PacSun's flag T-shirt: Patriotism turned on its head
It may be OK for the Netflix television series 鈥溾�� to show the American flag flipped upside down, a traditional S.O.S. symbol of distress, in the opening credits, but when retailer Pacific Sunwear offered a similar on Memorial Day weekend, the result was public revolt.
The T-shirt featuring the flipped flag in black and white was designed in collaboration with the Harlem, New York rapper聽, according to the shirt鈥檚 page, which has since been deleted from the company鈥檚 website.
According to of the United States Flag Code, which governs how the US flag should be treated, 鈥淭he flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.鈥� It is the interpretation of 鈥渄istress鈥� which has long been open to interpretation by artists, retailers and activists.
However, after mounting online pressure from the public, Pacific Sunwear, Inc. released the following statement on its Facebook page, 鈥淎s a retailer grounded in youth culture, PacSun values artistic and creative expression through the brands that we sell in our stores. Out of respect for those who have put their lives on the line for our country, we have decided to stop selling the licensed flag T-shirt and are removing it from our stores and website immediately. We thank the men and women in uniform for their extraordinary service.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e probably seen the flag and anarchy symbol on the runway at fashion week in New York City,鈥� says Dan Baum, CEO of , a聽public relations and social media firm, in an interview with the Monitor. 鈥淪o this really isn鈥檛 a new idea. It dates back to the 60s.鈥�
Back in October 1968, activist Abbie Hoffman was arrested in Washington, D.C. for wearing a shirt that looked like the flag.
In court, according to the website Open Jurist which contains a , Hoffman鈥檚 defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt asked, 鈥淚s wearing a shirt dishonoring the flag? Does Uncle Sam, when he marches in the parade on July 4th, dishonor?鈥�
鈥淯ncle Sam himself is a national symbol, just as the flag is a national symbol, and one national symbol, recognized as such, cannot deface and defile and cast contempt upon another national symbol ... the government has a legitimate interest in maintaining the sanctity of its symbols,鈥� 聽Prosecutor Benton Becker argued.
Hoffman testified, 鈥淚 wore the shirt because I was going before the un-American Activities Committee of the House of Representatives, and I don鈥檛 particularly consider that committee American, and I don鈥檛 consider that House of Representatives particularly representative. And I wore the shirt to show that we were in the tradition of the founding fathers of this country.鈥�
Mr. Baum adds, 鈥淚f I鈥檓 PacSun, I don鈥檛 think this is a loss. I mean, who鈥檚 really heard of PacSun before? But now, people are talking about it.鈥�
鈥淢aybe the merchandisers thought it was funny and when the marketing team got the first blowback online, they pulled it,鈥� Baum theorizes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cheap way to get eyeballs online to be looking at your brand. But I would also categorize it as effective because here we are talking about it.鈥�
This is not the same as when, in May, Under Armour produced and then removed its shirt in which a tableau of teens erect a basketball hoop in a tribute to the iconic image of raising the flag at Iwo Jima, which backfired.
鈥淭he Under Armour shirt was more of a wink and a nod,鈥� Baum says. 鈥淭he backlash from that design was more a result of Under Armour鈥檚 designers being out of touch with the American public with that issue. While they should have foreseen it, PacSun was clearly trying to stir controversy. I mean, if you鈥檙e looking for really truly inflammatory sound bites and sort of politically incorrect PR stunts, look no further than rap.鈥�
