Why a PacSun t-shirt is causing all kinds of controversy this Memorial Day

This Memorial Day weekend, PacSun is prominently displaying a t-shirt featuring an upside-down flag, and, as USA Today reports, there’s a large contingency of customers who are enraged by this choice.

For those that don’t know, an upside-down U.S. flag is considered to be a sign of distress, and, according to the U.S. Flag Code, “The 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.”

PacSun customers have taken to the retailer’s Facebook page to sound off about the decision to feature this item of clothing on a day set aside to honor fallen U.S soldiers.

“Disgusting,” one user commented, while another proclaimed the display “Disrespectful! Cowardly!”  Several Facebook users have called for a boycott of the company.

PacSun also took similar heat on Twitter, though there were also tweets that skewed salty, because, Twitter.

At this point, PacSun has not responded to the controversy, which makes us think the retailer knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they put that shirt on display. They’re getting their free publicity for sure, but PacSun, oh PacSun, there are better ways to get people talking about you, and today was REALLY not the day to pull this kind of stunt.

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