World HOt toPPIX

Pre-Christmas sales and last minute shopping are finally giving way to after Christmas sales and long return-counter lines. But this holiday shopping season.

Pre-Christmas sales and last minute shopping are finally giving way to after Christmas sales and long return-counter lines. But this holiday shopping season included a nationwide, over-the-top display of shopping frenzy, all over some sneakers endorsed by a player who retired almost ten years ago.

The retail launch of the retro version of one of the most popular Air Jordans kicks ever sparked mayhem across the country two days before Christmas. The shoes retail for around $180. But that didn?t stop Black Friday-like sneaker madness as consumers pushed, fought and trampled each other over the shoes.

In Indianapolis, shoppers stormed a mall, trampling fellow consumers and ripping a door off its hinges. In Seattle, police used pepper spray on about 20 shoppers fighting over the shoes. A man was stabbed in a brawl over the shoes in Jersey City, N.J. He?s expected to recover.

And the list goes on and on. People at some locations waited in line all night to grab a pair of Jordans, and others left the store with Jordans in tow, requesting police escort to their vehicles so they wouldn?t be robbed for their new kicks. One news report even shows a store door broken off of its hinges from shopper stampedes.

I can?t even give much of my own opinion here because I just do not get it. At all. I don?t understand what makes those sneakers so great, or what would make anyone wait in line all night for anything, or what would make rational people act like maniacs over material things. News of folks fighting and robbing over sneakers doesn?t even sound like something from this decade because if memory serves correctly getting jacked for some Jordans was a 90?s phenomenon. Perhaps worst yet, behaving like a loon over some sneakers has become part of an ugly stereotype of black youth. I just don?t understand this one at all.

Michael is somewhere in the Caribbean laughing all the way to the bank. When some of these crazy fools are somewhere with a pair of sneaks and wondering when next that welfare check is going to come to purchase some new ones!

right!! People are absolutely psychotic and have their priorities way messed up, complete 180 degrees. My understanding is those shoes are supposed to be worn to play basketball. How many of these people will actually use them for that purpose? Ridamndiculous.

How is this frenzy different from the chaos during black Friday or the iPhone iPad chaos? I?m extremely skeptical about the reports from the media surrounding the Jordans release?well I?m always skeptical with the media when minorities are the demographic of choice?but I remember full blown fights at the Apple store and during black friday this yr and didn?t see any of it on the news. Furthermore, one of the stories surrounding the Jordan frenzy was a sham?the story perpetuated by the news indicated a young black male died bc of the shoes but minutes after the story broke the boy, who supposedly died and said the report was false?I will post the link when I find it. Anyway be skeptical.

To me, the difference is that these people, on average, really should be spending their money on things like, I don?t know, the rent, or food.

I have no beef with people spending THEIR money on the things that THEY like-I?ve stood in line for a few things myself. The only thing I take issue with on the Jordan fiasco (which haS been going on since the 90?s mind you) is the bodily harm being inflicted on other people and the property damage that has taken place.

?Perhaps worst yet, behaving like a loon over some sneakers has become part of an ugly stereotype of black youth.? ? I have to disagree with it being a stereotype because it doesn?t take much to see that young, black boys and black men put heavy value into a pair of sneakers.

You know they used welfare checks to pay for those sneakers as ignorant as some were acting on tv reports you know they dont have jobs anywhere.

I want to know where you people are getting the idea that one these people are using a ?welfare checks? to pay for these sneakers, and two what makes you think they are not paying their rent and buying food? Three, that this jones for sneakers are exclusive to black males, or that other races and women don?t show there ass when something goes up for sale, or did you all just missed the whole Black Friday show? Need to look in the mirror next time they say ignorant.

I agree with your statement. We shouldn?t prejudge these people. I?m sure many of them have jobs and are quite capable of affording $180 shoes.

But lets keep it 100. We both know Nike and other corporations target expensive products to black communities knowing good and well that many of these communities have high poverty rates. The kids that buy this junk are heavenly influenced by an entertainment culture that stresses having things and living large.

So yes, it?s true, lots of people do spend what little money they have on this garbage rather than saving it or buying things they really need (in some cases paying bills). I blame the corporations and entertainment industry more than anything else.

I would be more sympathetic to this story if the Nike factories were located in poor black communities and they paid livable wages. But here, you have a lot of poor black kids buying stuff made from slave laborers in China and the only winners are Nike executives and Michael Jordan (and we all know how much he cares about the black community)

And I also agree that when the white kids were mobbing the apple stores, the media?s attitude and how they covered the story was completely different.

Public opinion on this issue has irritated me. Pple are quick to shake their head at the Black males doing this when, instances like this have been common to other demographics (old white ladies macing pple).

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