Urban Outfitters pulls socks depicting Hindu deity
The problem wasn’t just that Ganesh appeared on a clothing item. It’s that socks go on a person’s feet, an impure body part in Hindu culture.
It’s not just that the company slapped a figure sacred to a religious group on a pair of cheaply priced socks, points out Jezebel: The human foot is considered the lowest and most impure part of the body in the Hindu culture. So putting a deity between your impure foot and your shoe is just… well it’s not cool with many in the Hindu community.
Blogger Rajan Zed was among the most vocal in calling out Urban Outfitters for its insensitivity. His post, titled “Perturbed Hindus urge Urban Outfitters to withdraw Lord Ganesh socks,” was probably the most measured and well-put argument anyone has made in a you’ve-offended-my-entire-religion scenario. By now, the company must have someone on retainer just to write mea culpas as they’ve become so plentiful. Here’s a variation-on-a-theme apology from the company:
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