Jordan’s: Are they really worth it?

I know for a fact that I am probably going to piss a few people off with this one. But, enough is ENOUGH!  Because it is the holiday season tensions are already high, people are easily agitated, and restraint/patience are rarely exercised.  Mix all that in with the re-release of the Air Jordan XI and you have the makings of a riot on your  hands.  The question that remains, “is it worth all the trouble?”

As always, let me preface this post with a few facts about me:

• I have never purchased a pair of shoes over $100
• I have owned 2 pair of Jordan’s (1 pair was given to me, and the other sold to me for $75 from a friend).
• I like the Jordan brand and own 3 pair of Jordan shoes (Trunner’s, Team Elite Low, and Air Jordan 14’s)
• I will always respect Michael Jordan as an athlete

I’m not going to front, yesterday was an embarrassing day to be a Black American.  I sat back and watched news clip after news clip, and Facebook post after Facebook post of ignorance at its best!  If you haven’t seen any of the clips I have a few posted at the bottom of the post.  One young brother took it so far as to lick his shoe to show the authenticity of his Jordan’s (Am I missing something here? LOL).

I just finished watching videos where people were being trampled, pepper sprayed, and beat up…all in the name of being the first one to own a pair of overpriced shoes!  Think about all the issues that are plaguing this country (as well as the rest of the world) that all of this effort and energy could have gone towards (education, gender discrimination, voting rights, sex slavery, etc.).  As an educator, this pisses me off to see so many brilliant Black minds put forth such an effort to get to the nearest shoe store but have to get dragged out of the house to get an education!  Seriously!

This might make a lot of people mad but what has Michael Jordan done for the Black community?  Think about it.  I may need to do more research on this but how many Michael Jordan scholarships for underprivileged youth out there?  How many basketball courts has he built in bad neighborhoods?  How much of the money from these shoes actually goes back into the communities of his consumers?  Come to think of it, what does Michael Jordan for people with no financial incentives to it? Nothing comes to mind…

Having said all that, I have to say that I see the business side of what Mr. Jordan and his company are doing.  Not shipping enough shoes to meet demand increases the want/desire for it.  All the video game console developers do it, Apple always does it, and so do other businesses.  Do I agree with it, absolutely NOT!  Especially when people resort to such drastic measures just to get a shoe.

We are a people of misplaced priorities!  I can admit that.  However, I must also point out that this is NOT just a Black people problem.  As is evident by the Black Friday atrocities that occur each year, AMERICA has a problem.  You can blame capitalism, you can blame the companies, AND/OR…we can blame ourselves!  You decide.

Air Jordan Chaos Videos
Annapolis, MD madness
CBS News Video

Atlanta, GA ugliness
USA Today