Famed soap giant Bed Bath and Beyond pulls “Blackface” Jack-o-Lanterns after some complaints. The whole controversy began when lawyers, Feerick Nugent MacCartney had displayed the items for seasonal decoration. The community backlash forced the legal firm to remove the pumpkins.
Not surprisingly, the NAACP got involved. Wilbur Aldridge a spokesperson claims that the black jack-o-lanterns are “an extreme lack of sensitivity.” He went on adding, “By now I would believe everyone [ought to] know that anything in blackface is offensive. Equally as offensive is that a retail store would have such an item in [their] inventory for general purchase.”
This whole matter is surely an overreaction. The slightest suspicion of impropriety can cause an entire product line to be removed. Bed Bath and Beyond immediately took down that item from their online sales area.
One wonders where this will end. What will we ban next, Scottish sheep figurines? How about, lawn jockeys? The fearful populaces and overly-sensitive activists seem to be on the lookout for any semblance of racism, in particular, in everyday nook and cranny. In this pumpkin fiasco, one may be forgiven for thinking that this was a case of projection, pure and simple.
We are unaware of what will happen now to the ‘blackface’ jack-o-lanterns’ already in inventory, but it is presumed they might run for Prime Minister of Canada.
