Say What? French Tag Slams President, Company Says It Had No Idea

NBC 5 Chicago ^ | April 7, 2004 | NBC 5 Chicago

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

CHICAGO -- A hidden message that appears to be slamming President George W. Bush has been discovered in a very strange place.

A message inside some bags and backpacks takes a dig at an unidentified president -- but you have to know the secret language to understand it.

Those who look closely at washing instructions inside Tom Bihn portable culture bags and backpacks, it reads, "We are sorry that our president is an idiot. We didn't vote for him."

Why hasn't this caused more of an uproar? Because the message is written in French. Company officials claim they had no idea what the tags said because of the language in which it was written, NBC5 reported.

"No I didn't have any idea and I wouldn't because I am not in the manufacturing side of things," said Sungra Rose, a spokeswoman for the company. "Now, I just look at it and say, 'OK, there is the logo and made in Port Angeles and all of that, so I really never read through it."

The company says it has a few hundred tags left to use up, and then they will have them re-designed.

The Tom Bihn Web site claims the message was "an inside joke among seamstresses and staff" at the company's factory, and that it was "intended to poke fun at company's founder and president."

Tom Bihn, the President of Tom Bihn, Inc., issued the following statement:

"I am terribly sorry that this inside joke has been misconstrued to be a slur on any other president. The joke is on me, and I think it's funny."

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

The offending label:

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[anniegetyourgun]

If it's in French, how do we know this isn't a slam at Chirac?

[Eala]

The Tom Bihn Web site claims the message was "an inside joke among seamstresses and staff" at the company's factory, and that it was "intended to poke fun at company's founder and president."

So the staff of Tom Bihn, Inc. elected Tom Bihn to be company president? Tell me another...

[quidnunc]

The Tom Bihn Web site claims the message was "an inside joke among seamstresses and staff" at the company's factory, and that it was "intended to poke fun at company's founder and president."

They lie like dogs.

[Eala]

made in Port Angeles

Port Angeles (WA) is not, I think, a locale known for being conservative... (but I could be wrong).

[thoughtomator]

Well, says they didn't vote for him... which could reasonably apply to the company president. Alternatively, the message being in French, it could also reasonably apply to Chiraq's stooge-of-the-moment.

[socal_parrot]

This humor from the country that thinks Jerry Lewis is a comic God.

[lilylangtree]

The head of quality control of the company should be fired. That's his/her job.

[socal_parrot]

Oops, I left out "in the language of".

[Eala]

Fair enough, but the statement carries the implication that they could have voted for him. But it was interesting to visit the Tom Binh website and find the local (Seattle & WA) aspect of this...

[Dilbert56]

I AM sorry France's president is an idiot.

[TheDon]

That was my first thought too.

[syriacus]

About us TOM BiHN

Tom Bihn: P-DG (Président-Directeur Général)
[snip]

Listening to at work: La Bottine Souriante, Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer

Link: Robert Fisk

Idea: call the White House - 202 456 1111

[Eala]

This humor from the country that thinks Jerry Lewis is a comic God.

Is there a connection to France (other than the language, also spoken in Canada) not given in the article?

[mtbopfuyn]

Poor business practice to continue to use the tags instead of pulling them no matter who the intended slamee.

[socal_parrot]

I don't think so. But we could start a rumor.

[Army Air Corps]

Chirac is not an idiot, just a lying, sniveling, backstabbing wiffenpoof and poltroon. An idiot does goofy things because they do not have the sense to know better. Chirac does what he does as the result of planned, methodical maliciousness and outrageous ego.

[quidnunc]

The Tom Bihn "About us" page links to Robert Fisk's (yes, the America-hating Robert Fisk) home page.

You can email Tom Bihn at inquiries@tombihn.com

[quidnunc]

thoughtomator wrote: Well, says they didn't vote for him... which could reasonably apply to the company president. Alternatively, the message being in French, it could also reasonably apply to Chiraq's stooge-of-the-moment.

The export stuff to Canada.

That's why the tags are in French.