The Deacon's Bench
Walmart, not content with just offending parents and Catholics, was until recently also doing its best to offend 9/11 victims (which, frankly, is every American) and Sikhs.
Under pressure from the Sikh community, Walmart on Friday pulled a turban-themed costume from its website that the Sikh Coalition has said is offensive to 9/11 victims and perpetuates “negative stereotypes about turbans and beards that have led to violence and discrimination against Sikhs and other minorities.”
The Sikh advocacy organization sent letters or made phone calls to several retailers selling the item to request its removal. Amazon.com listed the costume as “Fun World Adult Mens Osama Bin Laden Middle East Costume Turban + Beard,” while Walmart described it as “Turban Beard Adult Halloween Instant Costume.”
The costume appears to be manufactured by Fun World Costumes, and is for sale on the sites of retailers such as Sears and Rite Aid, among others.
Rajdeep Singh, Director of Law and Policy at The Sikh Coalition, told The Huffington Post, “If you lost a loved one during the 9/11 attacks or during our nation’s war against Al Qaeda, or if someone attacked your father in a hate crime because he wears a turban, I doubt this costume would make you comfortable.”
UPDATE: On Friday Walmart also stopped selling the “naughty leopard” costume for children:
“It was never our intention to offend anyone and we apologize to any customers who may have been offended by the name of the costume,” a Walmart spokesperson told KATU.
It wasn’t the costume itself that parents and bloggers found offensive. In fact, there wasn’t anything sexy about the cute fuchsia and black outfit, which didn’t look very leopard-like to begin with. What they didn’t like was use of the word “naughty” to describe a costume for little girls.
The “naughty nun” costume, at last report, was still available.
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