Tennessee Hat Shop Offer Of Yellow Star Of David Patches Denounced

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HatWRKS in Nashville is under fire for selling "not vaccinated" patches that look very similar to the yellow stars Nazis made Jews wear during WWII.Instagram

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The owner of a Tennessee hat shop is dealing with pushback after posting a photo of herself to social media wearing a yellow patch resembling the Star of David with the words “not vaccinated.”

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The photo posted by Gigi Gaskins, owner of HatWrksNashville, shows her smiling and wearing the badge that looks similar in shape and color to those that the Nazis forced Jews to wear in Europe during the Holocaust. A caption with the photo advertised the patches for $5 apiece.

“People are so outraged by my post? But are you outraged with the tyranny the world is experiencing?” Gaskins said on Instagram. “If you don’t understand what is happening, that is on you not me. I pay much more respect to history by standing up with the fallen than offering silence and compliance.”

Gaskins later deleted the photo and issued an apology Saturday.

“In NO WAY did I intend to trivialize the Star of David or disrespect what happened to millions of people. That is not who I am & what I stand for,” Gaskins wrote. “My intent was not to exploit or make a profit. My hope was to share my genuine concern & fear, and to do all that I can to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. I sincerely apologize for any insensitivity.”

The photo was shared widely on social media with the hashtag “hateworks” and prompted hat maker Stetson to announce that it was pulling its products from the store. Hat maker Goorin Bros. of San Francisco said on Instagram that it was “horrified” by the patch.

“To make a mockery of the Holocaust in any form is unacceptable and completely insensitive,” owner and company President Ben Goorin said. “We are looking at all options to fix and address this unfortunate circumstance.”

The photo also prompted small protests outside the shop on Saturday. One sign at a protest read, “The Holocaust is not a marketing op.”

Ivo H. Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013, denounced the photo on Twitter.

“As a young school girl in Holland, my mother was forced to wear a yellow star by the Nazis to identify her as a Jew,” Daalder wrote. “It’s beyond grotesque to sell this evil symbol to proclaim one’s not vaccinated. Where does this end?”


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Liam K. Nuj
Liam K. Nuj
2 years ago

I guess she wasn’t vaccinated against stupidity either

Smart man
Smart man
2 years ago

I guess she didn’t have family that was killed in the holocaust

hashomer
hashomer
2 years ago

I guess she’s a rabid Qanon and Rep. Greene supporter. I left her a nice email on behalf of my extened family who lost their lives in the Churban…

Paul Revere
Paul Revere
2 years ago

She’s just following up on the Qanon Congresswoman”s comments.

whitecar
whitecar
2 years ago

all of a sudden everyone is concerned with antisemitism when it isn’t democrat they have to attack. Yay now I feel safe!

Not Surprised
Not Surprised
2 years ago

I thought the same and had a similar idea as her. She is right on the money, but too many people would misread the execution.
Before you castigate, yes I am frum and lost many family members in the holocaust-as if that should matter.

Anonymous
Anonymous
2 years ago

Everyone needs to calm down.

There is no reason that this store owner can’t appropriate a symbol from the Nazi Holocaust in the manner that she has done. The message she is sending is clear, and it has nothing to do with the Holocaust.

Is her reason for the yellow start just as severe as the original yellow star? No. But that’s no reason to blast her for this.

This absurd and extreme offense taken from this comes from Holocaust worship, meaning idolatry, not rational thought.