Bottom line is that this deranged writer who devoted herself to promoting a fake philosophy of self-reliance today is the heroine of those who are without empathy for the vulnerable and who would do nothing to help them. People who believe in Rand are still pumping up her reputation and promoting the "greed is good" approach to our society, including Lululemon's CEO, no doubt.
If this twisted belief system prevails, our society will be severely and permanently damaged. That is why it is so disturbing to read this claptrap about John Galt and his preaching against mediocrity. Those words are code for human indifference, selfishness and anti-social behavior, which fits the description of a personality disorder.
You can rest assured that I and many others who naively associated the yoga movement with progressive values and humanity will never set foot in your Lululemon stores again. After all, you don't need us — you can survive just fine on your own.
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, a self-made billionaire thanks to his retail endeavor, seems to court controversy. In he gave a speech about the merits of outsourcing production to Asia and using child labor. He told the National Post Business Magazine that his company's name is a marketing tool in Japan, because "it's funny to watch them try and say it. Influencing others' personal opinions isn't welcome, especially when it's not invited," he said.
I almost exclusively wear Lululemon clothing for all my workouts," said Lori Popkewitz Alper, yoga practitioner and editor of the website Groovy Green Livin'. I'm not sure why a company would take such a strong political view. I'm guessing that many who continue to carry the bags either don't have a clue what the Ayn Rand novel stands for or don't care that they are inadvertently making a political statement.
Sign up now for the Retail Customer Experience newsletter and get the top stories delivered straight to your inbox. Forgot your password? In late October, the company began using shopping bags with the words "Who is John Galt? The company also added the book to its staff reading list. In recent years more companies have taken philosophical stands in their marketing, but most embrace charitable and community-oriented causes, rather than Rand's every-man-for-himself point of view.
A post on the official Lululemon blog explains that the company's founder Chip Wilson, who read Atlas Shrugged at 18, was inspired by its encouragement to "elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness. Because our society encourages mediocrity. It is easier to be mediocre than to be great.
The post concludes: "Our bags are visual reminders for ourselves to live a life we love and conquer the epidemic of mediocrity. We all have a John Galt inside of us, cheering us on. It has even dealt with backlash over messages on its bags before. But it is strange that a marketing mishap of this nature should come under the leadership of CEO Christine Day. It seemed these kooky stunts which appear to stem from company founder Chip Wilson were over when Day came to Lululemon in June of after two decades at Starbucks, where she most recently led the fast-growing Asia Pacific Group.
Equally perplexing is why the team at Lululemon decided it was time for an Objectivist boost only a few months after the release of the Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 movie. Man, are you going to get a letdown. The beauty of yoga is that it is all accepting.
But in the eyes of consumers, buying into a holistic kind of self-improvement is different than standing up for blatant egoism.
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