March has marched out of our lives, but a marketing move that sprouted as a parody last month has blossomed into a controversial matter, with Amazon continuing to hawk a T-shirt whose text consists of a take on a social activist movement’s creed.
The questionable clothing choice bears a four-leaf clover and the assertion that “Drunk Lives Matter.” Deemed a fitting selection by PubCrawls.com for libations-heavy St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, it has come to court rebuke, with displeased individuals claiming it trivializes the Black Lives Matter message. Regardless of one’s stance on the efficacy of the movement, which looks to address perceived racism toward black people, the item, which Amazon had initially tabbed a “Funny Parody Saint Patrick’s Day Irish Drinking Shirt,” has proven a much-maligned product on social media and through the retailer’s website, with one reviewer declaring “Oooh! Hardyharhar! Let’s totally mock injustice.”
That is not to say that Amazon has suffered economically by hawking it. Though the inclusion of the four-leaf clover (not the correct St. Patrick’s Day symbol, as we’ve seen) and its March availability could give the T-shirt a seasonal vibe among many consumers, it will likely sell in high quantities throughout the year, much like the other Irish-themed apparel items do, no matter how low-brow or stereotypical they are.
Other popular picks that look to use comedy in exploring perceptions of Irish heritage include a “Go Home, Snakes, You’re Drunk” T-shirt that pays thread-based homage to Saint Patrick’s driving snakes out of Ireland, and a “Let’s Get Ready To Stumble” T-shirt that offers a pun on announcer Michael Buffer’s “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” catchphrase and reinforces the notion that the Irish are heavy drinkers. While these two examples might draw a chuckle, they and the “Drunk Lives Matter” shirt, which even uses the same font as the Black Lives Matter movement, will continue to fashion a few complaints among the masses and will intensify the debate on what, in the apparel world, serves as comedic interpretations of societal situations and what just smacks of insensitivity.
