From the NY Times: "In Charlotte, N.C., shoppers smashed glass doors to get to the sneakers. In suburban Atlanta, the police made four arrests when a crowd broke down a door to get into a store before it opened. In Richmond, Calif., a man fired a single gunshot in the air just after a mall opened. In Louisville, officers had to stop fights that popped up among a crowd of waiting shoppers. And in a suburb of Seattle, the police used pepper spray."
I'm not a Michael Jordan fan. I enjoyed watching him play, but I've seen way too many examples of him being a bad person off of the court. He appears selfish, greedy and arrogant. Despite not being relevant as an NBA player any more, he is still very much relevant in the shoe game. Jordan's over-priced kicks still cause people to lose their minds when a new edition is released. What makes this situation even worse? These shoes weren't even new. These were the same pair released in 1995 being re-released, if that's a word.
More than 1,000 people lined up for these $180 pair of shoes in certain cities across the country. I doubt you would see 1,000 crack heads in line for free crack in front of a crack house, yet these "Jordan Heads" chose to wait on a pair of shoes that basically everyone else in the city will also own. Nothing says "having my own identity" like wearing something everyone else has, huh? And I don't want to hear anyone compare this to the iPhone or iPad. At least those products are productive and can provide entertainment. Besides, most people buy those items for personal use, they don't buy them to flaunt.
Do you remember this
He hid in a garbage can when a store was closed so that he could have a good spot in line when it reopened. That's the type of behavior these shoes encourage when parents are non-existent. Now, I can't blame Nike or Jordan for these actions. They do market to the youth, but then again, what company doesn't? I blame the parents because they obviously dropped the ball some where with what's important. I'm not saying that people can't buy what they want, but if you need something materialistic so badly that you're willing to participate in a scene like the above videos, then I really do question your intelligence.
And to top it all off, what really makes me mad, as a black man, is that a majority of these idiots participating in this foolishness are black. We complain about inequality in the job market and how bad the economy is. Yet, we will borrow $20 just to have enough money to pay for a pair of sneakers that we're going to see on every 3rd person who walks by in the mall.
You know what? Maybe I should buy a pair... just so I can give these people a swift kick and bury this shoe straight up their... er, uh, Merry Christmas, all! :)
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Q. Since I buy all my sneakers at Academy Surpluss, I have no perspective for this. I only know that having a brand consciousness is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI have little empathy for people who get hurt in these crushes because they all know what's up.
Otherwise, fuck Rick Perry and a Happy New Year to you, and yours.
@ Mooner - Happy New Year to you, too! I've worn Nikes, Reeboks, Fila, etc., but never the super-expensive ones. I generally keep my sneakers purchases under $80. The most I've paid was $99 and it took a lot to talk myself into it. The shoes looked good and they are really comfortable (still).
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm a little behind...I heard something about the jordan frenzy on the news - but until I just read your post, I didn't even realize that they are "re-releases" - and UGLY ones at that!
ReplyDeleteI know ALL about shoe buying frenzy though...when the new Hello Kitty Vans came out on the Sanrio website - hell, I pushed Lexi (my dog) and Julz (my cat) totally off my lap and the couch in my overwhelming fervor just to hit the keys and add those bad boys to my cart and CHECK OUT!!! Yeah...it was CRUCIAL.
But those Jordans? Ugly. Hardly worth going outside to a brick and mortar store, pushing other people around, and getting arrested over - ON TOP of paying that ridiculous amount of money. My HK Vans weren't even a third of that - including the shipping! Not only are those people IDIOTS, their taste sucks too!
@ Reck - Trust me, I'd rather sit on my couch and "wait in line" on my laptop for almost anything else than sitting in the cold with 400 people with only 30 pair of shoes in inventory. Online shopping beats brick and mortar any day in my book. If I wanted those over-priced kicks, then I would've ordered them online. I guess those people wanted the shoes immediately on their feet.
ReplyDeleteNever been a fan of Js, and I've never stood in line for more than an hour for anything, including waiting to get into a concert.
ReplyDeletePeople waste their money on the stupidest stuff. It's sad.
@ Tsaritsa - I think I stood in line for almost an hour to get into a Cowboys game once, but my tickets were $72, so I wasn't going any where.
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