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Dollarama Discontinues Black Shackled Feet Halloween Decorations After Racism Allegation

What the hell?

Dollarama stores across Canada are discontinuing Halloween decorations made to look like black feet with chains around the ankles, after they were criticized as racially insensitive.

Filip Aleksandrow told the Montreal Gazette he was shopping with his daughter when he came across the decorations. He said the feet conjured up imagery of slaves being shackled in chains. "I just hope they will remove it as soon as possible because this is just in really bad taste. I think there are certain responsibilities these stores have," he told the Gazette, noting he left a complaint with the store's head office. READ MORE: Halloween Chain Refuses to Stop Selling 'Racist' Indigenous Costumes Store assistant manager Susan Mace told the Gazette that Aleksandrow was overreacting. "Our manager is black, so I would tell him (Aleksandrow) to get over it, OK," she said. "I mean, you can't keep being responsible for what happened 400 years ago." However, the store has since decided not to bring the decoration back next year. Spokeswoman Lyla Radmanovich told VICE the prop was meant to resemble a "rotten foot" and wasn't supposed to depict any race. "Dollarama takes customer feedback seriously, and always takes it into consideration when reviewing merchandising, hence the decision taken," she said via email. Michael Farkas, president of the Round Table of Black History Month, told CJAD 800 News the feet are symbolic of oppression against black people. "It just continues to found, the foundation of slavery, of blacks being in jail and being shackled and being on the chain gang." Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.