(OCEAN CITY, Md.) - One marina's efforts to promote awareness for the white marlin fish is stirring up nationwide controversy. They're selling t-shirts that say the phrase, "White Lives Matter," in big, blue capital letters with a picture of a marlin underneath.
Judeline Altema, a Black Lives Matter advocate, says the shirts are inappropriate. "There's a difference between human life and animal life, and they don't go hand in hand. It's just two different things and I find it very insulting."
The Worcester NAACP president Ivory Smith tells The Daily Times of Salisbury that the shirts could be interpreted as a mockery of the Black Lives Matter Movement. WRDE reached out to the Worcester County NAACP, but the organization did not respond. The creater of the t-shirts, George Lamplugh, was also unavailable for comment.
"It's about African-American males, and African-American males getting shot, getting killed, with police brutality," adds Altema.
Despite the controversy, some fishermen are supporting the marina. Captain Ted Deppe, demonstrates the symbolic nature of the t-shirt by holding a white marlin flag. "When it's flown like this (right-side up), the white marlin was killed, brought into shore on the boat. Ninety-nine percent of the time, a white marlin is released alive, and the flag is flown like this.. upside down."
James Kirwin tells WRDE he drove an entire hour to buy a t-shirt before they sell out. He says he'll continue to support the marina. "We came down to get a couple shirts today cause we believe in catch and release fishing. It is what it is. This is what happens in our world today, all lives matter. Not just fish-- all lives."
People have been flocking to social media outlets to add their own two cents, several of them in agreement with the fishermen. One WRDE Facebook comment from Ginne LaPorta Smith says, "What's all the hype? Don't all lives matter anyway? White, black, blue or marlin?" Another, written by Bill Baker Jr., reads: "It's the White Marlin Open for goodness sake. It's fishing!"
Those in opposition have one request: Stop selling the shirts. ""If you respect human lives, and human kind, and you want unity, then you need to do that. Because that's just gonna separate us and divide us more, period," says Altema.
A portion of the t-shirt sales go towards white marlin conservation efforts, just in time for Monday's annual "White Marlin Open" in Ocean City.