Monday, March 13, 2017

PC Gone Wrong



An Irish pub owner has apologized for selling ‘Mom, Dad…I’m Gaelic’ t-shirts for St Patrick’s Day.
The green t-shirt features a rainbow and a pot of gold on the front, alongside the name of the bar Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub in Syracuse, New York.
On the back, the shirt reads: ‘Everyone comes out for St . Paddy’s Day 2017.’
When the t-shirts went live on social media, it divided opinion.
‘Horrible excuse for a shirt. Nothing like making a joke based off the LGTBQ community,’ one Facebook user said.

Another said: ‘This is so inappropriate. On many levels this is so wrong. Please reconsider.’
Others called it ’embarrassing’ and a ‘major fail’.
However many said they are gay and were not offended in the slightest.
One said: ‘Love it…I’m gay and not offended in the least…Been going to Colemans for 30+ years, and have always felt welcome by all.’
Jason Galvez, secretary of CYN Pride, believed the offense could come down to intent.
‘If this were a way to demean and belittle the gay community, obviously we would be against the sale of these shirts,’ Galvez told Syracuse News.
‘Personally, I see this as a way to raise awareness about the gay community in a slightly playful way.’
He added: ‘[But] what about two moms or two dads?…The gay community understandably has a psychological sunburn. It’s easy to flinch.
‘We don’t have to be offended by everything, but we also have endured so much, from electro-conversion therapy to jail to being thrown out of churches.’
Dennis Coleman, the pub manager at Coleman’s, apologized. He did however say the t-shirt was intended to be ‘irreverent’ like similar to other clothing available on the website.
‘It has been brought to our attention that the t-shirt Coleman’s produced for St. Patrick’s Day has offended some members of the LGBT community,’ he said in a statement.
‘It was not our intention to offend anyone. 20 years ago, we would never have considered producing a shirt like this because it was something you didn’t talk about.
‘Things are more open now. It was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on society.
‘But we understand now how some gay people might take offense and for that we apologize.
‘That’s the problem with humor.–what some people can laugh about; other people find offensive.’

Can't speak for every gay person in the country, but I'd order one for everyone in my family; not offended in the slightest would even encourage the bar to make it available both nationally and internationally.

1 comment:

Cy said...

Ulf,
I agree. I think it is a great shirt.