Death Over Designer
“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn” This quote is from Orson Welles who was an American film director and producer. Unfortunately many people today do not have their own unique sense of style and always want to follow trends. The terms “dead stock” and “hypebeast” may not mean much to the average person, but to a “sneakerhead,” these words are a part of everyday vocabulary. “Sneakerhead" is an American colloquialism for a person who collects rare, limited or exclusive shoes, which they refer to as “kicks.” Usually, the collection includes many shoes from the Jordan brand. They have a vast amount of knowledge about not only the shoes in their closets, but also all shoes being bought and sold. This is very common in sneaker releases in which people have to line up for or win raffles in order to purchase. Since many of these releases are sometimes in limited quantity it causes violence to emerge among people. One of the most popular brands that cause violence are Jordans which are produced by Nike. Since I am a sneaker collector myself , I think that it is terrible how people end up losing their lives over sneaker releases. Something has to be done to stop the violence over material items.
Digital Source #1 Complex
Complex is a website that focuses on trends, music, and fashion. They always have what is most popular in the music and fashion world. One post on this website that stood out to me was titled “ Sneaker Violence 2014: Are Your Shoes Worth Your Life” by Dexter Gordon. Great examples are given like an Atlanta teenager named Joshua Lofton who was shot down this past October after trying to allegedly steal a pair of Air Jordan’s during a Craigslist transaction. Just last month, a 15-year old boy was robbed in Arlington, VA for a pair of Foamposites, while videos of people brawling inside sneaker stores over the Gamma XIs also hit the Internet. More recently, just last week a 20-year old Chicago man was shot and killed as he tried to buy a pair of $1,800 Air Yeezy’s. All of these examples are high profile Nike shoes which cause violence among the public. This article gives great examples of the violence that is occurring. It also shows that this is not an issue in only one state or region of the country. The problem is that these sneakers become so exclusive that if they are not purchased on the release date, then they can’t be purchased for retail again. Many people do not have money to pay above retail and resort to violence.
Digital Source #2 ESPN
Sneakers connect with sports since the majority of the sneaker violence happens from sports players that play or have played basketball like Lebron James and Michael Jordan. Their shoes cause people to riot due to availability. One of the most popular sports websites is ESPN because it talks about the significance of some sneaker releases and the milestone that was set in them by the athlete. According to ESPN analyst Jemele Hill, Nike needs to put an end to the violence. Nike always says they are concerned about the violence that happens every time a sneaker is released but they never do anything to prevent it. Instead Nike condemns the violence. "We are extremely concerned to hear of the reported crowd incidents around the launch of the Air Jordan XI at some select retail locations," said Brian Facchini, spokesman for Nike's Jordan brand, in an email statement to USA Today and others. "Consumer safety and security is of paramount importance. We encourage anyone wishing to purchase our product to do so in a respectful and safe manner." This was a statement released by Nike in 2011 when the Air Jordan Concords were re-released after many years. Unfortunately they do address the issue but never fully take action to prevent violence from happening again. This article shows its audience how the brand does not fully take responsibility for all of the violence being caused. It also shows us that as consumers, brands like Nike are only concerned with making money off the public and not their safety.
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As shown in this video people trample each other at mall releases when holiday sneakers come out
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People have even resorted to firearms in order to secure their pair of Air Jordan's
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Digital Source #3 ABC
Sneaker Violence has even caught the attention of Good Morning America. In the video “ Violence Erupts Across the Country Around Release of Nike Air Jordans” by Christina Ng and Olivia Katrandjian on Abc news, they talk about how many people line up expecting to make a purchase but go home empty handed. It is crazy how thousands of people line up but quantity is so limited that many people get irritated. This video also does a great job of giving specific sneaker violence in different parts of the country that has occurred. It informs people that they should be more careful when lining up for releases. For example In Seattle, police used pepper spray to break up fights between customers. "Police showed up ... somebody went in the side door and pushed through the front door and lost our place in line and we're at the back of the line," one shopper said."We were in the front of the line, then we got bombarded in and now we don't have any," said another shopper, who came out of the store empty-handed. In Atlanta, at least four people were arrested in a mob scene at a suburban mall, according to The Associated Press. In Florida police used pepper spray on unruly shoe seekers and fights were reported in Kentucky; glass was shattered at stores in North Carolina."People started getting restless, so they cracked open the doors and next thing you know people started getting trampled and bum-rushed -- the doors fell on some girls' heads and ... it was horrible, it was real bad," said a man in Charlotte, N.C. ABC is a great source because it makes the public aware of what is going on with many on videos on sneaker violence and why it is a growing problem.
How well do you know the sneaker game ?
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These are popular Air Jordan Sneakers that come out every once in awhile.
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Are sneakers worth your life ?
Lastly....
Nike is trying to decrease the amount of violence at sneaker releases by increasing security and having more police at malls available to control crowds. They have also thought of the idea of only selling sneakers online. The problem with that is there are many softwares out there that can automatically check out certain items into your shopping cart. This means that shoppers who wake up early to try and get an online release have no chance due to the “ Bots” or automatic carting software. Jordan undoubtedly wields incredible power within Nike, and if he said he was tired of seeing his namesake on the nightly news over video of brawls at malls across the country, the sneaker giant would certainly accommodate him. Sneaker violence is clearly a growing problem that is caused by both the consumers and Nike brand itself.
Air Jordan Logo
References
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhQA77Dmx9w
2)http://abcnews.go.com/Business/violence-erupts-country-release-nike-air-jordans/story?id=15227788#
3) http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2014/01/are-your-shoes-worth-your-life
4)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52tQzOXIrQ
5)http://carleric.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/logo-nike.jpg
6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MIBV4XB-wY
7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqwg1KE2-xQ
2)http://abcnews.go.com/Business/violence-erupts-country-release-nike-air-jordans/story?id=15227788#
3) http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2014/01/are-your-shoes-worth-your-life
4)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52tQzOXIrQ
5)http://carleric.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/logo-nike.jpg
6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MIBV4XB-wY
7) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqwg1KE2-xQ