Banned words.......how many are there?

[Cyclone 10]

Originally posted by Pseudonym

Certainly they're being exploited, 'ignorance' was a catch-all word to cover the fact that they're exploited in numerous ways, until most of them 'wise-up' to the fact.

 

Teenagers have massive spending-power and the market is well aware of this, hence they are made to feel important and catered for possibly more than any other single age-group... And being relatively gullible, they're easily parted fom their money...

 

adults have even more spending power, we are made to feel like the most important group of spenders around. Is that called satisfying a market or exploitation.

 

If these t-shirts were of very poor quality and extremely overpriced then you could call that exploitation, but I doubt that's the case, afterall, they'd only sell to hard core fans then, they'd rather sell more at a lower price.

Teenagers have little ability to earn more money, so they tend (well from my experience 10 years ago) to be very price conscious, price consciousness means elastic demand (i think), put prices up and volumes will fall rapidly.

 

I don't see how this is exploitation, they aren't forced to buy offensive t-shirts, nor are they tricked or conned into it. They make a choice, that's not exploitation, it's just serving a market.

[Pseudonym 10]

Originally posted by Cyclone

adults have even more spending power, we are made to feel like the most important group of spenders around. Is that called satisfying a market or exploitation.

 

If these t-shirts were of very poor quality and extremely overpriced then you could call that exploitation, but I doubt that's the case, afterall, they'd only sell to hard core fans then, they'd rather sell more at a lower price.

Teenagers have little ability to earn more money, so they tend (well from my experience 10 years ago) to be very price conscious, price consciousness means elastic demand (i think), put prices up and volumes will fall rapidly.

 

I don't see how this is exploitation, they aren't forced to buy offensive t-shirts, nor are they tricked or conned into it. They make a choice, that's not exploitation, it's just serving a market.

Many adults don't have the disposable income of teenagers, having comittments such as a mortgage, insurance, council tax, utility bills, etc. Few have this heavy outlay during their teenage years.

 

As for price-consciousness, if the popularity of over-priced designer-label wear and £100+ trainers, to name but two extravagances are anything to go by, then price-conscious teenagers are the exception, rather than the rule.

 

To answer your final point re: offensive t-shirts... Serving a market for it isn't exploitation, however creating a market for it, as in this case, IS. It's exploiting their rebelliousness in this particular instance.

 

P.S. We're drifting off the thread a wee bit here though, methinks!

[Cyclone 10]

keeps things interesting, if we stuck too rigidly to topics things would be dull.

 

Teenagers (certainly the younger half) have no source of income beyond those adults who are already paying all those bills and mortgages.

I can say for a fact that my disposable income is now several thousand times higher than when I was a teenager, even after the mortgage and bills.

 

Older teenagers if they've left education and found a job (generally low paid) will have some disposable income, but are you saying that 18 and 19 year olds are too dumb to see high priced clothing as exploitation? Or is it just that they prioritise and have different values to you or me. I think spending £1000 on a football season ticket is the height of stupidity, but does that mean football fans are cynically exploited, or that they have a different opinion of football than I do.

Exploitation is being forced or tricked into doing something or giving money away, not making a decision based on personal values as to whether a £100 shirt is a good investment or not.

[Kthebean 10]

Cyclone's right. Its all about the cash dollar bill. Teenagers love to shock and the merchandisers know that!

 

Quite frankly if it was economically viable to produce a t-shirt saying allah is a **** they'd be doing that too, but no enterprise would touch that with a bargepole, and I dont think you'd find many willing to buy it. There are places I can think of in the states where you'd probably get murdered for wearing jesus is a ****.

[lizzmobile 11]

I worked with Saudi Arabians a while ago (and I think other muslim countries too) find it offensive to see an image of a pig. I explained this to colleagues by saying that it would be like westerners seeing an explicit image of a woman on a placemat (for example) to help them understand. Then I started wondering how long it would be before 'that' image became commonplace in public (on the CoF website, merchandise 'Gilded c***' t-shirt) and now it has happened. Whatever next, a full-colour spread of it on a cornflakes packet at breakfast time? Lovely!

 

I am in no way a prude, nor am I religious but what I saw really upset me, the fact that these images are being trounced around in the streets, like they were some kind of joke and I know the thread has moved on from then but I had to say this. It was re-vol-ting beyond belief. I'll be very cautious before clicking on any links in the future!

 

Also, you might spare a thought for all the chaps of hispanic origin whose first names are legitimately 'Jesus' (pron. hay-sus).

 

Lizzmobile

(stomach churning in the name of common decency)

[StarSparkle 10]

I can remember some Vivienne Westwood t-shirts from the mid-70s that very few people would dare to wear in public even today!

 

Back then, people did get beaten up for what they wore - people today know they're very unlikely to get into 'bother' pretty much whatever they wear - no matter what 'edgy, terribly shocking' Cradle of Filth fans might like to think - the public just aren't very shockable any more.

 

People were genuinely putting themselves on the line then - and not taking pathetically easy pot-shots at obvious targets.

 

Cradle of Filth - it's not big and it's not clever. It's all been done before - and with style and wit, not just offensiveness.

 

StarSparkle

[Pseudonym 10]

As this discussion now bears little or no relation to the original thread, I'll make this my last contribution...

Originally posted by Cyclone

....Exploitation is being forced or tricked into doing something or giving money away....

Dictionary.com...

exploitation : Utilization of another person or group for selfish purposes: exploitation of unwary consumers. i.e. Neither forced nor tricked but manipulated by various means, including the media, product-placement and of course, fan-sites.

Originally posted by kathythebean

Cyclone's right. Its all about the cash dollar bill. Teenagers love to shock and the merchandisers know that!...

I was under the impression that I was saying roughly the same, until we somehow started arguing about exploitation!

Originally posted by lizzmobile

...I'll be very cautious before clicking on any links in the future!...

Or perhaps read the thread more carefully before clicking on them?

Originally posted by miniminch

...Am I being anti Islam, homophobic, pro gay, pro gay islam, pro progressive islam??? I'm so confused:confused:

Well, you got the last part right, but I think some of us came to that conclusion quite a while ago!

[peterdo 10]

A bunch of teanagers in Sydney shouted swear words made rude gestures and spat at police. So the cops arrested them. When it got to court the Judge dissmised the charges and awarded them costs. Saying that police should expect that sort of behavior from teanage boys.

 

The police are appealing.

[miniminch 10]

[quoteWell, you got the last part right, but I think some of us came to that conclusion quite a while ago! [/b] sexist

[Pseudonym 10]

Originally posted by miniminch

sexist

Nope, not sexist, I was referring to the last part of your quote, not the last line of your post, namely: I'm so confused

[miniminch 10]

Originally posted by Pseudonym

Nope, not sexist, I was referring to the last part of your quote, not the last line of your post, namely: I'm so confused

racist!