I saw last night the reports of a Chicago Stronger shirt. Initially, my reaction was, "Not cool, bro." To me, it felt like the co-opting of a rallying cry meant to unify a city after an awful tragedy, and using it as an opportunity to take a poke at MORE than the Bruins, but at Boston itself. After all, "Boston Strong" is not about the Bruins, specifically.
I slept on it, and today I read through the response on your website after halting sales of the shirt.
On the one hand, we agree on this: "Boston Strong" has been co-opted by others. It has been used by companies in- and outside the Boston area for profit, rather than to benefit victims. It has been applied, to a lesser extent, by a few Boston sports fans as a "Us vs. Them" rallying cry. There was even a for-profit t-shirt stand selling "Boston Strong" shirts outside the TD Garden (where the Bruins & Celtics play) before The One Fund Benefit Concert, and fans bought them thinking they would benefit the victims. It is not right.
While I have not met ALL your requirements prior to writing this email (I did not donate blood Marathon Monday because I had actually run the Marathon and was trapped near the finish line next to the medical tent when bombs went off and everything went on lock-down), I feel that the following is worth your consideration.
1. To my knowledge, the Chicago Stronger shirts would not benefit The One Fund. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I couldn't find anything that indicated proceeds would be donated anywhere on your site, even when the shirt was still for sale. This makes you at least as bad as those you are "parodying." Your "holier than thou" response indicates that you feel no need to donate to the One Fund due to it being well-funded already (please see below for thoughts on that). However, even if The One Fund had an Austin Powers-style *ONE BILLION DOLLARS*, you are using the existence of "Boston Strong" - intended to benefit the One Fund and victims of the Boston Marathon - to benefit yourself. At minimum, you should be donating the profits somewhere; and without a Chicago-specific tragedy on your hands (despite asinine empty threats of other reactionary Bostonians, I wish you nor your city any harm), the right place to send it is The One Fund.
2. The One Fund, if you have been paying attention, is NOT "very well endowed." Please research the cost of prosthetics, and how often they need to be replaced, and multiply that out over a lifetime, and then let me know what number you come up with. What The One Fund currently has is enough for one payout to each victim. There are over 200 victims. Evenly split (which it won't be, by necessity), that is around $200,000 per victim. That may cover prosthetic limb costs ($10-20K each, needs replacing every 10 years). What about converting a home to be accessible? What about lost wages, now and in the future? Future health complications that accompany such injuries? Costs associated with quality-of-life concerns? The only people who will "profit" off the Boston Marathon bombings are companies like yours - certainly not any of the victims. Further, I feel pretty safe guessing that any one of them would take back their skin, or their legs, or their lives, if it meant not having a single dime. But, since that is not an option, they deserve as much support as can be mustered - and anyone associating themselves with the Boston Marathon bombings (by using "Boston Strong" or a variation) should be committed to using any money generated to help. Like it or not, the phrase has entered the common vernacular and is irrevocably linked to what happened that day.
3. The very clearly sarcastic and snarky tone of your response on your website is disappointing. Guess what - the internet is full of idiots. The whole world is full of idiots, in fact, but the internet brings them right to your doorstep to blather on monosyllabic-ally about whatever enters their so-called brains. And you fell for it. Rather than taking the high ground, you further insulted Boston by assuming that all the invective you've been receiving is representative of ALL Bostonians. You say, "We believe that the majority of noble Bostonians have the proper perspective and priorities", but follow that with two qualifiers: that "noble" Bostonians are the ones who AGREE with your "position" (i.e., selling those shirts), and that the remaining "sizeable contingent" are vulgar, violent, hypocritical, and racist.
Based on your requirements for emailing, here are some questions for you regarding your response: Have you spoken to ALL Bostonians? Have you personally contacted victim's families to ask them how they feel about the Chicago Stronger shirts? Or even about the Boston Strong shirts? Have you talked to ANYONE from Boston? Have you called a company making Boston Strong shirts and asked them how their business model went and what the best way was to do this? Do you know where the term "Boston Strong" originated, and how much it has helped victims and their families?
4. Chicago has it's share of championship winning teams, and it's own "lovable losers," the Cubs. As a once long-suffering (Red) Sox fan, I feel for every Cubs fan out there. Based on the name of your company, Cubby Tees, and the merchandise you supply (all Chicago sports teams, including college) there appears to be no separation for you between "Chicago" and "Chicago sports teams." That's pretty normal stuff - after all, don't our sports teams represent our cities? Why else are they called the CHICAGO Blackhawks or the BOSTON Bruins? They are inextricably connected (just ask a Brooklyn Dodgers fan). The Boston Marathon, while an international event, is uniquely Boston. Have you experienced Marathon Monday? Do you know there is a home Sox game every year at 11am on Patriot's Day (Marathon Monday)? Do you know that, for the past few years, there has also been a home Bruins game that night (which was cancelled this year)? Chicago and Boston are quite similar in that way - sports, politics, and food are woven into the city's identity. Is "Boston Strong" meant to be a rallying cry for the Sox, or the Bruins, or any other Boston sports team? No - it is a rallying cry for the city itself, for the citizens here who experienced something terrible. Guess what - I was also at the first Bruins game after the bombing, the one where the crowd sang the National Anthem together and there wasn't a dry eye in the place (watch that and try not to get goosebumps - I know how the Hawks fans like their National Anthem). During the game, instead of the usual "Let's go Bruins" chant, it was "We love Boston" and "Let's go Boston." All night. The Bruins WERE Boston, they represented all that was right and normal and great about our city. They provided fans with a sense of normalcy and joy (even though they lost a close game) at a time when they needed it most. I would think the Blackhawks, or any other sports team, would want to be able to do the same for the place they call home - and it IS home for many of this Bruins team, which has a lot of players who live full-time, year-round in Boston. So maybe "Boston Strong" isn't and should not be synonymous with "Bruins Strong," but the sentiment of cheering for something that represents something you care about - home - is one I'm sure you can understand. Someone attacked our home - not your home - and that is an effect only Bostonians can understand. Bottom line: Regardless how you feel about "Boston Strong" used as a sports chant, using it as a jumping off point for your OWN sports chant - or, more accurately, as a way to sell merchandise - is at best short-sighted, and at worst classless and downright cynical.
"Boston Strong" is the epitome of hope. Try not to dump on that any more than you already have. Fortunately, I know that Chicago is full of its own strong citizens who - unlike your company - do not need to use a gimmick based on a perceived slight that grew out of a populace's response to horrific circumstances in order to show their support for the Hawks. Regardless of who takes home the Cup, the people of Boston and those from elsewhere who were there for the Marathon will continue to rebuild their lives, knowing that they have the support of millions behind them. I believe they would be just fine if Cubby Tees was not among them, but if you ever have an urge to truly experience this city, I assure you we will welcome you with open arms.
Go Boston,
Erin Learoyd
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