Posted on 12/30/2005 5:53:29 AM PST by MajorityOfOne
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Cheap Monday jeans are a hot commodity among young Swedes thanks to their trendy tight fit and low price, even if a few buyers are turned off by the logo: a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead.
Logo designer Bjorn Atldax says he's not just trying for an antiestablishment vibe.
"It is an active statement against Christianity," Atldax told The Associated Press. "I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."
The label's makers say it's more of a joke, but Atldax insists his graphic designs have a purpose beyond selling denim: to make young people question Christianity, a "force of evil" that he blames for sparking wars throughout history.
In more religious countries, that might raise a furious response, maybe even prompt retailers to drop the brand.
Not in Sweden, a secular country that cherishes its free speech and where churchgoing has been declining for decades.
Cheap Mondays are flying off the shelves at 400 kronor (about $50) a pair. Makers say about 200,000 pairs have been sold since March 2004 — and little attention has been paid to the grinning skull and dark texts such as "Over My Dead Body."
Even the predominant Lutheran Church of Sweden reacts with a shrug.
"I don't think it's much to be horrified about," said Bo Larsson, director of the Church of Sweden's department of Education, Research and Culture.
"It is abundantly clear that this designer wants to create public opinion against the Christian faith ... but I believe that the way to deal with this is to start a discussion about what religion means."
Out in the parishes, however, some Christians believe that approach is too soft.
"One cannot just keep quiet about this," said the Rev. Karl-Erik Nylund, vicar of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Stockholm. "This is a deliberate provocation (against Christians) and I object to that."
Nylund complained that Swedish companies do not treat Christianity with the same respect in marketing that they afford other religions.
"No one wants to provoke Jews or Muslims, but it's totally OK to provoke Christians," he said.
Some buyers have ripped off the Cheap Monday labels, or even returned the jeans once they realized what the logo represents. But such cases are very few, said Orjan Andersson, the creator of the brand, who doesn't take Atldax' message too seriously.
"I don't believe in neither the devil nor God. I'm not interested in religion," he said. "I'm more interested in that the logo looks good."
Henrik Petersson, 26, said he picked up his first pair of Cheap Monday jeans a few months after they were launched because he liked their punk-rocker style and the logo caught his eye.
"I think it's a cool thing. It stands out from the rest," he said. "I haven't really reflected over whether there is an underlying message."
Martin Sundberg, a 32-year-old co-owner of a clothing store in Stockholm's trendy SoFo district, said he didn't think the logo has a "deeper meaning."
"It's just supposed to be a bit of fun, some kind of anti-culture," he said.
Cheap Mondays have started to sell abroad. The jeans are being shipped to Norway, Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands, France and Australia. Andersson said they're working on introducing them in the United States and elsewhere.
And he did not expect the ungodly logo to get in the way.
"Surely, most people understand that we are not evil people," he said, laughing. "My mom doesn't think so at least."
Frogs slouching toward the boiling point.
?Not in Sweden, a secular country that cherishes its free speech and where churchgoing has been declining for decades...
how is their mosque attendance one wonders,
Wait until this guy discovers islamic history...
Sweden is mainly against Christianity to the delight of the increasing population of mooselimbs in that frigid, socialist, mind-numbed nation.
I think that the whole world is programmed to believe all evil came from Christianity. On the other hand --Islam magically spreads and becomes the dominant religion -- but it is so peaceful and kind. Not that most of the wars on the planet today come from Muslims we can't talk about that.
I agree. People who disparage Christianity are basically wussies! If they had any nads they would attack Islam.
Wanna impress me ... go on CNN or Al-Jazeera calling Mohammed a satanic girlie-man, then display your home address and leave your doors unlocked at night.
Saint Peter was crucified on an upside-down cross, which is featured in some papal symbols.
Or maybe a raised sword over someone's neck.
Do you ever get the impression that the Euros are nearly inviting and abetting the Muslim takeover of their countries? Immigration policies, socialist governments (which take the place of families), post-colonial guilt, political correctness, militant secularism (tolerant of everything but the established religion) all play into the hands of the Islamists. It seems the Europeans can't resist the lemmminglike urge to self destruct every few decades. Although, in many ways, WWI and WWII seemed downright "healthy" compared to what is going on now (e.g., physical destruction vs. destructio of the soul).
Old Ruskie learned about tolerance, didn't he?
I don't know, but when I was in Stockholm a couple of years ago, I saw significant numbers of "Palestinians" protesting on the street against Israel with "Sharon is Hitler" signs and taking collections.
Wars are sparked by religions (Ireland, the Middle East, India, Indonesia, Europe in the 1500s) not by Christianity. Christianity, the real item, isn't a religion but a relationship, one on one, with God through Christ Jesus.
Majority, you read my mind, an artist-designer myself, I'm already thinking about a logo I would like to tattoo on this piece of Swedish crap!! My grandparents are rolling in their graves...and I've had it with these socialist pigs. Crescent with X on the drawing board,{also, I just live 9 miles from the UAL Flight 93 crashsite, they almost completed the final memorial design with a crescent-shaped grove of trees!!Luckily, there are some of us that pay attention, and that grove of trees WILL NOT end up as a Muslim symbol that "honors" the 40 heroes that died on 9-11}That's how bright the Somerset officials are, and some of the NPS people in charge of the memorial!!
I'm not a Satanist myself, but I have a great dislike for organized religion."
He prefers disorganized religion. The services are more interesting...
[Snicker] Without Christianity to offer a guidepost to public and private morality, Sweden (and other nations) will circle the drain. As Sweden descends into moral anarchy perhaps it will take comfort in their "honest" questioning of Christianity, and of course in snug, well-fitting jeans.
I love getting into a discussion with EU socialists about "The Crusades". Most of them have very selective memories!!!{It was the Christians' that started it all, don't you know??}
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