blather_crush ARR are you TOUGH ENOUGH to handle being CRUSHED on blather? 030124 ... jane wait, are you talking about crushes or crazy wrestling shit? 030124 ... ARR Does it really matter? 030124 ... jane ah, whatever 030124 ... sara minnesota chris 030125 ... thats cute aww 030127 ... god orange cruch, krush groove, can crusher,crush all boxes 030128 ... god am i daed yet? 030128 ... splat splat. (I'm narcissistic) 030128 ... screwing for virginity eyedream and nomme 030811 ... silentbob i have one on you 030811 ... nomme caught between moving walls clawing at the floor with hands with teeth gnawing with feet aggressively desperate to run to stop running to turn and see nothing capture everything banging on the ceiling jumping up and down screaming let_me_out let me out let me out let_me_go let_me_in let_me_be unable to know the door where it stands too sensitive to feel my way through the crevices too jostled to mess with frightened by conclusions startled by words a page in a manuscript a face you were reading a song you learned as a child someone you never knew somebody you had forgotten --- sfv, thanks for making me smile today and all the times i never mentioned before now and peace to all 030812 ... silent storm mahayana 030813 ... Mahayana it had always been you i always knew that if we would talk that there would be something there [and there was | and there is] 031201 ... Mahayana you certainly did crush me, my love [i still cannot believe you could do something like that to me]: i thought i knew you 040726 ... newme nobody knows blather_crushes it certainly does and i certainly do have a few crushes but i ain't gonna tell nope no surrey bob 040726 ... newme yeah yeah i think i have a crush on blather 040726 ... tooshytotellyou i have a crush its very embarrassing crushing on the net, but i'll tell you who it is anyway. hello smurfus rex i am crushing on YOU 041204 ... smurfus rex woot! 2 for 1, too...crusher + secret admirer = secret crusher! In the words of the Nutty Professor: "Why, thank you, Ms. Purdy, I'm fattered...uh, *flattered*." don't be shy ;) 041205 ... tooshytotellyou oooooooo im having to restrain the way i normally post so that you dont guess who i am... ah this is so hard. just let me say this, mr. rex - you're really inspiring and intelligent, and the thing i go for in guys is intelligence, i can't stand moronic people. now you know that somebody has a crush on you but i am FAR too shy to tell you who i am... happy hunting 041205 ... smurfus rex hmm, a challenge... ordinarily, I'd say I'm no good at hunting without a scope, but this is... ...intriguing. (not even a hint?) 041205 ... Lila Pause The masochist within just adores kx21. But I have a feeling he goes more for brick walls =( 041205 ... Syrope you used to get hard just reading these. i still find that endlessly amusing. 041205 ... tooshytotellyou lol i cant hint, i'll end up being too obvious... you've spoken to me on here. other than this blathe i mean. 041205 ... tooshytotellyou mr. rex have you ever had a blather crush? 041206 ... unhinged you say you would cuddle me but the sad reality of it is that you can't that even if you could there would still be distance between us cause that's how i always am 041206 ... stork daddy distance. there's not much you can do but start moving and hope that the distance does not move. the journey of a thousand miles starts with the single step you know. 041206 ... i know my friend has/had? a crush on minnesota_chris that she wouldn't let me blurt out. 041206 ... smurfus rex I had one briefly, too_shy, and I wouldn't say it went away, it just evolved into...I don't know what. Familiarity, but not. Admiration, but not. That feeling that makes you say, "hey, don't you mess with her. She's cool, so back the fuck off or we'll be having words..." Know what I mean? I try to keep it from going anywhere other than that. And I'm not going to say who. You're not the only one who's too shy to tell...:) 041207 ... too_shy hey smurfus.... been a while since i bothered you... howz things? 050121 ... smurfus rex now this is just weird. I was thinking about this blathe today and who you might could be, too_shy. Yep, right there on the up escalator by Abercrombie and Fitch... how are things? well, in two weeks, I'll be running the show. my boss is transferring to another mall, which leaves me to take up the reins. we'll see how it goes. how are things in your world? when are you going to be less shy? :) 050121 ... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Join forces and let A&F know that we will not tolerate racial jabs at Asian Americans. Sign our petition to boycott Abercrombie & Fitch clothing. Send a message that they cannot ignore - a hit to the wallet! The rally is over!! It was an amazing success with over 150 protestors, 7 policemen, the entire front of AF and both sides of the street covered at its height! We made news on every channel, making the top story for KOMO News. In every paper, both English and Chinese. We ask that if you were at the rally, PLEASE SEND US EMAIL so we can keep you updated. If you have home video or pictures you would like to donate, please email as well. Thank you for supporting our efforts! Keep the petition strong! In Unity. Please keep it respectable. What we plan to do with the petition?The goal of boycott-AF.com in collecting signatures is to show Abercrombie & Fitch, along with other companies and America, the collective power of the Asian American community along with those that support its cause. The vision is to release the full petition with names, comments and indication of whether or not the signatures are from a college student (their largest consumer group). Given a positive response, it can then be illustrated how our opinions are important for them to be conscious of for financial reasons. In simple terms, we're not going to buy your product if you do us wrong. Hopefully, this opens the eyes of many companies to the impact we have on their business and may even encourage them to specifically target us with positive advertisements to gain our loyalty. Unified List of Demands 1. Permanently remove the entire line of offensive "Asian" T-shirts. 2. Publish a public apology from CEO Michael S. Jeffries in the form of a one-page advertisement in all major newspapers. Post this apology in all Abercrombie and Fitch stores, the main page of the website, and the next issue of the quarterly catalogue. 3. Restore public image and mend relationship with the Asian Pacific American community and consumers through increasing philanthropy and investment in the Asian Pacific American community. In addition, we request that Abercrombie and Fitch work with us to create and hire a new consultant team to ensure sensitivity to minority issues. 4. Develop an educational and advertisement campaign with positive images of Asian Pacific Americans and other people of color. This campaign should promote the diversity of our nation and encourage understanding of diverse cultures and histories. (An example is Timberland's "Give Racism the Boot" advertisement campaign.) 5. Encourage consumers to return "Asian" T-shirts and guarantee unconditional refund with incentives (ie. vouchers or discount on future purchases). 6. Implement and improve diversity training for all employees and diversify minority representation in its workforce. While the company might complain that these demands are excessive, one should note that the design of the shirts and the company's insensitivity are truly extraordinary. What Else Can I Do? Email the District Managers of A&F: NORTHEAST: liz_agnew@abercrombie.com SOUTHEAST: mark_sarajian@abercrombie.com MIDWEST/WEST: peter_nagle@abercrombie.com CHICAGO: greg_wynne@abercrombie.com SAN FRANCISCO: janelle_homer@abercrombie.com Call 1-800-432-0888. The customer service rep will tell you to WRITE via regular mail... Mr. Tom Goulet, Customer Service Manager Abercrombie & Fitch 6301 Fitch Path New Albany, OH 43054 (614) 283-6500 (614) 283-8977 FAX --- give them your 2 cents Send a FEEDBACK RESPONSE on their website HERE and do as they ask: "Tell us what you really think..." Can't think of anything to say? Use our letter: To Abercrombie and Fitch from a lost customer: I was highly disturbed after seeing your latest line of graphic Tees with cartoons ridiculing Asian Americans. I would like to think that in this time and age we, as Americans, have overcome such immature and intolerant displays. I am ashamed and angry that Abercrombie & Fitch, a company I once held in high esteem, would stoop so low as to rely on racial stereotypes to sell T-shirts. I hope that you not only change whatever company climate allowed those products to be released in the first place, but also show that you are sincerely sorry by helping Asian American non-profits, or maybe having Asian men AND women in your marketing. Sincerely, What organizations are saying: Organization of Chinese Americans, National Office April 18, 2002 Contact: Christine Chen, 202-223-5500 www.ocanatl.org Washington, DC - The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national nonprofit Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights and education group is outraged with t-shirts created by retailer Abercrombie and Fitch Company that display demeaning and degrading, stereotypical Asian images and word plays. Slanted eyes, rice paddy straw hats, and images of subservient workers, are simply a few of the printed designs on this series of six t-shirts. The statement, "Two Wongs can make it white," makes fun of Asian accents and questions the ability of Asians to pronounce "Rs". Also, the statement "eat in or wok out" instead of the correct spelling of "walk" is another reference to the stereotypical belief that all Asian people own fast food Chinese restaurants and have English literacy problems. Other statements and images on these T-shirts trivialize religion through phrases such as "Buddha Bash, Get Your Buddha on the Floor." One shirt portrays an Asian woman in a stereotypical subservient manner similar to the Cameron pin-up, which was historically painted on war planes during WWII. According to retailer Abercrombie and Fitch, Company, the new line of t-shirts was supposed to appeal to the emerging Asian Pacific American market with an estimated buying power of over $250 billion. The retailer targets youth in their teen to college years, and utilizes marketing strategies focused on contemporary styles that complement the "classic American lifestyle." "Unfortunately, in this case, the American lifestyle is neither reflected nor complemented. This new generation of consumers is not interested in wearing pieces of clothing that ridicule Asian Pacific Americans. Instead, angry complaints, phone calls, and e-mail campaigns spread like wildfire among APA students, community members and leaders nationwide, as well as other consumers of various backgrounds who were equally as offended," said George M. Ong, OCA National President. The OCA National Office was flooded with hundreds of inquiries requesting guidance how to mobilize around this issue. Asian Pacific Americans will not remain silent on this issue." "In our conversations with Abercrombie and Fitch representatives, we underscored the tremendous outrage of the Asian Pacific American community. We will continue to coordinate a national campaign with APA student leaders and community organizations to ensure that this kind of blatant and racist material is not tolerated," stated Christine Chen, OCA Executive Director. "These racist images were meant to be a parody, and the Asian Pacific American community takes offense that a corporation would use common stereotypes for cheap laughs and profit. Our community has made huge strides in the struggle for equality, but sadly, these derogatory t-shirts use of these images devalues our progress, and are evidence of the racial ignorance that still exists in this country. We still have so much further to go." After several discussions with Abercrombie and Fitch, OCA was assured by company spokesperson Mr. Hampton Carney, that they would pull this series of offensive t-shirts out of all 311 stores nationwide. In this instance, Abercrombie and Fitch seems to have recognized its mistake, but it must assure the Asian Pacific American community that it will change its corporate climate so that these types of blunders will not persist. As we head into May and prepare for the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, OCA will be asking Abercrombie and Fitch for a follow-up meeting to discuss how the company might implement specific strategies such as diversity and cultural sensitivity training for the workforce, establishing a company policy regarding the use of racial stereotypes and the use of Asian Pacific American marketing firms who know and understand the community. By appropriately investing their resources, and taking steps to understand the Asian Pacific American community, corporations can prevent costly mistakes like this from occurring again. OCA continues to urge community members to visit the Abercrombie and Fitch stores to ensure that all the derogatory merchandise has been removed and use your voice to express your concerns to the local stores and to the Abercrombie and Fitch national headquarters at: 1-800-432-0888 (customer service) 1-614-283-6500 (corporate) or write to: Michael S. Jeffries, CEO Abercrombie & Fitch 6301 Fitch Path New Albany, OH 43054 abercrombie@abercrombie.com In addition, all concerned consumers should continue to express opinions and concerns to local media outlets by submitting editorials. You can also initiate dialogue or group discussions around this issue with your friends and family to make sure that our community has a historical perspective on why these images are derogatory and hurtful and have no place in our society. 80-20 Initiative Asian Pacific American college students and young professionals e-mailed 80-20 asking it to take action. They were outraged because Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an upscale retailer, put out a new line of 4 T-shirts with derogatory portrayals of Asians. 80-20 called Michael Jeffries, Chairman and CEO of A&F this morning. Two hours later, an executive with A&F responded to 80-20 by saying that those $25 T-shirts have been taken off the market. 80-20 wants to THANK all who e-mailed and assisted 80-20 in this matter. It also wants to applaud those who have already communicated their displeasure with A&F directly. Although 80-20 found those T-shirts offensive, it wants to commend Abercrombie & Fitch for its swift action in realizing its insensitivity and pulling the products immediately. For those who want to know the events leading to this happy ending, here is a brief description. One of A&F's new T-shirts depicts Asians with slanted eyes and conical hats. The T-shirt, with two Asian men at ``Wong Brothers Laundry Service,'' carries the logo: ``Two Wongs Can Make It White.'' Another T-shirt, called``Buddha Bash'' has a smiling Buddha figure with the logo: ``Get Your Buddha On The Floor.'' [Pictures of the two T-shirts are available at: http://www.80-20initiative.net/tshirts.html , if you want to view them. The pictures will be deleted in a week.] APA youths began e-mailing 80-20 on Wednesday asking 80-20 to take action. 80-20 investigated the matter and decided to take action. At 10:50 a.m. this morning (Thursday), 80-20 president S. B. Woo called A&F Chairman and CEO Michael Jeffries. Mr. Jefferies was out of his office, so Woo left a message expressing the wish for A&F to withdraw the products. He also requested a call back. About two hours later, at 1:12 p.m., Mr. Seth Johnson, an executive with A&F called back. He said that he was calling on behalf of Mr. Jeffries who was not in town. He said that the products have been pulled off the market, emphasizing however that the T-shirts were meant to add humor, without intending to offend anyone. A&F is issuing a press release to the Associated Press regarding the withdrawal of the T-shirts. A HAPPY ENDING! Reactions from other organizations. A Call to Respond www.boycottAF.com www.naascon.org 050122 ... smurfus rex somehow, I sense that the author of the above post intended to make a separate page for it. unless, of course, I'm completely oblivious to the connection between a boycott of Abercrombie and blather crushes... 050122 ... Well I guess I The presence of this diatribe interposed rather jarringly at the intersection of some pretty clever exchanges, and its tenuous relevance to its preceding post I will not contest, it was regretfully the compelling pull of impulse, almost as compellingly profound as that lower intestinal drag that arises out of the quiesence of placid blue sky and in one long herculean and cathartic endeavor (that equalizer among all men races and classes) releases us from its clench. The mere mention of Abercrombie and Fitch (congrats on your imminent promotion no irony intended - what's that none taken? I need funnier stuff, visceral belly quaking asides are really what I need to top this digression off)pierced this unwieldy postule of bitter resentment I've been hoarding against Abercrombie and Fitch, the new commissars of culture and style. ain't anonymous no more (...) 050123 ... too_shy i think somebody's been posting shit on this page. as well as me, of course. and i think that somebody with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliaphobia would have a hard time reading the previous post. but i digress. things are good with me, mostly. recent drunken parties and amusingly raunchy dancing aside, life's been a little on the quiet side. every time i post on this blathe i feel i'm taking a delicious risk. however.... i have altered the way that i write and the manner in which i deliver each blathe to cover up more any tell-tale signs, so i think that i've preserved my identity for a while longer. i wonder if you're having as much fun as i am with this. i'm (quite sadly) nervous but my curiosity and desire to talk to you is overcoming it. and to interrupt myself, i realise that the post above mine is impersonating me. took a while but there you go. hey you. how dare you impersonate somebody anonymous? that's really quite ridiculous and it is amusing because of this, but the fact remains that you're ruining my conversation here. it is rather rude to interrupt someone and then pretend to be them. i'm sure you understand. back to my monologue here; way to go on the job, mr. rex, i think you'll do fine. i think this is enough writing for now, so i'll leave you with something i'm curious to know... what do you think you know about me just from the posts i've written? 050123 ... pretty pointless by now isnt it? i didn't read your entire post but it is obvious that my impulsive and thoughtless act has caused you some discomfort. For that I apologize. Have you ever considered this, that the very words we choose to describe or acribe value and hence percieved emotional and or ego injury shape the very sting that we feel. We plait our very own crown of thorns by the very words, by the very value we choose to ascribe to them. My act though well meaning was insensitive and inappropriate and even a little arrogant. You are entirely entitled to vent, to make your point, that you are aggrieved and the source of it was my impulsive act. While standing at the edge of this exchange many mouths filled with many different musics - hearts held out in hands gnarled with the waste and effort and horror of thier many travels - and some sitting with a sinister pall that had darkened and handicapped every thought shaped in the lightless cave that holds thier agony, this is the agony of all men/women - this is the thing that hovers over every word and makes the air heavy - Earlier I was the one that spoke out of the abundance of my darkened heart. I sought an end to my ache and I stumbled upon these remarkable exchanges - and sure - I could have sat down in the cool hospitable shade those voices provided, preludes to perhaps an innocent intimacy - and let the music of the players hearts drown out the din of my ego as it rived over and over the rancor, the abject rancor I felt towards another hive minded corporate leviathon dictating an ersatz and offensive methodology of marketing an offensive product in the guise of responding to some pang of conscience or more likely the collectived outrage of several ethnic and racial groups - I let the wound become fresh again and again - the cool shade that would've extinguished the spark of enmity before it had a chance to take its' first breath. I'm tellin' you my young friend my spirit sought out a place to sit and REST - and THORN shaped from ancient nature (ya see I'm talkin' about that ADAM nature, the same ADAM nature that tried to put it on EVE, the same ADAM nature that tried to exculpate himself and use EVE as a scapegoat for his lack of impulse control, HIS lack of devotion to the very source of Unconditional LOVE ya'll. (When did this turn into a sermon? And what's with the dialect oh you of the faux epicurean speech modality?) I said that thorn that constituted my righteous indignation, my imperial sense of judgement, my imposition of a moral standard upon a system that basically said our main demoographic won't be offended, matter of fact this tactic will make our clothes more appealing - I, I Ah balled up my fist, I say I wanted to see the sails of thier ship torn by the winds of famine and death, I wanted thier hull to be breached, I wanted the fury of every aggrieved soul to collectively pummel that company into a position of humility - I did not try to look in thier eyes and see into thier soul as the spirit of empathy and equanimity does. NO NO NO NO I wanted thier immediate and complete apology. I wanted the pangs of conscience and regret to render them prostrate upon the densly carpeted floor. I said Jesus chased the money changers out of temple, John the Baptist chastised the backslidden, and lovers of religion but haters of the one true God who wanted to serve the Pharisaical order but leave God right there in the temple where He was never brought up any way. Paul read the charlatans and usurpers who tried to merge the tenents of christianity with temple of apollo and gypsy magic and pagan rights and echoes of Baal and babylonian heresy. I said swelled to almost bursting with parochial moral hubris "Let the fury that burns in my clenched fist, that is almost breaking the bone carraige that protest my heart, the fury that is tapping out a murderous tarantella against my scrubbed temples let that be melted by this companies appopriate and immediate genuflection of before...let the pangs of conscience and acquiesance to responsible representations of diversity pummel them into a contrite stupor. You guys know this all tongue in cheek right? 60hrs w/o sleep. go figure One day I will be able to soar up into the freedom of the skies, or at least maintain a serviceable verisimilitude of systematic though and argument. A quantitative criterion for blah yaddah blah cooperative communicative network blah blah hive mind ... I guess I prefer wandering mountain roads, intuiting the ground beneath me, shaping it, making up my own rules. I dream in stereo and 3D and colors I've never seen while awake, I conjure opera's and oratorios and symphonies like that guy who was lenny bernstiens favorite composer and author of his extreme emotional investment as he conducted, as he pulled the soul of the time, the composers time, the players cold mettalic vertusoso technique became infused with the zietgeist which is what is missing in some symphonic performances...conductors...cold autocratic and narcissistic - at least Muti is still able to transmit the soul of the music...wonder if he's still at La Scalia? I may never sit with the gods of the written word...but at least my rude yawp...fatigued as it is, is still grasping, still chanting at this makeshift alter... 050123 ... smurfus rex to above: you are either oldephebe, or his padawan. I don't know which. :) 050124 ... smurfus rex to too_shy: you've mentioned embarrassment twice, on this page and on too_shy, which says to me that you're usually reserved about your personal feelings, but I would guess that this is not the case when you are around trusted friends. on too_shy, you wrote that "nothing will come of this crush.... i shall watch from a distance and live with this semblance of closeness for a while." It reminded me of a conversation I had with a good friend of mine about goth themes; one of those was 'wanting something that you can never have and being unable to do anything about it'. I suspect you've been down this road before. just before that, you mentioned that I had millions of people to choose from on blather and that your chances of being found out were very small. This hints to me that sometimes you feel lost in the crowd and occasionally look for some way to stand out from it, to be noticed. Blather is just words, so in order to stand out, you have "to restrain the way i normally post so that you dont guess who i am..." and just after that, you say "the thing i go for in guys is intelligence, i can't stand moronic people." I expect that you yourself are also quite bright, well-read, and probably well-traveled. You like to discover and explore, which probably helped draw you to blather, and sometimes you turn that explorer inward, so you write a lot. Poetry, no doubt, short stories, maybe even a novel in progress. How many notebooks and journals do you have hidden in your room? then in too_shy, you say "ah i shan't be giving you any more clues then...." which suggests to me that you are either a resident of the UK or you have a great interest in the culture and style of Britain (perhaps Monty Python?). But the crib I needed for the code, the chink in the armor, the edge piece of the jigsaw that I was looking for came from your use of "howz", which is quite distinctive. The trail begins there. So, since "suspicions aren't proof" (too_shy again), I will follow this trail and see if I can find your email address. Then, you will see if I'm right or not. :) 050124 ... too_shy i'm truly amazed by your deductions.... i can tell you that some of it is true. some of it isn't, but we'll deal with that some other time. i like to write, i have several journals and pages crammed with ideas and poems. 99% of the stuff is annoyingly stereotypical writing, but the odd page or phrase, poem or word, is truly inspired. blather is a way to continue with this. unfortunately, the chink you perceived isn't actually a chink....more of a decoy. i'm taking this too seriously, i know, but like you said, i am quite a shy person with people that i don't know well. i should really apologise for that misleading word...sorry about that. i'm going to great lengths to conceal my normal writing techniques. this includes writing in all small case letters and using a mix of american and british words and spellings to confuse you. you never know.....i may be french, german, spanish, italian. maybe i'm swedish? good luck with finding more clues. i feel odd leading you round like this, so i wonder what you think from this post. also...i'm hoping you know my gender. . 050127 ... not_shy_enough Ah, love billowing about! 050127 ... what does uhhhhhhh padawan mean? 050127 ... smurfus rex to above: apparently, you're not a Star Wars fan. Please forgive my presumptiousness. A padawan in the Star Wars world is a student of a Jedi. to too_shy: from the sound of your last post, my calculations may have been a bit off. Tell me, did you receive an email with just the word "bingo" in the message? 050127 ... iNsEcUrE_GoTh_GiRl well i don't think too_shy did because i did. 050128 ... smurfus rex *cringe* *writhe* *die* 050129 ... not_shy_enough hee hee hee! a misfire! 050129 ... too_shy SMURFUS i haven't been around for a while. it's pretty bad right now for me, but i'm not writing about that. i just wanted to say.... it was fun giving you clues to my identity, and i do in fact really respect and admire you... ...but i think the time has come to end this. blather crushes... amusing but it's not like it would go anywhere. i want to thank you for playing along, and i hope that you had fun too. know that you made an impression on somebody's life. thanks smurfus. goodbye, and i hope you have a great life. x 050317 ... milo likes el piso mojado 050317 ... smurfus rex Thank you for hosting the game (as it were), x. It was maddening at times, but not unpleasant. I am disappointed that I didn't figure you out first, but as is often the case, "all good things must come to an end"... I have to say, too, that there seems to me to be a concerning finality to your farewell...if it's not too much to ask, look me up on email. I'm curious now how things are going for you offline. 050318 ... minnesota_chris mmm, I wanna daxle sandwich. Me, daxle, and ummm... something else for like the third thing. 050318 ... smurfus rex strawberry jam, maybe, chris? :) 050318 ... minnesota_chris I keep looking at this page thinking "oh I hope she didn't respond, I hope she didn't respond..." 050319 ... smurfus rex Didn't expect to find this one on my random journey :) Wish I had figured out who too_shy was... 181126 what's it to you? who go blather from