Everyone knows Walmart's slogan of "Save money, live better." But with the recent attention of a certain product, how does this make us live better?
Recently I saw an article on Odyssey about an accessory that Walmart had put on their shelves for Halloween. This accessory was called "Razor Blade Suicide Scar Wound Latex Costume Make Up". While observing the picture in the article, it was obvious to notice the two scars on the person's arm, along with a bloody razor blade. How was this possible to even be allowed on shelves let alone made?
While there have been many costumes that have gone overboard, such as overly sexy costumes for women or overly gory costumes, this so-called accessory goes WAY overboard. Millions of people fight against depression every day, and a good percentage of those people self harm and can also be triggered to harm themselves. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.A. With suicide being number ten on the list, how does this make it ok to create Halloween makeup that involves self harm?
As someone who has dealt with self harm with acquaintances, I do not take these things lightly. I have handling many self harm cases with those I know and seeing this horrible outlet of emotions be turned into a laughable makeup piece for not even a whole day is a disgrace to society. No one should ever take self harm lightly and it should not be something to slap on your arm for a night in October.
Walmart has removed this item from their shelves and has made this comment about the issue, “The costume is appalling and it was unacceptable for a third-party seller to list it on our marketplace. It clearly violated our prohibited items policy and we removed it yesterday morning when it was brought to our attention."
Although Walmart has removed the product and publicly made a statement about the issue, it still makes me wonder how this was allowed on the shelves and website in the first place. Halloween is supposed to be an enjoyable time to dress up in fun costumes that brings a ray of happiness to those who enjoy it. It most certainly is not, and never should be, a time to take advantage of a serious topic and turn it into a way to make a $3.99 profit.
