LEGO Issues Apology

[Anticyclone]

Well, LEGO is back in the news. I'm not sure how old this story is but it appeared today on my news feed on Yahoo. I really don't know what to say about this one.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/lego-apologizes-cat-calling-sticker-120924275.html

LEGO has apparently issued an apology over a series of stickers one of which features a construction worker shouting "HEY BABE!" or "cat-calling" as it's referred to. The stickers have long been discontinued but the issue has been brought up again.

I'm curious to hear what you all think. Personally I think it's a bit ridiculous and some people may be overreacting... but that's just me.

What say you?

[Aanchir]

I think it's a fair thing to apologize over. I agree, the sticker sheet and its captions are not a huge deal, but they're a part of a bigger problem. And while perhaps it didn't demand the amount of press it's gotten in and of itself, it's good that it was brought to TLG's attention so they don't make the same mistake in the future and can continue to build a more progressive reputation.

In general, LEGO City is meant, like many toys, to be a miniaturized version of the world kids see around them. With that said, the designers and marketers take care to ensure that it also shows an idealized version of that world. There is crime, but gun violence is a non-issue, criminals are quickly returned to jail, and justice always prevails. There are fires, but never substantial injury, death, or property damage as a result (the building on fire in this year's Fire Emergency set is already boarded up and possibly condemned). And as we see here, there is an attempt to maintain a progressive stance on gender issues. And the designers and marketers have to be on their toes to ensure that they don't end up falling behind social change and presenting outdated or offensive stereotypes that were once deemed innocent or humorous.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Aanchir

[TheLegoDr]

That was nice of them to apologize, but it does seem the initial person "apologizing" was more apologizing for them not finding the humor in it instead of the source material. Kind of a backhanded apology. I'm glad he persisted on it. I wouldn't have been satisfied with that either.

But then again, LEGO didn't directly make it, they just licensed it. So they are at fault, but at the same time the company that designed them is more at fault. Granted someone at LEGO did sign off on it to have it released.

It's unfortunate, but I don't see it doing too much damage to their image. Especially with the success of Friends. Also since this is a product that isn't widely available currently.

[Zeya]

I wonder if those stickers say something similar in other languages, assuming there are other language versions. I deal with localization sometimes at my job, and there are sometimes (er, often) poor translations and something "slips through the cracks" into the wild. I wonder if this could be the case.

[strangely]

All I really took from that article is that he was giving his kid stickers instead of actual Lego bricks... That must have been one disappointed 4 year old.

Complaining about this, of all things, seems rather shortsighted when other companies do much worse all the time, in fact many children's shows have used this same construction worker stereotype for jokes. Instead of tackling the issue of the use of this stereotype in children's media in general he decided to single out one company (That didn't even produce the product first hand) about a product that was discontinued years ago. So what exactly did he accomplish here?

Well I have to sign off and go blog about discontinued products that are slightly offensive and that I'm too late to actually do anything about.

[SheepEater]

Am I the only one who thinks that this guy is a HUGE crybaby?

Whining about a text bubble saying "hey babe!" from a minifig, on a sticker? Really??

[Aanchir]

Am I the only one who thinks that this guy is a HUGE crybaby?

Whining about a text bubble saying "hey babe!" from a minifig, on a sticker? Really??

It's a LEGO sticker, and people hold LEGO to an exceptionally high standard. The amount of complaining we see even within the AFOL community should be more than sufficient evidence of this.

[strangely]

Am I the only one who thinks that this guy is a HUGE crybaby?

Whining about a text bubble saying "hey babe!" from a minifig, on a sticker? Really??

He is a crybaby. Spongebob makes dirtier jokes than that all the time.

[fenrisakashi]

Whining != High Standards.

This is a silly complaint, I support his decision and rights to make his opinion known to TLC. I do not support the media being involved or any further action on his part.

[Lordofdragonss]

Pfft.

He just wanted free LEGO.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Lordofdragonss

[1974]

PC police needs another hobby. Try LEGO

[CandyKisses13]

Being a Lady in all but it doesn't bother me about that comment. Yeah sure kids today need to know the right way to talk and act to girls but they are kids and it's up to us as parents to teach them that. Sorry guys but they apologized to look good I think.

[spzero]

What a wuss, he could have been saying "Hey babe" to anyone we can not see the person the minifig is talking to. I say it everyday to my wife I even say it to some friends male and female (though not many as its not the kind of thing you say to just anyone), it is not wrong to say it just wrong to say it to people we do not know, just because this guy has preconceived male chauvinistic idea's does not mean that LEGO have done something wrong, he has the problem.

Heck he could have just been singing the song "take a walk on the wild side"

[Gryphon Ink]

I'm curious to hear what you all think. Personally I think it's a bit ridiculous and some people may be overreacting... but that's just me.

As a father, I don't think it's an overreaction. I think it was very legitimate to complain to TLG about it. Street harrassment is not cool, and it is not something I want to see as a joke in a product meant for preschool children. When we trivialize these things into jokes or pass them off as pop culture references, we legitimize them. We teach our children that this is an okay thing that happens in the real world and is something to be shrugged off as funny. We teach our sons that it's okay to harrass random females (because, you know, it's just a joke) and we teach our daughters that harrassment by random males is not a big deal and that they should try to see it as a joke.

This is NOT the end of the world. But it's a horrible thing to be teaching our kids.

That was nice of them to apologize, but it does seem the initial person "apologizing" was more apologizing for them not finding the humor in it instead of the source material. Kind of a backhanded apology. I'm glad he persisted on it. I wouldn't have been satisfied with that either.

Too true. This is sadly typical of big companies' responses to consumer complaints of this sort. It's always "we're sorry you find this offensive"; never "we're sorry we said an offensive thing."

Complaining about this, of all things, seems rather shortsighted when other companies do much worse all the time, in fact many children's shows have used this same construction worker stereotype for jokes.

Really? Name one children's TV show that has reproduced this scenario in the last twenty years and NOT made it crystal clear that such behavior was primitive and reprehensible, usually by having the "joke" backfire horribly on the construction worker.

Instead of tackling the issue of the use of this stereotype in children's media in general he decided to single out one company (That didn't even produce the product first hand) about a product that was discontinued years ago. So what exactly did he accomplish here?

Every successful movement for social change in modern history succeeded by tackling one specific problem at a time. You don't "tackle the issue in general" - you tackle instances of the issue. If you do it often enough, consistently enough, people eventually realise that there is a big issue at hand that needs to be addressed.

Am I the only one who thinks that this guy is a HUGE crybaby? Whining about a text bubble saying "hey babe!" from a minifig, on a sticker? Really??

It's kind of funny that you say this here, in a community where whining about trivial aspects of Lego toys is not only accepted, but encouraged as part of the daily routine.

He is a crybaby. Spongebob makes dirtier jokes than that all the time.

Unless Spongebob has changed significantly since the last time I watched it, Spongebob is a bit of an idiot, and he gets his big behind handed to him every time he says something offensive. I distinctly remember a couple of episodes where Sandy beat the living daylights out of him for saying stupid sexist things. Part of the Spongebob routine is that Spongebob says stupid things that he doesn't realise are hurtful, then somebody teaches him the hard way that you should not say stupid, hurtful things. He learns and he feels regret when he learns what he has done. I don't see Mr. Construction Minifig learning anything here.

[KristofBD]

It is not the end of the world, but the more I think about it, the more I feel the man has a point. As a principled matter this is not ok. Glad they apologized.

[AndyC]

What a wuss, he could have been saying "Hey babe" to anyone we can not see the person the minifig is talking to.

Looking at the sticker, I think "Hey Babe" is actually referring to the builder himself, in a sort of ironic humorous way. Note, for example, the builder is in a "sexy" pose. Clearly as a joke it doesn't really work as it's not really very obvious what it's supposed to mean. And even then it's not really very funny anyway.

[Vindicare]

Am I the only one who thinks that this guy is a HUGE crybaby?

Whining about a text bubble saying "hey babe!" from a minifig, on a sticker? Really??

No, you're not. People are so damn worried about offending anyone it's ridiculous. People like this guy seriously need t fnd a hobby to better occupy his time. I know it keeps up appearance for TLG, but I really wish they'd quit bending over and kiss these idiots feet.

[strangely]

Most children's products are either violent or promote unhealthy body image and for some reason a throw-away joke on a crappy sticker sheet is what sets this guy off. A sticker sheet that hasn't been produced in years no less.

I mean I agree that joke shouldn't have been used, but complaining years after it's been discontinued is pointless. It's like protesting a war after it's already ended. Ultimately all this guy managed to do was get a half-hearted apology from a company that didn't even make it first hand.

Edited May 8, 2013 by strangely

[Zeya]

Heck he could have just been singing the song "take a walk on the wild side"

If Lego started printing out lyrics to Lou Reed songs, they really would have a PR problem on their hands!

[naf]

I think this was a bit of an over-reaction regarding this sticker. Yes, it's distasteful but sometimes things slip through the cracks in a large company, especially something like this that is farmed out. I've been playing with and buying Lego for most of my life and I've never come across anything remotely sexist like this in any set or ad coming out of the company.

[LEGO Historian]

Well parents getting their knickers in a twist is one thing.... but did it really affect the kids??

Now that's not to say that TLG never did anything to cause pain to children... I have vivid memories of it myself nearly 1/2 century later.

Back in the 1960s USA and Canada LEGO sets had this catalog that shows the LEGO sets produced...

Back then when I was 7 years old I very badly wanted the 717 Junior Constructor set that was shown in the catalog. When Christmas rolled around and I got a 717 set... but it was a completely different model... I cried while opening presents that year.... and still remember it nearly half a century later.

Although I was sad as a child... that sadness turned to ANNOYED as 40 years later I learned that NONE of the large sets shown in this catalog was EVER produced. Each one was a different box and model. The irony is that the incorrect model images were shown for 3 years in catalogs!!!

Edited May 9, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[Aanchir]

What I don't understand is why everyone is saying this is an "overreaction". What did the guy do exactly? He posted an entry on his personal blog talking about the problem and contacted TLG about the issue. He later posted two other follow-up blog entries with TLG's initial response and apology.

It's not like he went on some over-the-top crusade to call LEGO out on this. Plenty of well-respected AFOLs have complained at greater length about far more trivial issues than this (for instance, about modern themes being too character-driven or too story-driven and not leaving enough to kids' imaginations). If internet news outlets blew the issue out of proportion, that's hardly this guy's fault.

And furthermore, it's not like TLG is "caving" by giving him an apology. It's not like they issued a press release or anything — they just responded to his complaint. Granted, the apology came from a bit higher up the chain of command than a typical customer service complaint, but it's still not like they put forth a disproportionate effort to appease this guy. They just listened to what he had to say and responded to the best of their ability.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Aanchir