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    3rd SS Division Totenkopf

    Walmart Ripped Off Nazi Shirt From Graffiti Writer

    By Ben Popken, 4:36 PM on Tue Nov 14 2006, 3,462 views

    http://www.consumerist.com/assets/resources/2006/11/obeygiantbig-thumb.jpgRecent updates to this story.
    Backstory.

    Looks like Walmart didn't just rip off the Nazis, they also ripped off artist Shep Fairey, known for his "OBEY GIANT" creations.

    Both have the same skull. Shep's has, "Defiant Since '89". Walmart's says, "Since 1978."

    Shirt was on sale at Obey's merch shop Karmaloop, though it's currently out of stock (google cache here). You can still get it through a few other distributors.

    We venture that Walmart's ripoff is not just a photoshop of the OBEY design. Note the inset star on the Obey design. We posit that Walmart's designer researched a clean version of the Totenkopf skull and deliberately ignored that it was found in the "Copyright Free Nazi Imagery" section. While the mechanical process of Walmart's recreation is indeterminate, the inspiration is clear...

    Special thanks to reader Schvitzatura for pointing this out, on four different posts, at 3:04 PM, 15 minutes after we emailed Walmart's PR firm again to ask when they were planning on removing these shirts from the sales floor.

    A call to a NJ area Walmart confirmed the shirts were still for sale today, six days after they were first spotted and four days after Walmart's PR firm promised their removal.

    For your convenience, here's a translation of what that German Obey:Giant tshirt site has to say about the "Obey Defiant Skull" shirt:

    "Defiant = Aufs ssig (star Trek forms). Okay, boy. Before you reach into the foaming eagerness to the feather/spring, think. This is naturally the pure provocation, but sees it times in such a way: OBEY has the bad, bad Totenkopf by right a rather crude clip clearly visibly reingehauen, at the Logo on the cheek bone. That did pain, and now the poor head is gel utert and into the styleful service that stepped world-better and wild Erneuerer. Take it or leave it. Peace! Loose T-Shirt - 50% cotton, 50% polyester."

    Shep Fairey and friends knew their shirt is naughty, but apparently, Walmart's designers didn't. — BEN POPKEN

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