I don’t know how much Nike branded clothing I have in my closet but I do know I recently bought a pair of Nike shoes and I will not stop wearing them or set them on fire. When you look at all things related to this Nike controversy, it is amazing how the narrative has been changed or totally distorted. When Colin Kaepernick first took a knee I thought it was clearly understood why it was done. The reason for the silent and respectful protest was for the mistreatment of Black men by law enforcement. The president and numerous others have made every effort to make the public believe that the reason for the protest is to disrespect the flag and the national anthem.
I wonder if this group of people have ever looked at the disrespect their elected officials give the flag. There are pictures on the Internet of senators and congressmen sleeping, nodding off and doing other work during the Pledge of Allegiance. If you do a little research you will find there are extenuating circumstances to these pictures but it did happen and during NFL games you will see the audience exercising their rights and not standing up during the Pledge of Allegiance.
The “taking of a knee” has never been about the American flag or the national anthem but that is what the president has made a lot of people who are already ill-informed believe. I have been watching the news and social media and see people burning their Nike shoes, cutting the Nike trademark off their socks and destroying clothes that they paid for. This is some of the most ridiculous stuff that I have seen. A few of my Facebook friends made some very negative remarks about the Kaepernick ad and they made it very clear that they have encouraged their children to believe the same untruths.
I am not going to destroy my shoes; as a matter of fact, I am going to buy more Nike branded clothing. As for the news stories that you have seen about burning Nike shoes, let’s confirm if fact or fiction. Did you see the one about the man who burned down his house trying to burn his Nike shoes? According to authorities, Jason Helms, 26, placed a pair of Nike sneakers in his garage and soaked them in kerosene before lighting them on fire. The fire ended up spreading to the garage walls and ceiling before spreading to his actual home. All in protest against Nike, who recently made an ad featuring the controversial Kaepernick saying to “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything… Just do it.”
“Don’t burn your Nike gear,” says police officer Don Greestien, “just send them over to me.” The story was false according to Snopes.com. Did you see the one where all Nike items were forbidden in a certain workplace? What workplace? What city? This story is unproven according to Snopes.com. Stay woke people. Do your research.
(Email Debbie at debbienorrell@aol.com.)
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
About Post Author
