The Evolution Of Life
06-09-2006, 03:43 PM
"An action figure, modeled after the World Wrestling Federation's Al Snow, which depicts him carrying around a woman's head, has been pulled off the shelves at Walmart stores because of a complaint lodged by a university professor that the toy trivializes violence against women. The reaction from Walmart shoppers was unanimous: 'What's a university professor?'"-Saturday Night Live-Weekend Update 11/6/99
AL SNOW TOY STORY
USAToday chat with Mick Foley 12/14/2000
Pensacola, Florida: What do you think of Wal-Marts decision not to sell your book...Is this an Al Snow conspiracy since they decided not to sell his figure too???
Mick Foley: I really can't understand it. The idea that you could walk in and ask the guy selling shotguns and live ammunition where the children's book section is, and then be told that "Christmas Chaos" is offensive is totally ludicrous. I was told by the publicist at HarperCollins that they may ban my next children's book because I use the world "poop" in it. I think the fact that they banned Al Snow's doll because it supposedly featured him with a severed head (which is not what the character is about at all) and then DID sell Sleepy Hollow action figures, which actually DID include severed heads, is even more ludicrous.
Crazy Wayne Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This write up is my opinions of the original Article
It wouldn't mean nothing without our toys! James Brown once sang"this is a man world,but it wouldn't be nothing,nothing without a Woman or a girl,you see man made the cars to take us over the road,man made the train,to carry the heavey load,man made the electric light to take us out of the dark,man made the boat on the water,like Noah made the ark.this is a Man's,Man's,Man's,world,but it wouldn't mean nothing,nothing,without a Woman or a Girl! Man thinks about a little baby Girl,and a baby Boy,Man makes them happy,cuz Man makes them toys"
Or so the song goes but some people are not happy with the toys as we seen Al's Action Figures pulled from Wal-Mart store after our friends from Kennesaw U, Katherine Kinnick, and Sabrena Parton complained that this was the kind of toy she does not what her kids to be playing with because her thinking was that "HEAD" was played out to be the choped off head of a female who couldn't stand up to the big bullie that is Al Snow the wrestler,and that Al was no less than a beater of women and so on.
What stared this was the write up in the Atlanta Journal Constitution of Sunday Oct 31st,1999 titled"Gruesome toy sends wrong message to kids",above the title are the words"Fostering Abuse" They start the Article off by talking about the by gone days of Hulk Hogan Lunchboxes and WWF innocuous stars,they then go on to say,and I quote"Meet Al Snow,He enters the arena waving his tradmark:a female Mannequin's head skewered on a stick"(ed:Ok they got the part right that they are in the know that it IS a mannequin's head,but when was HEAD ever skewered with a stick??Well maybe once,but it wasn't skewered,it was more like stuck in the hole at the bottom so that Al could stick it down his pants for future surprise attacks,and ok it was spiked once,but thats another story.
They then go on to say that Al"carries HEAD like a scepter"not sure how they came up with that,maybe from watching too many Star Wars movies,they then write"he exhorts the crowd to join in his"theme song""What do you want",well if your a Wrestling fan you know they got that wrong,it's "what does everybody want?",not "What do you want",if I wanted something I'd ask for a Ham Sandwich! Then in there unknowing ways they write"Never mind that Snow's antics celebrate the dismemberment and objectification of Women",ed:right there I would like to know were they came up with that??HEAD is not a dismemberment of anything,granted HEAD is of female form but it has never been Male or Female,but more of a them with a female face.
They then have the guts to say"There,among the G.I. Joes"..(.ed:.wait a sec,they think it's ok to play with dolls that front war,and killing???,go figure...)"Star Wars figures,including an Al Snow toy that ought to send a chill up the spine of any parent.",(ed:weres that come from?"a chill up the spine of any parent???...allrighty then) This is even better,they go on to state"Locked in plastic packaging between the figures of Al Snow and another male Wrestler(ed:they don't even know who it is)is a long-haired female head(ed:they forgot to say mannequin's head)-just the head(ed:where is HEAD's body anyway...thats the question)emblazoned(ed:emblazoned??)with"HELP ME" across the forehead.
Just what did the toymaker intend for a couple of 7-year-old boys to do with the head?Hmmm(ed:I like how they add Hmmm,nice writing for a couple of professors)"implaed it on a stick,as a photo on the package of the real Al Snow shows?(ed:I think maybe these girl's used to,or maybe still do this to their Barbie dolls,where else would they get the idea??) "Can playing with a Woman's severed head serve a anything but a training manual for future spousal abousers?"(ed:wow! nice thinking on that one lady's,I'm sure Al would just love to have child protection folks over at his house,maybe they should check up on the Ladys first,no?)
I had to laugh as they went on to say"It's doubtful that even the hardest-core Wrestling fan can find any redeeming value here"(ed:what the hell does hardest-core mean???)This statment even got Dr.Laura going as on her radio show she spent a good amount of time getting on the case of the C.E.O. of Wal Mart,then riped into Al saying that HEAD was not fit for anyone(ed:this coming from an uptight right winger that posed for nude photos,whats the value in that?)
They then go on saything that maybe Wrestling fans might think they have no sense of humor.....(ed:true),they go on about sexual metaphors and that it carries on to the Action Figure(ed:how may I ask?....it's an Action Figure not something they may use that needs batteries) They go on to say that the Action Figure was made for children,well my question would be,if the child is not a westling fan,has never seen Al Snow or HEAD in his or her life,why in the hell would they want the Al Snow Action Figure???,as they state"In which the chubby hands this toy was headed.
Then they wonder what would have happened if HEAD was black,or Hispanic,or checker board or whatever,damn you never heard any Mexicans complane when Pepper was eaten,HEAD has a soul of all, it is of many or any race you damn well want it to be.
"Of course,any parent who fails to exercise judgment in what thier children watch and buy also shares the blame"(ed:isn't that a little controling??maybe a little abusive??)
This is the killer here"Dismemberment of women used to be confined to R-rated slasher films,and triple-X pornography(ed:how do they know?)then they end the Article telling you do show this Article to retailers so that they will remove the Action Figures from the shelves(ed:Along with the K.Y. jelly I would think)
I seem to think that maybe just maybe she jumped the gun,which is surprising because Ms Parton is a proffessor of Communications at Kennesaw U and as of last summer was teaching classes in "Interviewing" and "Dissussion" methods. Makes you kind of wonder how,and even if her students had a dissussion about Al and his HEAD,as a professor wouldn't you think she would research about HEAD to find out what the gimmick was all about?
There is a good and a bad side to all of this,the good side being that it put Al in the lime light where he was on national news,hell my Mother now even knows who Al Snow is and for the first time in many a months AL SNOW'S HEAD was getting over 100 hits a day,which was ether because of this news or because Al and Mick won the tag team belts. The bad news would be that this was in part the reson why stocks of the WWF droped so low that week.
My question though would be why the Al Snow Action Figure??,did her son come up to her and say"mommy I want this!" and she looked at it and went into shock,and how did they come across the Action Figure??? were they looking at the WWF action Figures when she spoted Al's?? are the kids watching wrestling behind mommys back???
I wonder if she will pack up the kids and go see the new movie"Sleepy Hollow"? now theres something she could protest,then we could be left to play with our toys.
Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter 1999 Newsletter-In the Hotlight
Walt Mueller-
Al Snow enters the ring carrying a severed women's head (not real, of course) and wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with a phrase promoting oral sex - "Everyone needs a little head." Upon Snow's arrival in the ring, the announcer asks the audience, "What does everybody need?" and "What does everybody want?" The audience screams the answer to both in unison- "Head!"
AL SNOW TOY STORY
USAToday chat with Mick Foley 12/14/2000
Pensacola, Florida: What do you think of Wal-Marts decision not to sell your book...Is this an Al Snow conspiracy since they decided not to sell his figure too???
Mick Foley: I really can't understand it. The idea that you could walk in and ask the guy selling shotguns and live ammunition where the children's book section is, and then be told that "Christmas Chaos" is offensive is totally ludicrous. I was told by the publicist at HarperCollins that they may ban my next children's book because I use the world "poop" in it. I think the fact that they banned Al Snow's doll because it supposedly featured him with a severed head (which is not what the character is about at all) and then DID sell Sleepy Hollow action figures, which actually DID include severed heads, is even more ludicrous.
Crazy Wayne Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This write up is my opinions of the original Article
It wouldn't mean nothing without our toys! James Brown once sang"this is a man world,but it wouldn't be nothing,nothing without a Woman or a girl,you see man made the cars to take us over the road,man made the train,to carry the heavey load,man made the electric light to take us out of the dark,man made the boat on the water,like Noah made the ark.this is a Man's,Man's,Man's,world,but it wouldn't mean nothing,nothing,without a Woman or a Girl! Man thinks about a little baby Girl,and a baby Boy,Man makes them happy,cuz Man makes them toys"
Or so the song goes but some people are not happy with the toys as we seen Al's Action Figures pulled from Wal-Mart store after our friends from Kennesaw U, Katherine Kinnick, and Sabrena Parton complained that this was the kind of toy she does not what her kids to be playing with because her thinking was that "HEAD" was played out to be the choped off head of a female who couldn't stand up to the big bullie that is Al Snow the wrestler,and that Al was no less than a beater of women and so on.
What stared this was the write up in the Atlanta Journal Constitution of Sunday Oct 31st,1999 titled"Gruesome toy sends wrong message to kids",above the title are the words"Fostering Abuse" They start the Article off by talking about the by gone days of Hulk Hogan Lunchboxes and WWF innocuous stars,they then go on to say,and I quote"Meet Al Snow,He enters the arena waving his tradmark:a female Mannequin's head skewered on a stick"(ed:Ok they got the part right that they are in the know that it IS a mannequin's head,but when was HEAD ever skewered with a stick??Well maybe once,but it wasn't skewered,it was more like stuck in the hole at the bottom so that Al could stick it down his pants for future surprise attacks,and ok it was spiked once,but thats another story.
They then go on to say that Al"carries HEAD like a scepter"not sure how they came up with that,maybe from watching too many Star Wars movies,they then write"he exhorts the crowd to join in his"theme song""What do you want",well if your a Wrestling fan you know they got that wrong,it's "what does everybody want?",not "What do you want",if I wanted something I'd ask for a Ham Sandwich! Then in there unknowing ways they write"Never mind that Snow's antics celebrate the dismemberment and objectification of Women",ed:right there I would like to know were they came up with that??HEAD is not a dismemberment of anything,granted HEAD is of female form but it has never been Male or Female,but more of a them with a female face.
They then have the guts to say"There,among the G.I. Joes"..(.ed:.wait a sec,they think it's ok to play with dolls that front war,and killing???,go figure...)"Star Wars figures,including an Al Snow toy that ought to send a chill up the spine of any parent.",(ed:weres that come from?"a chill up the spine of any parent???...allrighty then) This is even better,they go on to state"Locked in plastic packaging between the figures of Al Snow and another male Wrestler(ed:they don't even know who it is)is a long-haired female head(ed:they forgot to say mannequin's head)-just the head(ed:where is HEAD's body anyway...thats the question)emblazoned(ed:emblazoned??)with"HELP ME" across the forehead.
Just what did the toymaker intend for a couple of 7-year-old boys to do with the head?Hmmm(ed:I like how they add Hmmm,nice writing for a couple of professors)"implaed it on a stick,as a photo on the package of the real Al Snow shows?(ed:I think maybe these girl's used to,or maybe still do this to their Barbie dolls,where else would they get the idea??) "Can playing with a Woman's severed head serve a anything but a training manual for future spousal abousers?"(ed:wow! nice thinking on that one lady's,I'm sure Al would just love to have child protection folks over at his house,maybe they should check up on the Ladys first,no?)
I had to laugh as they went on to say"It's doubtful that even the hardest-core Wrestling fan can find any redeeming value here"(ed:what the hell does hardest-core mean???)This statment even got Dr.Laura going as on her radio show she spent a good amount of time getting on the case of the C.E.O. of Wal Mart,then riped into Al saying that HEAD was not fit for anyone(ed:this coming from an uptight right winger that posed for nude photos,whats the value in that?)
They then go on saything that maybe Wrestling fans might think they have no sense of humor.....(ed:true),they go on about sexual metaphors and that it carries on to the Action Figure(ed:how may I ask?....it's an Action Figure not something they may use that needs batteries) They go on to say that the Action Figure was made for children,well my question would be,if the child is not a westling fan,has never seen Al Snow or HEAD in his or her life,why in the hell would they want the Al Snow Action Figure???,as they state"In which the chubby hands this toy was headed.
Then they wonder what would have happened if HEAD was black,or Hispanic,or checker board or whatever,damn you never heard any Mexicans complane when Pepper was eaten,HEAD has a soul of all, it is of many or any race you damn well want it to be.
"Of course,any parent who fails to exercise judgment in what thier children watch and buy also shares the blame"(ed:isn't that a little controling??maybe a little abusive??)
This is the killer here"Dismemberment of women used to be confined to R-rated slasher films,and triple-X pornography(ed:how do they know?)then they end the Article telling you do show this Article to retailers so that they will remove the Action Figures from the shelves(ed:Along with the K.Y. jelly I would think)
I seem to think that maybe just maybe she jumped the gun,which is surprising because Ms Parton is a proffessor of Communications at Kennesaw U and as of last summer was teaching classes in "Interviewing" and "Dissussion" methods. Makes you kind of wonder how,and even if her students had a dissussion about Al and his HEAD,as a professor wouldn't you think she would research about HEAD to find out what the gimmick was all about?
There is a good and a bad side to all of this,the good side being that it put Al in the lime light where he was on national news,hell my Mother now even knows who Al Snow is and for the first time in many a months AL SNOW'S HEAD was getting over 100 hits a day,which was ether because of this news or because Al and Mick won the tag team belts. The bad news would be that this was in part the reson why stocks of the WWF droped so low that week.
My question though would be why the Al Snow Action Figure??,did her son come up to her and say"mommy I want this!" and she looked at it and went into shock,and how did they come across the Action Figure??? were they looking at the WWF action Figures when she spoted Al's?? are the kids watching wrestling behind mommys back???
I wonder if she will pack up the kids and go see the new movie"Sleepy Hollow"? now theres something she could protest,then we could be left to play with our toys.
Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter 1999 Newsletter-In the Hotlight
Walt Mueller-
Al Snow enters the ring carrying a severed women's head (not real, of course) and wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with a phrase promoting oral sex - "Everyone needs a little head." Upon Snow's arrival in the ring, the announcer asks the audience, "What does everybody need?" and "What does everybody want?" The audience screams the answer to both in unison- "Head!"