Skeevy American Apparel CEO Dov Charney may have done some questionable things with his company, but his Washington DC stores certainly do not deserve what happened to them this week.
When one American Apparel manager showed up to her store after reports of the security alarm going off, she didn't happen upon a burglary scene but a blatant vandalism; the window of their anti-Prop 8 "Legalize Gay" window had been smashed, and the onslaught of hate didn't stop there.
Over the next day or two, other stores received threatening phone calls, and one AA employee described the caller's words: "He said that he and his friends found it offensive, and that if we didn’t take them down, they were going to break it—the window."
Despite the destruction of property and threats, American Apparel refuses to take down the displays, which feature some of the "Legalize Gay" and "Gay Beach" T-shirts. In a statement to the Washington City Paper, AA announced that they'll double their efforts:
American Apparel’s Jonny Makeup made clear that the that the two local incidents would only strengthen its marriage equality efforts in D.C. The company will 'continue to run Legalize Gay advertisements in papers across DC-Metro area,' wrote Makeup. Some Washingtonians may even get some free stuff out of the deal: 'We’ll also send Legalize Gay t-shirts to any group in Washington DC that is fighting for gay rights.'
If these vandals are caught, may we suggest some punishment in addition to whatever the law has in store for them? We think either making them wear AA's track short-shorts with suspenders and tube socks for a time, or a private viewing of Dov trying on underwear, should teach them a lesson.
