Former staffers for Elizabeth Warren have been taken to the woodshed over tattoos meant to memorialize her ill-fated campaign – which just happen to closely resemble markings given to Holocaust concentration camp prisoners. Oops!
Intending to commemorate the Democratic senator’s failed bid for the presidency, at least two former Warren staffers thought tattoos displaying the hex code for the campaign’s “Liberty Green” theme would be a clever tribute – until Twitter caught wind of it. In an avalanche of criticism, netizens wasted no time in pointing out the obvious – albeit accidental – reference to Nazi atrocities proudly displayed by the two ex-employees.
While the comparison should have been immediately clear to anyone who’d seen the design, perhaps the staffers could be forgiven for a simple oversight, not making the connection to the dark imagery the tattoos might evoke. But in addressing critics online, former Warren campaign design director Raquel Breternitz dispelled any notion of a lapse in judgement, noting she had “thought about” the association to concentration camps, and decided to go ahead anyway, placing the ink where “it wouldn’t be seen on the outer arm.”
A handful of netizens took note of the caption appended to a photo of the questionable ink by former staffer Eric Ziminsky – “First campaign, first tattoo” – giving rise to a number of parodies “inspired by Elizabeth Warren.”
Facing a wave of mockery and derision online, both employees have since apologized for the poorly thought out tattoo idea, admitting to “missing the mark” – presumably no pun intended – and promising to “modify” the design, even thanking critics for holding them “accountable.”
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