Need Help Freeping Cafepress.com Over Palin Slurs

Vanity | 10/03/2008 | RightFighter

[RightFighter]

I need some help, Freepers. I have been selling quite a bit of Sarah Palin-inspired merchandise through Cafepress since she was announced as John McCain's running mate. I am fully aware that there are people who do not feel the same way that we do about Sarah Palin, and I have no issue with anti-Palin merchandise being sold through Cafepress. That's a free exchange of ideas and opinions.

However, today, I was looking through the Cafepress marketplace, and I started to notice some of the vicious anti-Palin stuff that's out there. I will not print the whole quote, but there are quite a few designs that say "Sarah Palin is a _ _ _ _" (the "c" word). I guess if Cafepress allows someone to print these designs, that's one thing, but these show up in the listings of the "most relevant" when you're searching for Sarah Palin merchandise.

Take a look at the Cafepress Questionable Material and Prohibited Content Guidelines:

General Guidelines for Prohibited Content

Content that may infringe on the rights of a third a party.
Items that make inappropriate use of Nazi symbols and glamorize the actions of Hitler.
Use of marks that signify hate towards another group of people.
Hate and/or racist terms.
Inappropriate content or nudity that is not artistic in nature.
Content that exploits images or the likeness of minors.
Obscene and vulgar comments and offensive remarks that harass, threaten, defame or abuse others such as F*** (Ethnic Group).
Content that depicts violence, is obscene, abusive, fraudulent or threatening such as an image of a murder victim, morgue shots, promotion of suicide, etc.
Content that glamorize the use of "hard core" illegal substance and drugs such as a person injecting a vial of a substance in their body.
Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by CafePress.com.

The list outlined above should NOT be construed as an exhaustive list of offensive material but rather as a general guideline for you to follow.

CafePress.com will determine, in its sole and absolute discretion, whether your content is in compliance with the guidelines outlined on this page and the CafePress.com Content Usage Policy (CUP). Any content that is determined to be in the Gray Zone may be subject to removal, in accordance with CUP, the CafePress.com Terms of Service and Shopkeeper Agreement.

I wrote the following email to the Cafepress customer service team today:

Question:

I sent one email about a particular design, but in looking through the first 10-12 pages of "relevant" items for the Sarah Palin topic, I saw the following items that should ALL be pulled from the marketplace:

30150354
30479106
30472174
30483575
30483314
30207183
30211144
30174895
30173049

Please take your image guidelines seriously and pull these highly offensive items from the marketplace so that people shopping for legitimate Sarah Palin merchandise (positive or negative) don't have to see this filth in their search.

TF
Go Palin Go

Here is the response that I received this evening:

Thank you for contacting CafePress.com! As you may know, CafePress.com provides an automated service to a rich and vibrant community of individuals across the globe who differ in their views about what is considered offensive. All product images and ideas used in connection with the CafePress.com Service have been provided to CafePress.com by users and do not reflect the opinions of CafePress.com. While we don't endorse any particular position, we respect the right of individuals to express their own opinions. Thank you for bringing this content to our attention.

Your ticket code is LTK419026864119X. Please use this code in any further communication.

Best Regards,
Margene H.
Content Usage Associate
(650) 655-3104 (O)
(650) 240-0260 (F)
www.cafepress.com

[who knows what evil?]

Each election seems to get dirtier than the previous...I’d love to see her husband pound the living crap out of anyone wearing this garbage...

[beaversmom]

I was joking, but you could ask her if she would like a shirt like that about her—would that be obscene? I just did a cursory search at Cafe press of the first few Obama pages and I didn’t see one negative shirt. I’m not talking obscene, but no shirts that are even against Obama. So those shirts are either weeded out, put at the end, or no one has even thought to do an anti-Obama shirt—the last one being suspicious.

[beaversmom]

I was joking, but you could ask her if she would like a shirt like that about her—would that be obscene? I just did a cursory search at Cafe press of the first few Obama pages and I didn't see one negative shirt. I'm not talking obscene, but no shirts that are even against Obama. So those shirts are either weeded out, put at the end, or no one has even thought to do an anti-Obama shirt—the last one being suspicious.

[dsc]

Sarah Palin — Not since Ronaldus Magnus have I been able to believe that a politician meant what he said.

In the debate, she said that she cared about the small businessmen, etc., and I realized with a slight shock, “I believe she does. She’s not just saying that.”

Let the henchjerks of evil wallow in their own filth. The more they show themselves for what they are, the clearer the battle lines become.

[dsc]

“or no one has even thought to do an anti-Obama shirt—the last one being suspicious.”

Maybe there’s just a lot more malice on the other side of the fence than on ours.

[ASOC]

TF - you are going about this all wrong.

Find a new CyberVendor

Close your site

Move to new vendor site.
Let Marge et al know their inaction cost your business.

Capitalism, it works if you try, eh?

[beaversmom]

It suspicious to me—not even a NOBAMA shirt in the first few pages—that’s hardly malicious.

[SlowBoat407]

TF - you are going about this all wrong. Find a new CyberVendor Close your site Move to new vendor site. Let Marge et al know their inaction cost your business.Capitalism, it works if you try, eh?

If I read the bailout bill correctly, TF will be prohibited by the government from removing his site because it may adversely affect CafePress' business. After all, what if everyone did that? No, the site must stay, even if it means incurring a loss, not to mention the daily personal offense incurred.

Welcome to to the United States of Bailout.

[ASOC]

Well, not for everyone.

Our entire house representation voted NO as a block.

I’ll be sending a note of thanks shortly.

[tbw2]

You have my permission to use this:

McCain’s Barracuda
By Tamara Wilhite

Sung to Heart’s song “Barracuda”

I saw the end of the debate today
I had to turn my eyes away
Wanted to smile at your son – kisses he’ll get from anyone
Alaskan mom tales – it never fails!

Among the ice and the weeds
I know you’re going to ambush me
Democrats fall down onto their knees
Who could do it? – Barracuda!

Two years ago made governor
Before that a small time mayor
Promised to be a reformer,
This woman is a change?

Working mom riles real feminists
They’ve got to make up lies real quick
If one fails, try another trick.
Who could do it? – Barracuda!

“Sell me, sell you” the congress said
Down into deep debt above my head
Who is it that doesn’t feel the taxing blues?

All that night and all the next
To argue and debate and then to jest
Mom of five they say is a tool or fool

If the real thing don’t do the trick – no!
They’ve got to make up more lies quick
Yet sexy librarian is still in it.
Who could do it? – McCain’s Barracuda!

By Tamara Wilhite
Author of “Humanity’s Edge”, “Sirat” and “Genres”
Written for a contest I didn’t win

[odin2008]

Not to long ago, I answered an ad for a graphic artist for a line of political T- shirts. They asked me to run up some samples of my work so I sent a few to them. I never heard back. I think it was Cafepress.

[dsc]

“It suspicious to me—not even a NOBAMA shirt in the first few pages—that’s hardly malicious.”

No, but the lack of one is, in my considered judgment.

[visualops]

There are lots of FReepers selling stuff thru CafePress. CafePress has always seemed liberally slanted politically, which I think has more to do with sales than anything else. However, Cafepress also sells loads of pro military and religious type items, like my shop which has a mix of art and current events. That said, they've been selling nasty Bush and Cheney stuff for years now, they aren't going to start pulling the offensive stuff now. Their shopkeepers can put all the crap up there they want, but if no one actually coughs up the money to buy it I don't really care. It just shows those people to be what they are: crass and vulgar. I've sold alot of pro-Palin stuff, and anti-Obama stuff so who cares what idiot has a rude shirt?

[visualops]

You’ll do better to search for keywords (like anti obama or nobama) than to go through categories or just search for Obama. There is a buttload of Obama stuff on there, they have been selling a ton of it to the obamabots, but there is alot for our side too. In fact after Sarah’s nomination, Cafepress was running a “sales meter” showing how the sales of McCain/Palin stuff had nearly caught up with Obama as percentage of cafepress sales for that time period. I don’t really think Cafepress does anything more than want to make money. Judging by how many “I’d rather go hunting with Cheney than driving with Kennedy” type items I’ve sold I dare say I don’t think they care if their money is often made at the expense of someone’s feelings even on their side.

[jddqr]

Sorry guys, I think you are in the wrong here. As much as that talk is disgusting, it is federally protected free speech under the 1st Amendment.

Instead of trying to ban it, we should be exposing the author via various blogs, etc. and get the word out what people are trying to do to demean Palin’s character. That is a more worthwhile use of time IMHO.

[Mygirlsmom]

As much as that talk is disgusting, it is federally protected free speech under the 1st Amendment.

The 1st Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law...." It has absolutely nothing to do with what is and is not allowed by a PRIVATE business.

[ApplegateRanch]

You have to actually search/look for negatives.

http://shop.cafepress.com/obamasama

This is on Cafepress, and is run by another FReeper: I bought some of his stuff during the primaries.

http://shop.cafepress.com/nobama

These come up, if you search Cafepress for “Nobama”.

[RightFighter]

This isn’t about free speech. Cafepress does not claim that you have an absolute right of free speech in the items that you post. They have prohibited content guidelines that they are not enforcing. I’m just asking for help in getting them to enforce their own guidelines.

[toldyou]

I just sent them an email....let me know how else I can help. My email is below:

“My friends and I considered ordering from your site and also becoming affiliates; however, after seeing some of your merchandise, we changed our minds.These items should be removed. They are obscene!
30150354
30479106
30472174
30483575
30483314
30207183
30211144
30174895
30173049

[RightFighter]

Thanks for the help!