Abercrombie & Fitch seems to be plastered across every middle-school student’s T-shirts, in hopes it will magically allow them to hang out with the cool kids. Most people would say, “Nah, it is just because they like the style,” but the owner of Abercrombie asserts proudly and confirms that being cool is somewhat of a requirement as well as a privilege to wear his brand.

And we wonder why young kids have low self-esteem. 

Children are being ostracized from a young age. If the Abercrombie brand is too expensive for you, you can’t be a cool kid. If you can’t fit into Abercrombie jeans (the company only makes up to a size 10) then, nope, you can’t be cool. And in middle school, not being cool is based on very superficial requirements, and some who do not belong are often degraded and made fun of. 

So who is the monster behind this brand degrading the young and brainwashing the minds of many? His name is Mike Jeffries, and he has no problem being honest about his destructive behavior. 

According to Elite Daily, Jeffries said, “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong.” 

If that doesn’t make you want to vomit, then I don’t know what will. Well, actually, I have another quote for you to feast your eyes on. This one regards his customers. 

“I don’t want our core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing our clothing,” Jeffries said.

It’s hard to believe, but he was being completely serious. 

That is the most shallow and ridiculous statement that I’ve probably ever heard. It must be so hard for these allegedly hot people to see not-so-hot people wearing the same clothes as them. I feel so bad that they have to witness that. We are talking about pieces of material here. 

If you aren’t already convinced about how Jeffries is the scum of the earth, read what his comment said about the firestorm Abercrombie received for the provocative underwear it was marketingtoward little girls. 

“People said we were cynical, that we were sexualizing little girls,” Jeffries said. “But you know what? I still think those are cute underwear for little girls. And I think anybody who gets on a bandwagon about thongs for little girls is crazy. Just crazy! There’s so much craziness about sex in this country. It’s nuts! I can see getting upset about letting your girl hang out with a bunch of old pervs, but why would you let your girl hang out with a bunch of old pervs?”

These statements justify Jeffries’ horrible reputation. 

All of this is disgusting, but what annoys me the most is that his tactics are working, and the people of the United States are buying into it like desperate slaves. It’s incredibly sad. 

Send your thoughts to Taylor at technician-viewpoint@ncsu.edu.