Betsy
On Friday, TMZ reported shares of Nike stock were up slightly to $86.62. The company’s market value is now $136.38 billion.
“What I’m beginning to learn about Nike,” Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame told TMZ, “they know how to take controversy and blow it up into advertising.”
Nike also saw a bounce last September when it produced a commercial featuring Kaepernick.
After the fake outrage from he right about Colin Kaepernick mentioning to Nike that the Betsy Ross had been co-opted by the Nazis, Nike is laughing all the way to the bank. Of course. But the conservatives were all up in arms about Nike not using a symbol co-opted by white supremacists to put on their shoes. They were outraged that the man who kneeled in support of people attacked for their skin color would have spoken.
Nike was set to release its latest Air Max featuring a 18th cent. symbol dating from a time when Black people were enslaved & continuously donned by white supremacists, until #ColinKaepernick told #Nike the symbol is offensive to him & others. https://t.co/gyyXjz29er— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) July 2, 2019
I say fuck them. To justify their pearl clutching, they're bringing up some Obama era event that had the Betsy hung up with some of the more modern versions, they are saying that the Betsy was created by Quakers, who were abolitionists, and also that it was created by a woman (where, oh where are the feminists?) and totally overlook the use of the flag by white supremacists. Their deflection of the issue has no limits. And that taking into consideration that Kaepernick is not the first person of color to raise concerns about this flag. Spike Lee has also talked about it. The only thing is that Kaepernick is the one who kneeled.
And if you want to see the schism between the right and the left, you don't have to go too far: during the fourth of July weekend, I was minding my own business and eating some fruit salad when somebody in the barbecue I was attending started saying that Colin this and Colin that and the flag. I was like, Oranges and Apples, girl. It's not about the American flag, it's about one of its permutations. They did not give in. I told them that once it's co-opted by the Nazis it's problematic. That once something is associated with white supremacists it is tainted (think about all those proud boys and their khakis and their tiki torches). They did not see it. I went to another tent to finish my fruit salad. I am not going to waste my time trying to convince someone that Nazis are bad.
And it's not like there's no sources willing to explain why is it that the Betsy Ross is problematic:
Betsy Ross’s flag is offensive to black folks. If that is news to you, click on the link below to find out why. #Nike #ImWithKap #Kaepernick #BetsyRosshttps://t.co/gJyyXzkfvD— Corey Leak (@coreyevanmusic) July 2, 2019
So I'm glad Kaepernick spoke. And I'm glad Nike pulled the shoes (that now are selling by the thousands on eBay and the such). And Nike? Laughing all the way to the bank. And you know why? Because conservatives (like Dough Ducey, the GOP Arizona Governor) who started the whole pearl clutching and patriotic stomping don't follow their own advice:
Wow, @dougducey standing on principle wearing his Nikes for the 4th of July. #nikeboycott #Nike pic.twitter.com/NTU6kmpQc0— Coconino County Democrats (@CoconinoDems) July 5, 2019
Conservatives. As hypocritical as they come. Fuck the lot of them. Or even better: don't. They don't deserve the pleasure.
XOXO
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I hate to say it, but it's true: it's almost impossible now to reason with a great many Deplorables,especially concerning race because the only race they care about is white.
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason to elect either a black woman or a gay man as president so all of these asshats can return to their closets and not feel as empowered as they do under _____.
They will grasp at anything they can to preserve their “god given” rights. But stand up to them one on one and they fold. Remember the wannabe nazi from Charlottesville that broke down when he found out the police had a warrant out for his arrest? The small cells make a lot of noise to get the attention. That’s what they crave. Challenging them is what works.
ReplyDeleteXOXO 👨❤️💋👨
I've been seeing reference to Betsy Ross and Nike all over the internet and wondered WTF was going on -- thanks for explaining it!
ReplyDeleteWell that's a shame, this is the first I heard of this but true, once tainted who wants a symbol like that on their clothes.If there was only some way to take the historical symbol back, like charging someone with massive fines and jail time for using it as a symbol of hate, it would be funny to see nazis crying on YouTube again.
ReplyDeletenazi deplorables are disgusting smelly turds!
ReplyDeleteNike's laughing. Conservatives are running around like their hair is on fire. And I'm going to wear my Nike's to the movies tonight.
ReplyDelete@Bob: oh, Hillary was SO right about that basket of deplorables! And a woman (of color if possible!) and a gay man ticket would be what we need to have them all die of an aneurism.
ReplyDelete@Bae: they're a small, noisy minority. They're nasty and racist. And challenging them is my daily bread.
@Debra: yes! That's what the whole brouhaha has been about. You know, racism as usual.
@Steven: Oh, the republican party is the party of white nationalists and they like it. It's a disgrace.
@AnneMarie: yes, they are! Ugh. Disgusting.
@Dae: Nike's come out with a fresh push in publicity every time. And yes! Even I have been thinking about getting me a pare of Nike sneakers LOL
XOXO