How Gap Transformed a Local Act of Vandalism Into a National Lesson of Tolerance

| 

Unfortunately, random acts of vandalism and public prejudice happen all too often in our modern society, but this morning, we can thank the power of social media—and the swift action of a major retailer—for transforming one such incident into an inspirational lesson of acceptance. It started when Arsalan Iftikhar, a senior editor at The Islamic Monthly, tweeted a picture of a defamed Gap ad featuring Sikh jewelry designer Waris Ahluwalia from a New York City subway station.


Gap responded quickly by asking the exact location of the crime, as well as immediately making the ad the brand's Twitter background in solidarity.

The chain reaction didn't end there. Ahluwalia then posted an adorable reenactment of the campaign image on Facebook.

Photo: via Facebook

Our takeaway from all of this is that no act of hate is trivial—and we applaud Iftikhar, Gap, and Ahluwalia for seeing the opportunity for positive reinforcement. {Huffington Post}