First World Problems

There are some things from childhood that people will always enjoy. Candy--kids like sour confections or Nestle and Hershey's-like chocolates, and adult palates enjoy dark chocolate truffles. Toys--little angels turn into crazy monsters at the sight of signs for Toys "R" Us and FAO Shwartz, and older boys and girls bounce happily out of the Sharper Image or Best Buy with their new gadgets. Irreverent cartoons like "Family Guy" are wildly popular with the college age crowd and older. Las Vegas, with its lights and circuses (ok, also gambling, booze, and legalized prostitution) is dubbed "America's Playground."

It's good that in a culture like ours, where people work more hours and take fewer vacations than most people in other industrialized nations, we can take refuge in fun, albeit childish, outlets. Reliving lost childhoods is good in many ways, but the problem is when people who are old enough to vote buy clothing and accessories that are more appropriate for "back to school" shopping in the third grade. I'm talking about Tweety decals, Tinkerbell jewelry, and the most pervasive, and possibly the most offensive--the world of Hello Kitty.

I'm not going to knock Japan. The Japanese value childishness in their culture; cutesy images are everywhere, and if I'm not mistaken, it is the birthplace of anime and the schoolgirl fetish. I appreciate their sense of humor. Somehow, I think it works...for them.

I am going to knock grown women who brazenly don Hello Kitty gear here in the states. It's not okay for people whose ages are in the double digits to have purses, office supplies, electronics, or apparel emblazoned with images of a cute little cat and her friends in the same way that it's not okay for people to bring their beloved blankies um, anywhere. These things should be relegated to the most private corners of one's home. If a woman wants to wear Hello Kitty underwear, that's fine (refraining from making an obscene kitty joke. You're welcome.) But this strange infatuation with the dot-eyed cat or other cartoons should stay out of sight.


Some sites that pay tribute to just how creepy that little cat is:

http://www.kittyhell.com/ (ridiculously funny...this guy's wife is a Hello Kitty fanatic)

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hello,-evil/casio-exilim-720-possessed-by-hello-kitty-310113.php (innocent cameras Hello Kitty-ed out)

http://blog.riflegear.com/archive/2007/12/26/hello-kitty-ar-15---evil-black-rifle-meets-cute-and.aspx (the HK AR-15!)

http://www.geocities.com/hellokittyisevil/kittykluxklan.html ("The kitty klux klan--not to be confused with any other klans--will one day stop the cult of this evil feline and the world will be safe once more.")