Streetwear line offensive
New York company draws backlash for putting names of school shootings on hoodies
This BStory Instagram post drew criticism and backlash from people who called for the company to take down the post and ditch plans to make the streetwear with the names of school shootings.
October 11, 2019
In 1999, 13 people were killed at Columbine High School.
In 2007, 32 were killed at Virginia Tech.
In 2012, 26 at Sandy Hook Elementary.
In 2018, 17 at Stoneman Douglas in Florida.
And three weeks ago, a clothing company released a hoodie line glorifying these tragedies.
New York-based streetwear company, BStroy, posted photos of their new Samsara line on Instagram on Sept. 15. Along with graphic tees covered in printed assault rifles, the company promoted sweatshirts plastered with the names of some of the most well-known school shootings in America. If this isn’t already appalling enough, the hoodies were riddled with holes meant to mimic bullet holes.
Reading about the clothing’s details makes one viscerally sick.
The co-founders of BStroy, Brick Owens and Duey Catorze, claimed they were trying to make a statement on the “irony” of school shootings, because apparently it’s ironic to die in the one place you should feel safe. The 88 people whose deaths they are making money off of would most likely beg to differ.
This “deep” perspective of life BStroy believes that they have is anything but that. Being provocative for the sake of being provocative does not make one an intellectual.
BStroy plans on retailing the hoodies between $250 and $410. The company continues to defend their actions and has yet to apologize to the friends and families of the victims of these shootings that they have so deeply hurt.
The co-founders have received immense backlash from Instagram and Twitter users, but that’s not enough. The company needs to take responsibility for their actions and admit that they have made a huge mistake and publicly apologize.
Although the company has every legal right to release the sweatshirts, under the First Amendment, their way of presenting this so-called social commentary was cruel and uncalled for.
In 1999, the nation was shocked that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris had such little regard for human life that they could murder 13 of their classmates. Today, the nation is shocked that Brick Owens and Duey Catorze have such little regard of human life that they could attempt to profit off the death of 88 mass shooting victims.