So, like the previous, I have been listening to a lot of Macklemore and I came across his newest track "Wings," and as a result Ive been thinking (Oh no!) so here are my thoughts. This may turn into a rant, so you have been forewarned!
Wings - Macklemore
I used to rock the Air Jordans, don't get me wrong, I used to say "Mom, look at me, I'm so much faster in my new shoes!" But now as I've grown up I have obviously realized things about this world. One thing I realized but never really made any connection with it was how Nike gets all their shoes made across seas in sweatshops and places where people have nothing and receive nothing while we drop 100+ "for a pair of shoes I would never hoop in." The connection I never made until recently was the amount of kids that get murdered for their kicks. A quote from Jordan on the subject:
"I thought I'd be helping out others and everything would be positive. I thought people would try to emulate the good things I do, they'd try to achieve, to be better. Nothing bad. I never thought because of my endorsement of a shoe, or any product, that people would harm each other. Everyone likes to be admired, but when it comes to kids actually killing each other then you have to re-evaluate things."
The issue is that this isn't new. Kids have been getting murdered since before I was born. And this is a fairly old quote, it's from an issue of Sports Illustrated released in 1990. And my problem with all this is Jordan was the type of guy that was owned by no one. He did his thing, changed the game and became one of the most respected athletes of all time. According to Forbes, Jordan Brand bring in around $1 Billion for Nike, of which Michael Jordan receives around $80 millin in endorsements. Like he said, its nice to be admired but when people are killing each other one needs to re-evaluate.
May 1989 Michael Thomas strangled for his Jordans.
April 1989 Johnny Bates shot for his Jordans.
April 2005 Steve Terrett was shot for his Jordans.
December 2011 Matthew David was shot but was lucky enough to survive with his life.
Michael Jordan do you really want this to be your legacy?
I'm sure it's not directly your fault, but it's all part of a system you don't need to invest in. You receive thousands of dollars a day from endorsement deals but is that really worth the killings? Kids are going to be murdered everyday for what they are wearing and what they are saying and this would happen without the kicks. But is a written contract really worth the killings? I guess that's for you to decide.
"Look at me, look at me, I’m a cool kid
I’m an individual, yea, but I’m part of a movement
My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it
They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said" - Macklemore
22"s
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