Written by: Gene Cole, Opinions Editor
Make America Great Again (MAGA) has become a meme of uncomfortable proportions. Made popular as a slogan in President Trump’s 2015 election campaign, it continues to be worn by celebrities and Trump rally attendants to show their passion for Trump. Even in Canada, it’s been seen as a symbol of the more hostile attitudes of the right-winged, some individuals going as far as to deny restaurant service to those wearing clothing that bears the slogan.
With this context, it astonishes me that Hudson’s Bay very briefly sold a “Make Canada Great Again” hat on their online store. This hat, manufactured by the Los Angeles Trading Company, was available to purchase online at the Hudson’s Bay website for an incredibly short time. Within this time, there were several tweets requesting removal of the item or boycotts of Hudson’s Bay before it being listed as “sold out” to prevent sales.
While it’s good to see this hat not lasting more than a day, the fact that it existed in the first place is concerning. At worst, it’s a horrible example of these companies being blatant with their political attitudes towards this particular right-wing group. Regardless of Hudson’s Bay and Los Angeles Trading Company’s political leanings, putting a variation of MAGA in a public store shows a willingness to support this political identity. They very well could be showing interest in giving this group a stronger presence in Canada.
Although the best-case scenario may be just as disappointing — that these companies genuinely didn’t expect such a response from selling a product embroidered with the slogan.
This is something that both of these companies are implying with their statements about the hat. In an email statement from Hudson’s Bay (reported by Huffington Post) they claimed it “was never their intention to offend” and avoided making further comments.
This very well may be true, but this lack of oversight is immensely bizarre. This slogan is strongly associated with an extreme political stance — one that involves a large amount of blatant discrimination. In a company as large as Hudson’s Bay, it should be fully embarrassing that nobody said, “Hey, this might not be a great idea,” at any point in the process.
The Los Angeles Trading Company that actually manufactured the hat may be more astounding in its lack of foresight. Owner Jonny Tucker claimed the hat wasn’t a political statement, and just a pop culture reference. He goes further to say “it seems that it’s a sensitive subject, from what I’m learning,” as if he had no recognition of the effect or reputation this hat has.
Especially for someone running a company in the US, not foreseeing a negative reaction to this is baffling to say the least. The attitudes held by those wearing MAGA clothing are far from subtle and secretive. Tucker may genuinely not have known how people would, but it’s a definite failure for him to have not seen this coming.
MAGA is a horrid symbol that I’m thankful not to see in Canada often. It represents an identity of discrimination and discomfort to countless people, and it’s wonderful to see such a public outcry towards the Hudson’s Bay’s hat. To see this show up on a massive Canadian storefront for even just a brief moment is massively concerning. It’s a painful reminder that these companies are either unaware of the world they’re in, or just as hateful as we’d expect a corporation to be.
