Poll: Adidas Slave Shoes

[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!

 

[AT God]

I clicked this link thinking it would be about the whole sweatshop children labor thing, people can wear what ever stupid shoes they want, I wouldn't buy them but I wouldn't care if I saw someone wearing them. Shackles as a restraint weren't invented for slavery so it seems unfair to say that they are in reference to slavery, those style shackles are still in use today so it seems more like some kind of new age commentary on oppression or more logically simply a way for people who aren't in prison to immitate what they think makes people in prison so facinating and bad ass.

 

[Rumpsteak]

No, not at all. To avoid this becoming quite lengthy I'll just got for what seems to be the main point. The design was said to stir up images of slavery, that isn't what I saw until the idea was laid out before me. I saw more of an imprisoned vibe than slavery and no, they are not the same thing. While I view the shoes as being undoubtedly tacky I can see that the base concept that I first got would fit into at least one area of popular culture today.

 

[Dango]

Sounds like a lot of people really have nothing to do. I mean, if you've got time to feel offended by something that trivial...

You say that as if being offended takes a lot of energy.

But no, offensive is the wrong word, it's more like tasteless.

 

[EHKOS]

What? NO! It's symbolic, and pretty cool. Slavery is over people, care to move on?

 

[Humble Grapefruit]

Unfortunately, as ridiculous as they are, people will still buy them and take them seriously.

 

[ScaryAlmond]

Whether it is offensive or not all depends on context personally I don't know their business practices but say they pulled a Nike and basically did use human slavery it would be incredibly offensive.
on the other hand if say someone else specifically designed this to represent their view of being a slave of political social or economic standards ie bank loans, indefinite detentions
There are too many variable to consider it could be a political statement or it could be a bad PR stunt either way I don't really care.

 

[Johann610]

Is it odd that I equate those cuffs to "My Pet Monster?" Real shackles would be silver-ish, or black. These are cartoony. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Pet-Monster-The-Complete-Series/10615