On Labor Day, Nike unveiled their ads for the 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign.
These ads are beautifully shot and the photographer should be commended. The fourth ad is what is sparking the outrage. It has been revealed that Colin Kaepernick is a part of this campaign and Nike has been paying him ALL ALONG.
Cue the backlash. Many a twitter users ran (and I do mean RAN) to twitter to voice their opinions. Oh and also burn/destroy their belongings. John Rich (of Big & Rich) posted this pic to twitter:
Now, let’s unpack a few things. First, ripping (because cutting with actual scissors would have been TOO MUCH like right) off the swoops on your own belongings is not only stupid but also counterproductive. Sir, you have already brought those socks. How EXACTLY is you destroying your own socks hurting Nike? They already got your money, Bubba. Secondly, John Rich is an asshat. Homeboy was arguing with folks in the comments telling them to “unfollow him”. Sir, no one is following your racists ass anywhere (not smart folks anyway).
And then there is this guy:
Whew…chile…the stupidity.
Yes, I said STUPIDITY. These are some of the same folks who decided to boycott Starbucks because they didn’t put a Christmas tree on their cups. Because, ya know, eff the other If you are not familiar, it was about their cups. You can read about it here. This is the same group of folks who tell black and brown people who protest that they should pick “a better way” and shouldn’t “destroy their own neighborhoods or belongings”. You, sirs and madams, are burning your own items. If you are not careful, you could start a fire that could destroy property or yourselves. But that is ok, right?
It has been said over and over again that racism is illogical and irrational. We KEEP saying how irrational and illogical it is. If you don’t think it’s irrational, please explain the logic of burning items you have already paid for. Once it leaves the store, it’s your property. You are NOT hurting anyone. You just look stupid for the gram, the spicy bird and the book of faces. That is what we call *checks notes* looking the FUCK stupid.
Racism is woven into the fabric of our nation, our history and into our flag. Want to know HOW it has become this way? Because people think racism is just using racial slurs. They don’t think telling a black/brown person to “shut up and dribble”, “we let you play our game”, “you get paid all this money why are you complaining” is not forms of racial microaggressions. At this rate, we will never get to a post racial society. The same folks saying “I’m not racist; I voted for Obama” are calling Colin Kaepernick an “uppity Negro”.
Saying “what about black on black crime”, as if there are not COUNTLESS organizations discussing this very “issue”, to combat legitimate grips about police brutality is such a dog whistle. Considering that police brutality affects EVERYONE. Daniel Shaver, a white man in Arizona, was unarmed, begging for his life and shot dead by the police. It was not #alllivesmatter or #whitelivesmatter who brought this up in the media; it was #blacklivesmatter activists. We aren’t discussing that the majority of mass shootings in America are committed by WHITE men. The discussion of gun control isn’t even on everyone’s minds.
Fun fact: as much as folks laude the strides made by the civil rights movement now, at the time, people really didn’t like it all that much. Please see the excerpts from Gallup polls from the 1960s:
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Gallup Poll (AIPO) [August, 1963]
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS (PROPOSED MASS CIVIL RIGHTS RALLY TO BE HELD IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON AUGUST 28, 1963)?
23% FAVORABLE
35% UNFAVORABLE–GENERAL
7% UNFAVORABLE–PREDICT VIOLENCE
18% UNFAVORABLE–WON’T ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING
17% NO OPINION–UNDECIDED
Subpopulation: HEARD/READ ABOUT RALLY (71%)
Methodology: Conducted by Gallup Organization August 15-August 20, 1963, and based on personal interviews with a national adult sample of 1,588. [USGALLUP.63-6
76.Q005B]
Dataset: USAIPO1963-0676
Data provided by The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
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Gallup Poll (AIPO) [May, 1964]
Do you think mass demonstrations by Negroes are more likely to help or more likely to hurt the Negro’s cause for racial equality?
16% Help
74% Hurt
4% Make no difference (Vol.)
6% No opinion
Methodology: Conducted by Gallup Organization May 22-May 27, 1964, and based on personal interviews with a national adult sample of 1,640. [USGALLUP.64-691.R11]
Dataset: USAIPO1964-0691
Data provided by The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
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Harris Survey [December, 1966]
Tell me for each man if in your opinion you think he is helping or hurting the Negro cause of civil rights… Martin Luther King?
36% Helping
50% Hurting
14% Not Sure
Subpopulation: Whites
Methodology: Conducted by Louis Harris & Associates during December, 1966, and b
ased on personal interviews with a national adult sample of 1,250. Sample size is approximate. As reported in The Philadelphia Inquirer [USHARRIS.121966.R1A]
Data provided by The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
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Anyone surprised by these findings, I have a plot of land in Albuquerque to sell you. To be fair, I also saw this:
Harris Survey [February, 1965]
How would you rate the job that… Martin Luther King… has done in the fight for Negro rights?
94% Positive
3% Negative
3% Not sure
Methodology: Conducted by Louis Harris & Associates during February, 1965, and based on personal interviews with a national adult blacks sample of 1,250. Samplesize is approximate. As reported in The Washington Post. [USHARRIS.022565.R1D]
Data provided by The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
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You can actually read the whole document here.
When Colin started all of this, he didn’t announce it. Didn’t hold a press conference. He, in the preseason, decided to start sitting for the National Anthem. He did it on his own. No one knew. It wasn’t until a reporter noticed he wasn’t standing that he just asked Colin why he wasn’t standing. When Colin told him the reason, the reporter told Colin that he “had” to report this. I have always said that he did NOT have to report it. What he had was a choice and he CHOSE to report it. Nate Boyer, a green beret and former long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks, went and talk to Colin and asked him to revise it to kneeling. He asked him to do this because he said it would be “more respectful”. People do not care; it doesn’t fit their narrative. Colin understood and respected the compromise. In the end, it doesn’t matter because Colin wasn’t just “entertaining” folks. Overnight, Colin became “not that good anyway” and a “distraction”. Mind you, what he was talking about is discussed ON THE NEWS EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK. Do you write in to the news and tell THEM to not distract you? No, because when it comes to non-white entertainers you want them to just entertain you. Not be cognizant of what is going on in the world. Not be empathetic and sympathetic to the plights of fans who are not in their tax bracket. You want them to shut up and throw, shut up and catch, shut up and dribble. Some non-minorities have a LARGE problem with non-white folks living in a tax bracket that they will never see. Mostly because… it didn’t use to be that way.
But THAT is another story…
Kudos to you Colin and to Nike. For all of those burning, cutting, ripping up their Nike apparel: I hope you spend your days stepping on Legos.
BLACK&GIFTED 