The novelty item looks like a children's game but has a magnetized figure of Jesus on the cross, clad in underwear, with interchangeable outfits such as a devil costume, a skull T-shirt and a hula skirt, reports WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
"I did a double take. It just seemed unbelievable to see something like that," Gerry, a man who would not give his last name, told the station.
Gerry came upon the dress-up Jesus at an Urban Outfitters store at the King Of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania.
"I basically stood there speechless," Gerry said.
He e-mailed the company, complaining the item is in horrible taste.
In reply, Urban Outfitters said it doesn't sell the item to provoke or offend people, but to reflect a diversity of opinion among its customer base.
The company also sells shirts and hats bearing messages such as "Jesus is My Homeboy" and "My Other Jesus is a Camaro."
The national chain Urban Outfitters is selling a dress-up Jesus figure that has outraged customers.
The company is lying, of course. It does sell the item to offend people, but those people are not in its customer base, which is not very diverse.
Why doesn't the company also sell a "dress-up nigger, hung from a tree clad in underwear, with interchangeable outfits such as a jungle skirt, a Klan robe, and a "I love white girls" T-shirt?"
Three answers suggest themselves. First, such an item would probably be offensive to the people who run Urban Outfitters and to their employees, and they'd consider it in poor taste---rightly, of course. Second, it would attract unfavorable media attention, protests by African-Americans, and perhaps even violence. Third, it wouldn't sell.
Think about that third reason. It is good that no company of any importance (or perhaps any company period?) thinks there are enough customers out there to make selling a lynching doll profitable. But it is bad that a national company like Urban Outfitters does think there are enough customers out there to make selling a blasphemy doll profitable.
Perhaps there is a theological point to be made too. There are no doubt many people who would like to crucify Jesus today if he appeared again. There are many many more who would stand by tut-tutting but doing nothing (see my March 18 post on Stalinism). And there are even more of us---and I am perhaps in this category-- who would want to stop it but be too polite, cowardly, and lazy to do so.
[in full at 04.03.24a.htm ]
To return to Eric Rasmusen's weblog, click http://php.indiana.edu/~erasmuse/w/0.rasmusen.htm.