A UK supermarket chain finds itself in a caught between a rock and a white supremacist place after patrons noticed their World Cup themed “wearable England flag” looks suspiciously like a KKK hood and robe.
Asda are selling wearable England flags, they look dodgy to say the least… pic.twitter.com/cGBsSdQyP9
— Kieran (@KieranCPhoto) May 29, 2014
Oof.
Asda, one of England’s largest retail chains and a subsidiary of Walmart, has vociferously denied claims of Klan-yness. Said a company spokeswoman:
“We know there’s chatter on Twitter about our wearable World Cup flags, but it’s simply a flag with a hood – nothing more, nothing less.
“We opted for a hood on our wearable England and Brazilian flags as you never know what the British weather will bring.
“We want customers to get behind the team without getting wet.”
In light of the recent drama surrounding Macklemoreghazi, I’m inclined to give Asda the benefit of the doubt – a hood and cape does not necessarily a Klansman make (see: “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar“). Just because it looks like a something nefarious doesn’t mean it necessarily is, or that there’s any ill-will involved.
That said, It’s one thing for a lunkhead rapper to grab a costume and run out onstage. It’s quite another for a huge corporate chain to design and mass-produce a product that does look an awful lot like it boosted off the Birth Of A Nation set. Sure it was made an ocean away from the actual Klan, but hell, I’m not German, and I still know that a brown shirt and armband is usually a fashion “don’t.” Would it have been so much to run this thing through one more focus group on the off chance that someone might have piped up and said “Uh, folks, I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but…”
Alas, we’ll never know – the product is already on the shelf, and UK (or Brazilian) boosters will have to decide for themselves whether they want to support their team and risk accidentally looking like Klansmen.
So let’s chalk this whole thing up to stupidity and be done with it. We’d hate for the Yid Army to have to get involved.
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