🐊 Etsy Is Profiting Off Hate.

Computer screen showing Aligator Merch in online store

Let’s Torch “Alligator Alcatraz” Merch—Metaphorically (For Now).

📌 What’s Going On?

Etsy—yes, the whimsical crochet-and-crystals Etsy—is currently allowing merchants to sell T-shirts and stickers that glorify literal migrant abuse. No, that’s not an exaggeration.

These designs feature the phrase “Alligator Alcatraz”—the official name Trump and his cronies use for a real migrant detention site in the Florida Everglades. That’s right: they’ve branded human suffering like it’s a theme park for fascists. The site cages people in scorching, bug-ridden conditions with actual alligators nearby, because nothing says “family values” like turning ICE into a crocodile tour.

This merch isn’t parody. It’s a souvenir from suffering. And Etsy is cashing in.

🔥 Let’s Talk About the Name

This isn’t some twisted nickname from Reddit’s darkest corners—it’s the real name being tossed around with glee in far-right circles. Trump laughs about it. Supporters sell stickers about it.

And here’s the part that should turn your blood into lava: Alcatraz was for mobsters and murderers. “Alligator Alcatraz” is full of asylum seekers. Yes, some crossed the border without documents—but many walked up to legal ports of entry and asked for help. You know what you call people fleeing war, famine, and collapse? Refugees. Not punchlines.

No one leaves their home, risks cartels, deserts, and deportation for fun. These people aren’t invaders—they’re survivors. And turning their trauma into novelty merch is not only gross, it’s institutionally violent.

Children led away in handcuffs are not MS-13. They are not criminals. They are not props in your political cosplay. They are human beings—deserving of empathy, not Etsy listings.

So when Etsy lets “Alligator Alcatraz” gear stay up? They’re not just ignoring their own rules. They’re monetizing hate with glitter glue and font packs.

🚨 Why It Matters

🧨 “Alligator Alcatraz” is cruelty with a price tag.

This phrase isn’t clever. It’s a middle finger to basic humanity. It makes a joke out of real-life suffering and pretends that’s edgy. It’s not. It’s a hate crime in Helvetica.

📜 Etsy’s Own Policy Says Nope.

From their Hateful Content Policy, Sections 4.1 and 4.2:

“We prohibit content that promotes, supports, or glorifies hatred or violence toward protected groups.”

That includes:

  • Immigration status
  • Dehumanizing language
  • Violent or degrading commentary

In other words: this merch violates every line of the damn thing. And Etsy? They’re just sitting there, ringing up the orders.

🙄 Etsy only acts when shamed into it.

They didn’t pull Confederate flags, anti-Asian gear, or 9/11 joke shirts until public outcry made it too expensive not to. So here we are again—making noise, because silence keeps getting monetized.

🔍 Go See For Yourself

  1. Go to Etsy.com
  2. Search: “Alligator Alcatraz”
  3. Use the filters to find shops like No Filter

You’ll find T-shirts, stickers, mugs—each one a cheerful little billboard for xenophobia.

We’re not targeting individual sellers. We’re dragging the platform that lets this stay up like it’s just another quirky niche.

🧰 What You Can Do (Right Now)

📩 Step 1: Report Listings

  1. Click on a listing
  2. Scroll to “Report this item to Etsy”
  3. Select: “This item doesn’t meet Etsy’s policies” → “Prohibited or uses prohibited materials”
  4. Paste this:

“This item violates Etsy’s hate and violence policies. ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ refers to a real migrant detention site known for inhumane conditions. This merch promotes a violent, anti-immigrant agenda and makes light of human suffering. According to your own policy (Sections 4.1 and 4.2), this content should be removed immediately.”

Repeat for multiple listings. Every report counts.

phone screen with online store on it.

📵 Step 2: Pause Your Etsy Spending
No justice? No shopping. Let your favorite shops know why.

📢 Step 3: Light Up Social Media

Use hashtags like:

  • #NoSmallAct
  • #BanAlligatorAlcatraz
  • #EtsyProfitsFromHate

Tag @Etsy and @EtsyHelp. Screenshot the merch. Name the hypocrisy. Set the internet ablaze.

🧭 Why No Small Act Is Speaking Up

At No Small Act, they believe justice is built in everyday choices.
There’s no such thing as a “neutral” platform when that platform enables cruelty.

“Alligator Alcatraz” merch doesn’t just fail the vibe check—it fails the humanity check. It trades in trauma. It mocks real suffering. And it directly contradicts Etsy’s supposed values.

If Etsy won’t act on its own, we will make it impossible not to act.

Find out more about ways you can get involved in No Small Act at https://nosmallact.com/

🗣️ Final Word

This isn’t cancel culture. This is care culture.

You don’t get to profit from persecution and still call yourself a community marketplace.

🧼 Let’s clean house.
📣 Let’s shut it down.
✊ Let’s act like there’s no such thing as a small act.

Gattor in a MAGA Hat