May 30, 2021 11:52 AM | With information from EFE
15 minutes. A hat store in Nashville, Tennessee, is the target of protests and vendor recalls after it offered gold stars to identify those not vaccinated against COVID-19. The insignia was linked to the one used by the Nazis to identify Jews.
Last Friday, hatWRKS posted an ad on its Instagram account promoting Star of David patches for sale with the caption “Not vaccinated.” This was published this Sunday by the US network CNN, which cites its subsidiaries WZTV and WSMV.
“The patches are here. They were great. $ 5 each. Strong adhesive on the back. We will be offering trucker caps soon, “the post read.
The notice, which was later withdrawn, was the subject of complaints from locals. Some gathered at the doors of the establishment on Saturday to protest what they considered an “anti-Semitic” message.
“Holocaust images are not for selling hats“read one of the posters carried by one of the participants in the rally. Another said that the Holocaust is not for GOP marketing, apparently alluding to the Republican Party.
Nashville resident Ron Rivlin told WSMV that they were protesting “against hatred and ignorance” and criticized promoting the gold star badges. He considered them the “symbol of the greatest atrocity the world has ever seen, which is the loss of 6 million human beings.”
Controversy
Following the rally, manufacturer John B. Stetson announced on his Twitter account on Saturday that “as a result of the offensive content and opinions shared by hatWRKS in Nashville” they would stop selling all their products to that store.
That firm, in a previous message on the same network, had condemned “anti-Semitism and discrimination of any kind.”
As a result of the offensive content and opinions shared by HatWRKS in Nashville, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products. We thank you for your continued support and patience.
– John B. Stetson (@StetsonUSA) May 29, 2021
In recent weeks, Republican legislator Marjorie Taylor Greene, linked to the QAnon conspiracy movement, was in the middle of a controversy for comparing the order to wear a mask in the United States Congress (USA) with the Holocaust.
Greene assured, days ago, in the space The Water Cooler with David Brody, that the order to use a mask remembered “a time in history when people were told to wear a gold starFurthermore, they were treated as ‘second-class citizens’, to the point that they were put on trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany.
His comments drew criticism from fellow party members and Democrats.
