# I pit people who riot over a pair of sneakers. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 24, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280 "2011-12-24T14:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/61 "2011-12-25T17:10:39Z")
Imagine the thought of someone paying a premium for a brand name! Idiots! Posted from my iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/62 "2011-12-25T17:25:50Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > [I have proof that you’re wrong.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abr_LU822rQ) Before Air Jordans, there were [PF Flyers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rUFlXZzbE8). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/63 "2011-12-25T17:31:54Z")
Well, at least they’re good for your feet – you pay what, upwards of $500 bucks for a pair of Manolo Blahniks, which will probably kill your arches, give you corns, bunions, hammer toe, you name it. (Especially since I’ve seen cuter shoes elsewhere, although not cute enough to riot over them) > [@even\_sven](#): > > Do you have a nice house? Why? It’s not like you can be in more than room at a time, so why isn’t a studio enough? Sure, you have stuff to store. Why the hell do you have more stuff than you can even put in a room, huh? > > Do you drive a decent car? Why? You can buy a beat for a few hundred bucks- sure, it might break down but you can replace it several times over for the tens of thousands of dollars that a new car costs. > > Why not shop exclusively at thrift stores? Why not buy a $10.00 cell phone from China? Why bother with crap like orthodontics? Just to fix one tooth cost me more than a dozen pairs of Air Jordans. They could have pulled it out easy, with no real bad effect on my part except for my appearance. What a waste! > > I bet you are typing this on a computer you own. WTF? There are free computers at the library. And why would anyone need more than an eight inch TV? It’s the same picture big or small! > > Every culture has their status symbols. How do the people of Cameroon feel about Air Jordans? ---
**Author:** ![EKDS5k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@EKDS5k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EKDS5k)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/64 "2011-12-25T17:49:04Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > Okay genius, since you have appointed yourself as knowing everything about the dangers of leaving an infant alone for even 1/1000 of a second for the first 17 years of it’s life, let’s see some legitimate stats on just how deadly each of the things you claim have happened to infants left alone in cars actually are. Especially your claim that small children are fascinated by buttons and levers. Cite to at least 3 different and independent scientific studies that prove this or withdraw your claim. Too obvious. Darth Panda is much better at this than you are. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/65 "2011-12-25T19:31:33Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Are you saying that you can jump higher than him? With these shoes? I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky. I think about it every night and day. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/66 "2011-12-26T01:44:43Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > What danger is that, exactly? > > And remember, we’re talking about a sleeping toddler, fastened in a carseat, on a mild day. Why, the danger that somebody who knows how to parent better than you will make it their business to tell on you for your incredible irresponsibility. The same people that call CPS if you swat your obstreperous child on the behind for horrible misbehavior in public. The same people that support zero-tolerance policies in schools. You know the type. As far as the shoes go, it is asinine but not entirely unexpected. there are Christmas sale riots every year for everything imaginable, and while it’s been a while for Air Jordans it’s not unprecedented. I’d get upset about this but it’s a self-selecting group of people and the only difference between the trampled and the tramplers is bad luck. The people lying on the ground bleeding would be doing exactly the same thing but for the fact that they were the ones that got hurt. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/67 "2011-12-26T02:16:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How do the people of Cameroon feel about Air Jordans? Class act, Guin. Very classy. I never pegged you of all people to be all over the SDMB snark. Please, if you have a personal issue with me, have the balls to say what you are saying clearly and to my face. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/68 "2011-12-26T02:26:26Z")
Seemed clear enough to me: shorthand for “you’re a pretentious, predictable bore.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/69 "2011-12-26T02:31:45Z")
Or perhaps it’s just the insanely stupid idea of equating rioting over a pair of sneakers with someone’s “culture”. ---
**Author:** ![Haredye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@Haredye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haredye)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/70 "2011-12-26T02:39:14Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You cite 3 that prove YOUR claim they don’t smart ass. > > This cite shit works both ways bitch. Actually, in this case it doesn’t since unlike **EKDS5k** I have not made an specific claims. therefore I have no need to back them up. Oh, and as for your “end a sentence with the word bitch”: 1. It was played and lame six years ago, and is even more lame now that the nerd brigade such as yourself have caught onto it 2. It only works if you have a comma after ways, so fail for you on all counts. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/71 "2011-12-26T02:43:22Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Or perhaps it’s just the insanely stupid idea of equating rioting over a pair of sneakers with someone’s “culture”. Eh, my shorthand isn’t perfect. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/72 "2011-12-26T02:55:26Z")
> [@Haredye](#): > > 1. It only works if you have a comma after ways, so \*\*fail \*\*for you on all counts. Bolding mine. How ironic. 404 called and wants it’s lame internet jargon back. And I suspect that isn’t the king’s english either. And yes I am being meta ironic with this post bitch. ---
**Author:** ![kyrio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@kyrio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kyrio)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/73 "2011-12-26T05:02:34Z")
Funny, all of this talk about comfortable shoes and yet sneakers are just another shoe helping deform us and causing long term health problems - and it all starts after the first couple of years of life. The best footwear you can use is a thin piece of flexible rubber or a multi-layered fabric, to protect the bottom of your feet, and a method to keep the material on your foot - more fabric to form the shoe. Anything past that and you are asking for trouble with your joints and muscles. The Chinese may do some dumb shit, like killing animals for their magic tusks, but their choice of shoe (in the past, at least) still stands supreme. A $4 pair of Gong Fu\* shoes (look it up on Amazon, they even have other styles) from Chinatown is the best things you can do for yourself and everyone you know. The only thing you need to consider, beyond those shoes, is the weather - some rubber rain boots or snow boots. Boots are not meant to be worn as long term footwear, they are for getting places or doing things that need extra protection. That’s the only time you should be making an exception. Do some simple searching online and you can verify that what I’m saying is correct. Where do you think the idea for all of those overpriced “bare feet” shoes came from? - Gong Fu is the brand. They are wushu shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/74 "2011-12-26T05:09:16Z")
I rolled my eyes when I heard about this, but as others have pointed out, this isn’t a million miles from Apple fanboys queueing up for the newest iDevice. And there are plenty of shoes that cost ridiculous amounts of money. I still think anyone who skipped work, or caused someone an injury, or left their kids in the car while trying to buy these sneakers is a dick, though. ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/75 "2011-12-26T08:47:42Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Why, the danger that somebody who knows how to parent better than you will make it their business to tell on you for your incredible irresponsibility. The same people that call CPS if you swat your obstreperous child on the behind for horrible misbehavior in public. The same people that support zero-tolerance policies in schools. You know the type. Omigod. Responding to evidence of poor parenting! Next thing you know those busybodies will report you when you’re not parenting at all! And the same people that bitch about society overresponding are the ones that are first in line to blame society for lack of intervention when something happens to their little angel. When it’s them and theirs, fuck off. When it’s theirs and others, why were you negligent? You know the type. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/76 "2011-12-26T08:55:06Z")
> [@kyrio](#): > > Funny, all of this talk about comfortable shoes and yet sneakers are just another shoe helping deform us and causing long term health problems - and it all starts after the first couple of years of life. > > The best footwear you can use is a thin piece of flexible rubber or a multi-layered fabric, to protect the bottom of your feet, and a method to keep the material on your foot - more fabric to form the shoe. Anything past that and you are asking for trouble with your joints and muscles. > > The Chinese may do some dumb shit, like killing animals for their magic tusks, but their choice of shoe (in the past, at least) still stands supreme. > > A $4 pair of Gong Fu\* shoes (look it up on Amazon, they even have other styles) from Chinatown is the best things you can do for yourself and everyone you know. The only thing you need to consider, beyond those shoes, is the weather - some rubber rain boots or snow boots. Boots are not meant to be worn as long term footwear, they are for getting places or doing things that need extra protection. That’s the only time you should be making an exception. > > Do some simple searching online and you can verify that what I’m saying is correct. Where do you think the idea for all of those overpriced “bare feet” shoes came from? > > - Gong Fu is the brand. They are wushu shoes. :rolleyes: “This message brought to you by Gong Fu. When you think “shoe” - think ‘FU’!” ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/77 "2011-12-26T15:24:58Z")
> [@kyrio](#): > > The Chinese may do some dumb shit, like killing animals for their magic tusks, but their choice of shoe (in the past, at least) still stands supreme. Ah, yes. Historical Chinese shoe choices. Anyone for a foot binding? The ladies found it very hard to “stand supreme”. Not everyone’s feet are made the same (surprise!). Feet naturally have problems, all on their own. My arches are too high and have been since I started walking. Add in three pregnancies and working as a staff nurse for 20+ years. I need sturdy (and sadly, unsexy) shoes plus orthotics. I don’t need ridiculously overpriced Air Jordans and think the people hurting one another and vandalizing property are jerks. And yes, leaving unattended toddlers or even slightly larger children in the car while you shop is unwise. This is so obvious it doesn’t really need repeating, but since we are dealing with people who think that mowing others down (or stabbing them) to get to a pair of shoes is “probably wrong” (seriously,\*\* Darth Panda\*\*? What an… interesting POV), I can easily see how leaving children unattended is no big thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/78 "2011-12-26T16:04:25Z")
**Eleonorigby** , please don’t be so sensible. This is the pit. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/79 "2011-12-26T17:15:50Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > since we are dealing with people who think that mowing others down (or stabbing them) to get to a pair of shoes is “probably wrong” (seriously,\*\* Darth Panda\*\*? What an… interesting POV), I can easily see how leaving children unattended is no big thing. Swoosh? eta: What I meant to say was “Hey, this is a free country last time I checked! My grandfather died in some war to guarantee my right to dope-ass shoes, so if I have to push some fat bitch down a flight of shoes to get that sweetness, so be it. USA! USA!” ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/80 "2011-12-26T17:29:54Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Imagine the thought of someone paying a premium for a brand name! Idiots! > > Posted from my iPhone. heh. I see what you did thar. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, at least they’re good for your feet – you pay what, upwards of $500 bucks for a pair of Manolo Blahniks, which will probably kill your arches, give you corns, bunions, hammer toe, you name it. Bad example,\*\* Guinnie\*\*. Manolo is a popular designer because they make shoes that are both stylish and comfortable. The craftsmanship that goes into any of their shoes is such that the shoes are comfortable and less damaging to your feet. I can’t remember if it’s Manolo or Choo, but one of them wont even make shoes over a certain height because they believe it is damaging to a woman’s foot. A better example would be Louboutin, who is famous for the red bottoms of their shoes, but not the craftsmanship (for instance, that famous red sole is glued, not sewn on). Btw, your Cameroon comment was out of line. Don’t once again be a band wagon jumper, **Guin** - I like to think you’re better than that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280.md?page=5)