Many businesses will create products or introduce new products during major movements as a way to create a profit.
But when one Amazon seller printed a t-shirt depicting George Floyd's murder, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, people felt they were going much too far. Third-party Amazon seller "Ityracuv43n" was recently flagged by an Amazon employee for a distasteful graphic on a children's t-shirt line.
The shirt includes two images: the well-known image of Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem, to the right of the horrific image of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck, leading up to Floyd's death.
The shirt's listing appears to be in response to Floyd's death, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.
Above the two images, the shirt says:
"This... Is Why."
Below the two images, the shirt says:
"Against Violent law Enforcement"
On the listing that has since been removed by Amazon, the third-party seller said:
"[This shirt is a] state of the art [product]."
They also suggested:
"[This shirt will be] great for casual [occasions]."
A few people who spotted the product did not feel the same way about the content of the t-shirt, however.
1-star responses have suggested racism and insensitivity.
Ityracuv43n/Amazon
Ityracuv43n/Amazon
Ityracuv43n/Amazon
The information was also shared on Twitter, where users could not believe that such a shirt existed.
They also had problems with the product's model depiction.
The original listing of the shirt has been removed and the third-party seller's account is now being reviewed.
Amazon explained:
"All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account."
According to Amazon listing guidelines, products that depict crime scene photos are prohibited from being sold on Amazon's various sites. Despite the guidelines, however, the seller has since listed multiple editions of the product, making it still available to buyers.
Whether or not the creator of the shirt had positive intentions, there are more positive and tasteful ways to get the message out there.
