Poll: Adidas Slave Shoes

[ResonanceSD]

I can't believe it's actually reached this point.
Where hip hop culture (and therefore it's clothes) has become so clueless, so vacuous, that it's forgotten about the slave trade?

Maybe you can tell us what the point is of endlessly dragging on and on about a very small event that occurred centuries ago and which nobody alive today has witnessed?

And yes, very fucking small, because there's much bigger historical events with a much larger impact today, like the First World War.

Very fucking small?! 618,000 soldiers died. You wouldn't say World War I was small because World War II had more casualties.

And besides numbers there are also the huge social ideal shifts that changed the very nature of the United States.

And it didn't happen "centuries" ago, it happened 150 years ago.

All good points, but you quoted me rather than the other guy.

 

[JasonKaotic]

Dude, you're breathing! The Nazis did that! You're exactly the same as them! I hate you!
No. No they are not. I have no idea who'd want to wear them, but I swear there're people on the internet who actively search for things they can start this sort of drama about or something.

 

[NiPah]

I wonder if they will give the employ discount on these shoes since they're the same version as the ones worn by their Chinese employees.

 

[DaWaffledude]

Not offensive, just really really stupid. I mean, what else could they possibly make people think of? Do you want your company to be associated with slavery?

 

[ElPatron]

Where people see slavery, I see BDSM.

However I don't see how it would be cool to wear those. Can't we just look at things and say it's stupid before jumping into conclusions? Or the people turning this into a controversy are implying that only black people would wear that?

I can't believe it's actually reached this point.
Where hip hop culture (and therefore it's clothes) has become so clueless, so vacuous, that it's forgotten about the slave trade?

Slave trade was abolished centuries ago. WWII was just 70 years ago but it's not too soon to slaughter Germans - did we forget about that? We also killed lots of Jews before WWII, but people probably forgot about that because nobody cares about Jews.

Just saying, but it's about time someone is ignoring something that has far too much impact on modern society compared to other atrocities.

Or maybe it's an ironic statement that I can't understand because I'm too white.

 

[Leadfinger]

Considering the sweat shop controversy Adidas has been embroiled in, the shackle shoes are a delicious, if unintended, irony.

 

[Akytalusia]

i don't find them offensive, but they're tacky as fuck.

 

[Woodsey]

I can't believe it's actually reached this point.
Where hip hop culture (and therefore it's clothes) has become so clueless, so vacuous, that it's forgotten about the slave trade?

Maybe you can tell us what the point is of endlessly dragging on and on about a very small event that occurred centuries ago and which nobody alive today has witnessed?

And yes, very fucking small, because there's much bigger historical events with a much larger impact today, like the First World War.

Yeah, that tiny, 300-year event that still shapes the socioeconomic status of Americans today. 150 years ain't exactly 'centuries'.

OT: I dunno, I don't think anyone at Adidas would be that stupid. They are fucking hideous though.

 

[Ickorus]

I can't believe it's actually reached this point.
Where hip hop culture (and therefore it's clothes) has become so clueless, so vacuous, that it's forgotten about the slave trade?

Maybe you can tell us what the point is of endlessly dragging on and on about a very small event that occurred centuries ago and which nobody alive today has witnessed?

And yes, very fucking small, because there's much bigger historical events with a much larger impact today, like the First World War.

Yeah, that tiny, 300-year event that still shapes the socioeconomic status of Americans today. 150 years ain't exactly 'centuries'.

OT: I dunno, I don't think anyone at Adidas would be that stupid. They are fucking hideous though.

I honestly think the sooner we stop talking about the events of the past and start dealing with the problems of the present the better.

That of course includes the problems the events of the past caused but I don't think dragging (legal) slavery up every 5 minutes is going to solve anything, in fact I think it causes more problems because it just sets the two ethnicities against each other when the vast majority of both groups want to put an end to racism altogether.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

No, just really weird, who the hell would buy those? I though this was gonna be about slaves making the shoes.

 

[Darren716]

I'm offended that someone with such a stupid design for a sneaker was able to get his idea so far that a prototype was already made, they should have been fired instantly.

 

[Evil Smurf]

we still have sweat shops! something that should have been left In the 19th century

 

[Rose and Thorn]

I don't find them offensive, but I do find them ugly.

I have no quarrels with trying new things, and new designs. Shackles can be cool, sometimes.

I am not really a fan of Adidas and that type of sneaker though.

 

[D-Ray]

I couldn't care less for the shoe....you would have known that if you read my post correctly.
I was mainly responding to that other guy about slavery and its affects. So, calm your horses.

 

[D-Ray]

You are not understanding at all. Saying that the effects of slavery are still around is NOT the same as saying that some people in the US feels enslaved. I'm saying that slavery will always be in history and some people are still discriminated against for things that were "normal" in the past.

I'm not saying that anyone feels enslaved because slavery is illegal obviously, but its has affect people here.

 

[Woodsey]

I can't believe it's actually reached this point.
Where hip hop culture (and therefore it's clothes) has become so clueless, so vacuous, that it's forgotten about the slave trade?

Maybe you can tell us what the point is of endlessly dragging on and on about a very small event that occurred centuries ago and which nobody alive today has witnessed?

And yes, very fucking small, because there's much bigger historical events with a much larger impact today, like the First World War.

Yeah, that tiny, 300-year event that still shapes the socioeconomic status of Americans today. 150 years ain't exactly 'centuries'.

OT: I dunno, I don't think anyone at Adidas would be that stupid. They are fucking hideous though.

I honestly think the sooner we stop talking about the events of the past and start dealing with the problems of the present the better.

That of course includes the problems the events of the past caused but I don't think dragging (legal) slavery up every 5 minutes is going to solve anything, in fact I think it causes more problems because it just sets the two ethnicities against each other when the vast majority of both groups want to put an end to racism altogether.

'but I don't think dragging (legal) slavery up every 5 minutes'

I was going to make some sort of snarky comment, but I think that kind of hangs itself nicely, really.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I don't call it racist and offensive, I call it fucking ugly. Do they hand out marketing degrees on the back of a cereal box these days?

Captcha: "No brainer" - indeed

 

[Woodsey]

Do they hand out marketing degrees on the back of a cereal box these days?

I hear EA gives them out at raffles. (Second prize is a crate of Stella.)

 

[BeeGeenie]

Considering that the word "slave" dates back to the ancient Roman's favorite prisoners of war... the Slavs, maybe slavic people should be offended that African Americans think slavery is inherently racist. Slaves have come from pretty much every race throughout history, so there is really no basis for calling references to slavery racist...
And as has been stated in other posts, there's nothing inherently slavery related about shackles. They can be used for other purposes: the criminal justice system comes to mind.

So no, those shoes are not offensive, they're just tacky.

 

[Adam Galli]

I wonder if they will give the employ discount on these shoes since they're the same version as the ones worn by their Chinese employees.

HAHA Your post made my night!