gap? Let's keep the American fashion market on their toes and continually shock each other with complete disregard for everyone else's religious practices.

I fully understand that American Eagle may have not meant to insult or ridicule the Hindu population. The important question here is, where did the quality control go wrong?

It appears that someone along the line of American Eagle employees, from the designers who drafted the sandals and bags to the managers who chose to allow them on their stores' shelves, may be guilty of ignorance.