The word “normalization” has been thrown around a lot lately, generally in reference to the lamestream media’s attempts to be even-handed in its coverage of people who openly hate it (i.e., Donald Trump and his team). But there’s another, equally insidious means by which extreme beliefs formerly relegated to the lunatic fringe are being woven into the fabric of mainstream society. That’s right—Walmart is now selling Burzum T-shirts.
In all fairness, the shirts are being sold through an outside seller, Rockabilia, on Walmart’s website, and aren’t actually available in Walmart stores. (Amazon also sells the exact same shirt, for the record.) Sellers on Walmart’s website are vetted, although it’s not clear how (Walmart’s site says its “verification process is proprietary and confidential”), and considering the shirt doesn’t have “THIS ARTIST HAS MADE SOME WORRYING STATEMENTS ABOUT JEWS” printed on it in bold letters, it’s possible that Walmart’s secret marketplace tribunal has no idea who the hell Burzum is and what he stands for.
Then again, this is an Arkansas-based corporation operating in the year 2016, when the quintessentially Burzum-esque pastimes of hate crimes and church burnings are on the rise. Maybe Walmart knows exactly what it’s doing after all.
Thanks to reader Patrick Folz for the tip.