On the day he carried out the Columbine High School massacre, 18-year-old shooter Eric Harris wore a white T-shirt with the phrase “Natural Selection” printed on it in black lettering. His fellow assailant, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold, wore a black T-shirt with the word “Wrath” printed in red across the chest.
\n\nEver since, this apparel has been closely linked with mass murder, part of an ever-growing mosaic of niche allusions to deadly attacks on schools, places of worship, government buildings, and social gathering spaces. While you might not think twice about a person wearing one of the shirts Harris and Klebold chose for their assault on their classmates, let alone recognize the reference, there’s an online community that revels in this aesthetic, using it as a means to valorize and motivate nihilistic violence.
\n\nAccording to a report publishing later this week from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a research organization that analyzes extremism and online threats, statement shirts associated with such horrific acts are widely available from at least half a dozen internet retailers.
\n\nISD found sellers peddling “Wrath” and “Natural Selection” tees modeled after the Columbine shirts on TikTok Shop, Redbubble, Temu, Etsy, AliExpress, and Walmart. Shirts with the slogan…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/