eBay bans selling anti-Bush playing cards

[Craig]

http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?...s-cards08052003 (http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=aug5steins-cards08052003)

Ebay bans Dawson artist's controversial 'cards'
WebPosted Aug 5 2003 09:05 AM CDT

WHITEHORSE - A Yukon artist has been censored by eBay for making fun of the Bush administration.

In John Steins' most-wanted deck, U.S. President George Bush is the trump card
Dawson City artist John Steins has been ordered off the popular auction Web site for mocking Bush and other U.S. leaders in a series of hand-painted drawings. Steins' art project is a parody of the "most wanted" deck of playing cards issued in the Iraqi war. "George Bush is the ace of spades and (U.S. Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld is the queen of spades and so far down the line," Steins says.

"I think an artist has to use their talent to make a statement that they really believe in, though it might be really unpopular." Ebay apparently banned the cards after receiving complaints from pro-Bush Americans. Steins says he's also gotten plenty of angry emails from people who back U.S. foreign policy in Iraq. Since being forced off eBay, Steins has found another Internet outlet for his art. He owns the domain name, "thebushadministration.com" where he's posted the images for sale.

<img src='http://www.thebushadministration.com/bush/images/bush_thumb.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

[Fireblade]

THE HELL?!!! They can sell anti-clinton t-shirts, but no anti-bush shirts? WTH is wrong with Ebay. This is biased, and possibly built upon fear of the administration of possibly doing something within the means of censorship on ebay. Damn them. :angry:

[golden_buns]

<!--QuoteBegin-Fireblade+Aug 10 2003, 06:27 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Fireblade @ Aug 10 2003, 06:27 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> THE HELL?!!! They can sell anti-clinton t-shirts, but no anti-bush shirts? WTH is wrong with Ebay. This is biased, and possibly built upon fear of the administration of possibly doing something within the means of censorship on ebay. Damn them. :angry: [/b][/quote]
yup, bush is going quite far on censorship and surveillance. You can't go to a library these days without getting checked by the FBI.

I bet it wasn't a complain from pro-Bush supporters, but rather a complain from the little fucker himself.

[pfc beansprout]

damn it...i woulda bid on those cards!

[AngryABCGirl]

<!--QuoteBegin-Fireblade+Aug 10 2003, 06:27 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Fireblade @ Aug 10 2003, 06:27 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> THE HELL?!!! They can sell anti-clinton t-shirts, but no anti-bush shirts? WTH is wrong with Ebay. This is biased, and possibly built upon fear of the administration of possibly doing something within the means of censorship on ebay. Damn them. :angry: [/b][/quote]
Because maybe Pro-Push people are extreme conservatives who believe in only what they believe in and don't believe it's ok for anyone else to express how they feel. Most people who supported Clinton were moderates or liberals and therefore were ok with freespeech.

[TheHapacalypse]

Yup, E-Bay has done this before. I have a friend who was banned from selling his "International Terrorist" (with a portrait of Bush) shirts on there as well. It's to be expected from such a huge capitalist outlet.

[ren28]

That is crappy. People should be able to sell their stuff on there as long as it's not illegal.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Well, people have already been long accepting of the idea that public accomodations like EBay should bow down to pressure from small but annoying groups of consumers and stop selling certain stuff, like Nazi gear or literature deemed as extremist. Not much different than, say, pressuring a t-shirt company to stop selling a product which offended you.

Simply another step along the same road. ... if you didn't want it, shouldn't have gone down this road in the first place ...

[tommyhtown]

Next time y'all see something that pissed you off you on Ebay then you should say something to the company about it whether they are Nazis literature, anti-Clinton T-Shirts, Free-Kobe T-shirts, etc etc. People with opposing views did so should you. So what if they call you whiny.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

<!--QuoteBegin-tommyhtown+Aug 11 2003, 12:11 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (tommyhtown @ Aug 11 2003, 12:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Next time y'all see something that pissed you off you on Ebay then you should say something to the company about it whether they are Nazis literature, anti-Clinton T-Shirts, Free-Kobe T-shirts, etc etc. People with opposing views did so should you. So what if they call you whiny. [/b][/quote]
If EBay doesn't draw a line in the sand somewhere, but instead keeps bending over for every circle-jerk band of e-mailers like those guys in the article who gets their panties in a bunch over something they saw on the site, by their own actions they're gonna start creating a huge underserved niche market of people who actually want to buy the banned stuff.

Next thing you know, some auction site operator is gonna take up a motto like "We sell anything and ignore societal disapproval, boycotts, and IRS harassment!" Like Jerry Springer, his site will become a magnet for every kind of trash and freaky product. And all the stuff people tried to push underground will just become even more visible and easily available.

[tommyhtown]

<!--QuoteBegin-AliBabaIncorporated+Aug 10 2003, 11:30 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (AliBabaIncorporated @ Aug 10 2003, 11:30 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> If EBay doesn't draw a line in the sand somewhere, but instead keeps bending over for every circle-jerk band of e-mailers like those guys in the article who gets their panties in a bunch over something they saw on the site, by their own actions they're gonna start creating a huge underserved niche market of people who actually want to buy the banned stuff.

Next thing you know, some auction site operator is gonna take up a motto like "We sell anything and ignore societal disapproval, boycotts, and IRS harassment!" Like Jerry Springer, his site will become a magnet for every kind of trash and freaky product. And all the stuff people tried to push underground will just become even more visible and easily available. [/b][/quote]
I am certain that there are already such auctions sites that cater to specific items that the mainstream public deem unappropriate. Will it become visible as Ebay? Who knows? I tend to believe the fact that Ebay started to ban certain listings actually help them becoming more accepted to the general public. As I recall in 1995 when EBay just started, they actually listed just about anything -- firearms, Nazis items, pornographic materials etc etc.

[kimpossible]

Meaningless post to bump stupid Italy job spam.

[Faithless]

Ebay apparently banned the cards after receiving complaints from pro-Bush Americans.

Now, how many times have people complained about the racist black mammy figurines and such and gotten no where? Why is eBay so selective?

[etcj]

I wonder if they'll allow that stuff to return for auction once the Bush administration leaves the White House. (Hey, no date set yet...I don't want to jinx it :P )

[himura-dono]

<!--QuoteBegin-TheHapacalypse+Aug 10 2003, 09:50 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (TheHapacalypse @ Aug 10 2003, 09:50 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yup, E-Bay has done this before. I have a friend who was banned from selling his "International Terrorist" (with a portrait of Bush) shirts on there as well. It's to be expected from such a huge capitalist outlet. [/b][/quote]
thanks for the idea. if i can't get a hold of one, i'll jkust hit up one of the t-shirt shops or print screen it myself. =) that should get me at least a crackdown from davis pd. my atheist t-shirt got me a ride around the block handcuffed with verbal threats =)