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Old Navy accurately reflects us

What was supposed to be a simple ad promoting Old Navy’s #ThankYouEvent sale turned into a target for racist trolls on Twitter.

Earlier this month, the clothing company tweeted about its 30 percent off sale along with a picture of a happy family —which happened to be interracial — but the perfectly normal advertisement sparked the worst in some Twitter users.

The ignorance was palpable. “Stop promoting race mixing, you degenerates,” one user said. Hashtags such as #BoycottOldNavy quickly emerged, and some users were so rattled over an innocent picture of a happy, smiling couple giving their young son a piggyback ride, claiming that the advertisement was an attack on the entire white race.

“Old Navy supports the GENOCIDE of the White race! It takes a White mother and a White father to make a White baby,” Twitter user @marylovefreedom said.

Those trolls who have a problem with interracial relationship are still clinging onto the past — this archaic mindset is harmful and a step back from the progress we’ve made as a society.

Thankfully, more supporters than racists took a stand and combatted the backlash. Thousands of Twitter users in interracial relationships or families posted photos of their loved ones along with the hashtag #LoveWins, to prove that these relationships in no way promote “genocide” and are more common than many may think.

Notably, Jack McCain, son of Senator John McCain, is in an interracial relationship himself and posted a photo of himself with his wife, who is black: “To the people upset about the #OldNavy ‘scandal’ of a picture of a mixed race marriage, eat it.”

People who are represented in media and advertisements should be reflective of what our society is today: We are a multicultural melting pot of people of different ethnicities, body types, sexualities, genders and more. There so happens to be people in interracial relationships, so why not reflect that in the media?

“We are a brand with a proud history of championing diversity and inclusion. At Old Navy, everyone is welcome,” said Old Navy spokeswoman Debbie Felix.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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