Hang Loose is a pretty crap slogan to begin with, like something yer da might say when you’re heading on a night out.
But if you emblazon said words beneath a picture of a noose, it’s pretty clear to most people that you have a problem.
US clothing store TJ Maxx (or, TK Maxx in proper English) has been forced to withdraw the T-shirt from sale and issue an apology after attempting to sell the offending items across the country.
The outrage began after a TJ Maxx shopper in Florida – a state that was no-stranger to lynchings in the not-too-distant past – posted a photo of the rash shirt on Twitter:
It is absolutely sickening that @tjmaxx thinks it’s okay to sell a shirt like this. pic.twitter.com/woCRDuEqpe
— psycho girlfriend (@PsychoGF_) March 17, 2015
@tavik Hang loose t-shirt, do u have any other things in your #racism line of t-shirts? A hangman’s noose, come on, really? #WhitePrivilege
— Vicki Walden (@TheVikChick) March 17, 2015
The discount designer stash retailer eventually issued an apology:
‘At TJ Maxx, we take product matters very seriously and appreciate that this T-shirt has been brought to our attention. As soon as we became aware of the offensive T-shirt message, we initiated the process to remove this item from our stores and are internally reviewing how we inadvertently purchased the item.’
We can only imagine that somewhere in the US, a T-shirt designer is looking for a new job.
