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Irish Angry At Urban Outfitters For Offensive St. Patrick's Day Merchandise
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 29, 2012
Modified Feb 29, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 29, 2012
Modified Feb 29, 2012
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A number of Congressional leaders are blasting Urban Outfitters for selling St. Patrick's Day merchandise that mocks people of Irish descent for acting like obnoxious, binge-drinking idiots every March 17th. It's unclear where Urban Outfitters got this notion, or why they think it's funny, but the company is in hot water with New York Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowley, who says, "By selling and promoting these items, Urban Outfitters is only fueling stereotypes that many Irish Americans, as well as the people of Ireland, work so hard to dispel." Got it, people? These are stereotypes. That Urban Outfitters beer jug labeled “Leprechaun Piss" is not literally for leprechaun piss.
Seamus Boyle of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America is threatening to organize a boycott of Urban Outfitters, and in a letter to the company says, "There are those few who use this day as an excuse to over celebrate but that does not give you or anyone else the right to defame and debase a whole race of people by selling the garbage that you display in your stores. If this is the way you must make your money by debasing a whole race of people I can assure you that with over 40 million people in this country claiming Irish ancestry they will not be your customers after this display of arrogance and disrespect to a whole nation."
Urban Outfitters has not yet commented on the kerfuffle. They're probably too busy working on their hilarious line of "Zombie Jesus" Easter T-shirts.
Tagged
Ancient Order of Hibernians
beer
fashion
irish
st. patrick's day parade
urban outfitters
vomit
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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