Target Pulls Apparel on Neo-Nazi Allegation

Target Corp. pulled clothing bearing “88” and “Eight Eight” from its shelves this week after complaints that the words and numbers are code for “Heil Hitler” among neo-Nazis.

The Minneapolis-based discounter issued a statement apologizing “for any discomfort” that may have been caused by the baseball caps with the numerals “88” and shorts bearing images of skulls and the words “Eight Eight.”

“Target is a family-oriented store and company, and it is not our intent to carry any merchandise that promotes hate,” the statement said. “Target does not and will not tolerate discrimination in any form.”

Groups upset about the clothing say they want to know how such designs ended up on Target apparel bearing one of the retailer’s private labels, Utility.

“It is well-known here at the center that ‘88’ means ‘Heil Hitler,’ ” Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, said Wednesday. “The company needs to investigate the manufacturer, the one who sold them the product. Did the manufacturer know this was a code for Heil Hitler? If they did, Target should not do any business with them in the future.”

In the Chinese community, the number eight is a symbol of good luck. But in the case of the Target shorts, the words “eight eight” were paired with skulls. And Hier said that regardless of potential other meanings, the fact that “88” is a symbol for Heil Hitler means the merchandise should not be sold.

Target officials did not return calls. One analyst who follows the company said the design approval process is often slapdash and said that it’s highly unlikely Target officials had any clue to the Nazi symbolism.

“A lot of times it’s a graphics designer sitting at a screen coming up with an idea,” said Robert Buchanan, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons. “There’s not a lot of time for the approval process. You’re trying to come up with multiple designs hoping that some of them hit with kids.”

The controversy came to light after Sacramento resident Joseph Rodriguez saw the shorts with skeletons and “Eight Eight.” Because H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, 88 and Eight Eight have been used as code by white supremacists for “Heil Hitler.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Rodriguez, a video producer and director for UC Davis.

Rodriguez, 51, said he first complained to Target’s customer service center in early June but “they basically blew me off.”

In late July, Rodriguez contacted the Southern Poverty Law Center, which said it also attempted to contact Target and then posted information about the clothing on its Web site, www .tolerance.org.

“By the next morning, we had a response from them that they were going to pull all this merchandise from all 1,100 stores,” spokesman Mark Potok said.

Having clothing with such symbols appearing on them sold by a mass merchandise chain such as Target demonstrates how a “very small and extremely violent subculture make their way into the mainstream,” Potok said.

“Eighty-eight is possibly the best known neo-Nazi shorthand in the world today,” he said. “When something like the 88 symbol makes its way into mainstream youth culture, it’s very likely the ideas attached to that symbol will follow shortly.”

A designer with one Los Angeles T-shirt manufacturer asserted that workers in the garment industry are too busy with deadlines to fuss over hidden meanings in a design.

“We’re just trying to hurry up and get it done,” said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I wouldn’t put 666 [a Satanic symbol] on a T-shirt, let’s say that. And that’s about as far as it goes.”

In the young men’s and juniors markets, companies are constantly trying to come up with bold graphics that will appeal to youth, Buchanan said.

Sometimes the graphic or design “doesn’t make any sense at all,” he said, but somehow strikes a chord with young buyers.