A California mother is furious after she says her son’s pirate ship has racist connotations.
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She said the toy came with racist instructions, telling her son to shackle a dark-skinned character that appeared to be a slave.
“I am MORTIFIED to have recently bought your Pirate Ship Set 5135 for my nephew only to hear that when assembling it, they found that its assembly instructions indicate to add the neck cuff/shackle to the black character’s neck”, she wrote. Lockett was surprised when she was told, in the instructions, to put a shackle around the figure’s neck.
A mom was shocked to find what looks like a figure with a slave collar on its neck in her child’s new toy, and the toymaker has defended their “historical” take on playthings.
“He was excited when he got it”, Lockett said.
“You can not have this specific accessory and call it anything else”, she said. “The fact that you can Google it, look it up and say what it is”.
There is also a cargo cell below the deck of the ship, which Lockett believes is reminiscent of a slave hold.
“It’s definitely racist,” she told local CBS TV.
“WOW. Would it be too much to ask for you to just create a regular old black pirate?”
“Newsflash, Playmobil: this is the 21st century”.
People are outraged over a toy pirate ship, according to Inquisitr.
“Ms Norman added: “#Slavery.is.not.a.game”.
Sacramento NAACP President Stephen Webb has similar feelings, and says that his organization is demanding action.
The station reached out to the toy’s maker, Playmobil, and Toys R Us where it was purchased.
Playmobil issued a statement about the toy.
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“This is deplorable. This can not be accepted”, he said.
