Behold Barbarity Releases Brazen Anti-Semitic Tee Shirt

January 29, 2017

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Behold Barbarity, a metal label and distro specializing in underground black metal, released a tee shirt which depicts anti-Semitic propaganda from Nazi Germany. The front of the tee shirt reads “die juden sind unser ungluck”, which translates to English as “the Jews are our misfortune”. The reverse side of the shirt depicts a no symbol overlaying a star of David.

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As of this writing the shirt is still available on Behold Barbarity’s site, but their Storenvy portal appears to be down, but their Shopify is still up.

While heavy metal often flirts with fascist imagery, outright depictions condoning antisemitism remain rare. This shirt is probably the boldest artifact of outright White Supremacy originating in the heavy metal community to ever cross my desk. That it comes right now seems at best like a cruel poetic coincidence, and at worst a cash-grab during period in history when The United States is flirting with fascism more than ever before.

Of course Behold Barbarity isn’t the only metal entity releasing instigative shirts. Emmure released a tee shirt this month which appears to depict a battered woman, though the band denies that interpretation. The Behold Barbarity shirt does not offer any plausible alternative interpretation.

Invisible Oranges does not condone antisemitism. It’s worth noting, however, that Behold Barbarity is also selling merchandise from mainstream bands at the time of this writing. These pieces of merchandise are from the label owner’s own collection. Conscientious consumers looking for a deal deserve to know exactly what Behold Barbarity is selling.

In closing.