I was floored when I got an email from T-Shirt Hell that they were going out of business. I thought this site would thrive and then kind of water down their infamous T-shirt designs as the ownership became older and calmed down. BUT NO! They are going down in flames of their own making.

According to the post on the site as to why they are going out of business the owner calling himself Sunshine Megatron states: “No, I’m not selling out to some douchebag corporate entity. No, we’re not being sued by any of the over 40 companies that have sent us cease and desists over the years. No, I’m not going to jail (yet) and no, it’s not because of the economy.”

 The reason seems to be that Sunshine is sick of idiots. But then with his designs you would think he would be used to that. Any popular humorist has to deal with people who think they can label you a bigot, hatemonger, and any other guilt word they can think of when they misinterpret who you are and you’re jokes.

He gives the example of a recent T-shirt slogan that said: “It’s Not Gay If You Beat Them Up Afterwards.” This of course prompted people to write in that it was a gay bashing shirt.

Sunshine claims it isn’t and I believe him due to the history of the site and because I think it can be interpreted literally and ironically. He refuses to explain his take on it which I think is to his delight. I could see it as a comment on wife beating or jail sex or a homophobic man who refuses to acknowledge he’s gay even though he’s having gay sex (if he beats his partner up afterwards he’s straight again).

But that’s what I liked about T-Shirt Hell. You would read the slogans and upon first impression they would seem wrong, so wrong they should not be sold. Then upon reflection it sinks in and you get the humor. People who wore these must have been daring because they were bound to find disciplinarian action. Either that or they were actual bigots who didn’t get the humor.

I believe the owner makes it clear later in the post that he wants to do something different and has plenty of money to do it with. That’s the real reason for him closing the doors. I can understand that. He hit it big with this company and now it’s time to try his hand at something else to see if he can do it again.

Which is what he should have said in the first place instead of whining about people being offended and that supposedly it was part of his decision-making process. I have no sympathy. His business sells around 3000 shirts a week and it was those people who protested that provided the best publicity. So if I were to take on Sunshine’s attitude then–please shut up and go count your f*****’ money!

As of Feb 10th T-Shirt Hell is out of business and right now they have a sale going on. So I might suggest for your pop culture collection of online hits to pick up a shirt–just for the hell of it!

If you’re not familiar with how controversial the slogans are I’ll leave you with a handful to offend you:

• Letting homeless people touch me for a quarter since 1984
• What about all the good things Hitler did?
• Slavery gets s**t done
• Swallow or it’s going in your eye
• Stop abortion - Kill sluts
• Kill yourself - all the cool kids are doing it
• If a fat girl falls in the woods, do the trees laugh?

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