Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Ben Atherton-Zeman - Feminist, Actor and Husband" <>]

Success!  A Toledo, Ohio mother of a domestic murder victim asked her local 
K-Mart to remove the shirt.  The same dance happened - the manager removed it 
and was told by corporate headquarters to put it back.  The Toledo chapter of 
NOW http://www.now.org and of the Clothesline Project ;
http://www.clotheslineproject.org/ joined her in a protest the next day. ;



The protest resulted in a change in corporate policy!  With very little 
fanfare, spokeswoman Kimberly Freely (the one that never called me back and 
kept saying she respected the opinions of the shoppers but they weren't 
pulling the shirts), said they wouldn't re-order them!  



Freely, according to the Toledo Blade, said, ""We've heard and respect the 
opinions of our customers and the item is no longer available at Kmart. And 
we have no plans to reorder it."  She said Kmart had received a few 
complaints from other areas; the T-shirt was sold nationwide. But Toledo was 
the only city where she'd heard about a protest.  Maybe that is what made her 
change her mind. 
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/NEWS17/701220354
 



Interestingly enough, the Meijer store chain "immediately pulled the shirts 
from all of its stores after receiving a complaint from a customer," 
according to a spokesperson in the previous day's Blade 
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070120/NEWS03/70120001.
  "As soon as it was brought to our attention," spokeswoman Stacie Behler 
said, "we pulled the product because it is so inconsistent with our core 
values that it should never have shown up on the floor in the first place.we 
have initiated a more robust review process of the content that appears on 
our clothing to make sure it is consistent with our core values."



Now, why couldn't K-Mart have responded that way?  


Until the violence stops, Ben.  

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Acton MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: "Voices of Men," www.voicesofmen.org (video clips 
take a second to load)
Booking information: 978-263-3254

January 2007 quote:
"Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to.sexual confusion and homosexuality. 
 That's why most of the medical blame for today's rise in homosexuality must 
fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products."  
- Conservative columnist Jim Rutz, 
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327. ;