March 21, 2008
Who Killed Obama? T-Shirt Designer Just Misunderstood
Fashion designer Doron Braunshtein, aka Apollo Braun, whose store on Orchard Street has been selling T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the question 'Who Killed Obama?' says the people leaving him angry messages and death threats just don't get hipster irony. See, he loves Obama, that's why he's selling products that invoke his murder!
"I'm very punk rock," Braunshtein explains to the NY Press's fashion blogger, smugly aware that our primitive 2008 technology prevents you from reaching through your computer screen and slapping that smirk off his face. He goes on: "They don't understand what I'm doing. They think I'm spreading hate. Could you imagine if Obama were killed? They might blame me. Then I'd be taken to jail and have to have prison sex."
Of course, should that tragic fate befall Obama, Braunshtein would make a fortune off his T-shirts, which would suddenly become as prescient as they are insipid. As it stands now, he charges between $129 - $250 for the items, which are custom made with safety pins. Oh, and sequins! Buy now, before Obama's soooo over.
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I'll make you the same hoodie for 50 bucks! I suppose you have to pay rent on such a primo space.
this guy is very original. Like if a celebrity goes to jail he'd probably be the 13343th guy to make a "Free XYZ!" Shirt. Him and busted tees ( the ugliest, cheapest shirts in the world!) should get together.
Well, from his expression in that photo, he seems like a cool enough guy. Like, I can see the probity there.
Or maybe he was farting, I'm not sure.
"Braun feels it is a form of performance art."
"I’m very punk rock."
This makes me reminisce about the old days, when anyone who was "very punk rock" would want nothing to do with "performance art."
what a tool.
Young and stupid, have another reefer Guy.
Let's see I love NAZI'S could be next for $225.00
Who's Obama?
"The Holocaust was a lie" would be even more punk rock, try that one next..
Moron Braunshtein is a more apt moniker for this attention seeking dimwit. I wonder how "punk rock" he'll feel after a visit from the Secret Service.
is this the guy who has a voice like Bowzer from sha na na and had a public access show?
Ha. I met this dude a few years back when I worked for Vice. He's pretty out there.
I like the shirts tho. Even as an Obama supporter.
Irony is so 2006.
Something tells me this guy is about as 'punk rock' as avril.
Something tells me that Doron would weep like a sissy if a traffic cop got in his face, much less a secret service agent.
It's hard to believe thought, money, and material went into that dreck.
and that sweatshirt is awful as well.
In the words of Woody Allen, "What an asshole."
Was this from The Onion? That was satire, right?
my dad used to wear that sweatshirt, he had a job and a mortgage.
The guy wearing the hoodie in that pic is someone else. That guy is not Apollo Braun.
This is what Apollo Braun looks like:
http://myspace.com/apollobraun
I've been to the shop and have met the guy, and when he says "I'm very punk rock" he says it very sarcastically; it's definitely a joke. Anyone who actually thinks he's being serious is an idiot.
If he were actually punk rock, he'd be in the suburbs with his soccermom wife and three daughters in pink Ramones shirts, reminiscing about his failed band from the '70s.
Holy shit. Pressed the POST button too fast. That is him in the picture. Wow.
With the hoodie he looks like an average joe, but when I saw him with without the hoodie he looked very similarto this guy:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CMwdAc1Dzfg
here's his music page!
http://www.myspace.com/number1iniran
something tells me this dude didn't get a ton of hugs as a kid.
At least they're on sale.
Thing is, it doesn't really matter if he's being sarcastic when he says it or if he really is "very punk rock." Even if viewed through the lens of irony, "Who killed Obama?" isn't all that funny. And I say this not because I'm pissed off about it, I just don't think it's a good joke.
On the "this guy is an asshole" front though, the argument is provided with plenty of ammunition by the fact that it's only really irony for anyone who can afford a $129-$250 hoodie.
It's not ironic because he is just playing off the title "Who Killed Bambi?" Weak.
And by "..very punk rock" he of course means skeezy-looking wanker.
How about
"Kevorkian won't return my calls, please help"?
This gavone looks like a terrorist why don't they haul him down to Gitmo?
whatever...
hot mess tranie fierce hot mess tranie
vayy kayyy
Is this guy related to Rev. Wright?
This guy is 100% douche bag. Very punk rock indeed.
What a schmuck.
How can these guys claim to be so original and unique when they all look the same? Greasy long hair, skin tight black jeans, some dumb t-shirt/hoodie. I wouldn't care so much if I didn't have to see them all the time and I didn't have to pay for their welfare/disability checks in the future and listen to them bitch about how the system is trying to bring them down by raising their rents above $150 a month.
i want a shrit that says LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!
By giving this dipshit a story on gothamist you actually are promoting it.
Can Obama supporters show up at his store, located at 193 Orchard Street (Corner of Houston),(open 7 days, 12 noon- 10pm) to show this waste of oxygen how despicably irresponsible his message truly is?
Yes we can.
"I'm very punk rock"= I'm a douchebag who maybe knew some punk rockers who kicked my ass in high school
My goodness, how is it that you people do not see the point here? All this knee-jerk reactionary crap. Holy shit. I have spoken to dozens of people who fear Obama will be assassinated if he is elected. I imagine quite a few people have thought this. You are all pulling another Geraldine Ferraro. If one is stupid enough to purchase this and where it in public, fine. But it speaks to a truth many of us have had the fortitude to admit to, we worry for this man should he gain the presidency. Hypocrites, most of you. Shame. It just proves that lusting after your neighbors wife is equal to admitting it in public if reactions here have anything to say about it.
iralarry: Well-said. I just don't think that putting the message out there is a very responsible thing to do given how many lunatics may already be thinking about it.
iralarry: you've raised some very good points in other recent threads, but I'm not sure about your effort here. To wit, am I to thank this dipshit for having taken it a step higher by raising our awareness of the possibility of the future assassination of one possible future President -- all by selling a crassly thoughtless (not to mention cheap-ass) hoodie for $250? I pray that I'll derive my concern for the republic elsewhere, and/or that you'll explain how I misunderstood your post, which I'll be the first to admit may have occured.
Altrent:
Thank you for your thoughts on recent posts and your open-mindedness re this one. Certainly I would never expect you to thank this typical merchant minded individual for attempting to cash in on exploitive attention-seeking behavior via controversial statements on a cheap hoodie. He is not raising awareness if vast numbers of people already think this and he is just stating what we all maybe thinking without saying. For him it is about commerce. For us whom would never consider purchasing this ridiculously over-priced nonsense, it is about offending sensibilities. I once heard someone say in a song, "If you want the obvious, you get the obvious."
I also posted a comment on my unread blog about a woman who proudly created and then worn on her person for all to see a Tee that reads, "I had an abortion." Nothing makes me sicker than people who profess their pride in that which most people abhor.
I don't know, sometimes I get carried away and angry at the level of stupidity and acclaim people profess for themselves. Perhaps this fool should wear a hoodie that reads, "I think I am brilliant." People just love to seek attention for themselves.
To clear some things up:
Obama is not dead, therefore the slogan is pointless at best and wishful thinking at worst.
It does not point to a deeper meaning about the frailty of black people or similar nonsense. Anyone who is fearful of Obama's safety because he is black is a racist- they are not seeing "the reality" of a situation or being pragmatic.
iralarry: I think I understood what you meant, especially after your elaboration, and I certainly agree with your paragraphs #2 and 3. What I didn't get about your first post was why anyone was necessarily a hypocrite for thinking this guy was a jerk, even if they DID fear (or at least recognize the threat of) the possibility of such an attempt. Thinking about it, as you make the point with the "Abortion" T-shirt, doesn't mean it's "right" to say, suggest, or certainly to make money off of.
PBRK: "pointless at best, wishful thinking at worst", and just plain old stupid and rude and a good example of what's wrong with too many people today.
I mean, I'm not going to start crying about it, but here's another example of something that struck me as simply asinine: saw some jackass with a bumper sticker on his pickup truck -- I want to say "naturally", but that'll probably get some people up in arms -- which read, "MY ATTITUDE = YOUR PROBLEM". OK, so I'm thinking, does that mean that the guy's telling me that's his way of dealing with everybody, all the time? Including me, though we've never met? This skinny little chump? OK. So if we get to the next light, and he rolls down the window and says, "Hey, buddy, you got the time?", can I legitimately say, "Go f*ck yourself?" I mean, the guy was literally advertising that he's a dick to everyone, saving me from having to find out for myself, so why not?
So, sure, rant mode ON, but what part of human interaction is made better by choosing to be rude? What part of human interaction is made better by choosing to be nasty, or unfeeling, or insensitive? Just stay in the vortex and send more e-mails, or text messages, and in doing so enable an environment in which the concept is somehow lost that it may not be kewl to attempt to profit off of the "irony" of what would be a very ugly act, the (tragically misguided) intentional death of another human. I know this'll sound cliched, but jeez, remember hearing accounts of what people said the country felt like when JFK was assassinated? Meanwhile, did this guy stop to consider, even ONCE, that maybe it wouldn't be all that cool to put this on a shirt? THAT'S what pisses me off about this stupid, classless, tasteless schist.