# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/81 "2011-12-26T18:35:48Z")
> [@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. The technical word is “grown up.” ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/82 "2011-12-26T18:47:00Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > 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. Yes is it, because the Apple fanboys generally don’t fight and stab each other or riot over the newest iPhone. iPhone 4S: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaXHwrg0CyI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaXHwrg0CyI) Air Jordans: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5W956OrC8k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5W956OrC8k) ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/83 "2011-12-26T18:58:09Z")
To be fair, the iPhones aren’t limited editions that can be resold for hundreds above what was paid. Not that this makes it okay or right, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/84 "2011-12-26T19:47:31Z")
> [@kyrio](#): > > - Gong Fu is the brand. They are wushu shoes. They also make knockoff Jimmy Choo shoes; they’re called Wushu Choo Shoes, and the ad line is “Choose Wushu Choo Shoes”. ---
**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, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/85 "2011-12-26T19:57:27Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > 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!” Ah. Somehow I missed the acerbity the first time around. **Cicero** : I can’t help myself. Tis my nature. 😛 I don’t see anything “wrong” about people wanting X or Y and even standing in line to get it (although we did used to pity the Soviets and their line-standing back in the day…), it’s the pushing, stabbing and leaving children nonsense that bothers me, and I expect, most people here and well, everywhere. Except those doing the pushing of course. So, as has been said, Air Jordans are no different from the newest Apple or tech gadget or tickle me Elmo–it’s the human behavior that is being deplored here. Or at least I hope it is. I am not often here and the Dope may have changed. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/86 "2011-12-26T20:01:25Z")
I was outside of an AT&T store during the iPhone 3G release. They had hired security guards to make sure that the line stayed orderly and people didn’t cut in line. They only let five people in the store at a time. After the first five were let in, they would only let a new person in after someone else left. None of this shit would have happened if they had intelligently managed the lines outside of the shoe stores. ---
**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 26, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/87 "2011-12-26T20:16:26Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > They also make knockoff Jimmy Choo shoes; they’re called Wushu Choo Shoes, and the ad line is “Choose Wushu Choo Shoes”. Too bad they’re not made in Chattanooga. 😃 _flees_ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/88 "2011-12-26T23:10:45Z")
> [@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. This…this is a whoosh, right? This is clearly a joke and I’m just not getting it? ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/89 "2011-12-27T00:24:35Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I was outside of an AT&T store during the iPhone 3G release. They had hired security guards to make sure that the line stayed orderly and people didn’t cut in line. They only let five people in the store at a time. After the first five were let in, they would only let a new person in after someone else left. > > None of this shit would have happened if they had intelligently managed the lines outside of the shoe stores. Ding ding ding! We have a winner! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/90 "2011-12-27T01:42:50Z")
I work with a guy who is a sneakerphile. I asked him today “So how many people did you kill to get your new Air Jordans?” He said they arrived many hours before the store opened and there were already about 20 people in line. His friend went in, bought a pair that didn’t fit, walked out and sold them to someone at the tail end of the line for a $120 profit. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/91 "2011-12-27T15:36:55Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [QUOTE=Scissorjack] > They also make knockoff Jimmy Choo shoes; they’re called Wushu Choo Shoes, and the ad line is “Choose Wushu Choo Shoes”. Too bad they’re not made in Chattanooga. 😃 _flees_ [/QUOTE] Or Honshu, or Honolulu. _flees likewise_ ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/92 "2011-12-27T16:12:20Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Too bad they’re not made in Chattanooga. 😃 > > _flees_ “Hey boy, is that the Chattanooga Wushu Choo shoe?” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/93 "2011-12-27T16:13:07Z")
“Yeah, size 29.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/94 "2011-12-27T16:18:20Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I am not often here and the Dope may have changed. I know, and we miss you. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/95 "2011-12-27T18:00:10Z")
The Jordans were in our local news last night since someone who’d just bought a pair was jumped and beaten for them at a party. So he’s out the shoes and pretty sore, but better than the girl involved that was stabbed in the face, requiring stitches from her cheekbone to her chin, both inside and out. I wonder which [suture pattern](http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm) the doctor used? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/96 "2011-12-27T18:38:46Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by **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. > > This…this is a whoosh, right? This is clearly a joke and I’m just not getting it? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. The premise is sound enough: “We all engage in conspicuous consumption,” but the conclusion, “So, really, aren’t we _all_ knifing each other over sneakers?” just does not follow. Also, **sven** does not seem to have sufficient grasp of the principle to come up with any valid examples of it. So if you don’t live in a cramped studio above a bowling alley and below _another_ bowling alley, if you own any item that is not absolutely necessary for survival, then aren’t you also abandoning your toddler for a pair of sneakers? Because it’s just like that. No one has a job where it’s okay for their car to break down several times in three years. It has to be whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/97 "2011-12-27T19:18:35Z")
One should take into account the damaging effects of neurotoxic African parasites on the portions of the brain that control logic and reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/98 "2011-12-27T19:26:08Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Seemed clear enough to me: shorthand for “you’re a pretentious, predictable bore.” That was unjustified. **even sven** is one of our most helpful, intelligent, and informed Dopers and always an asset to the whole community, always has something interesting to contribute. Back the fuck off of her, you jerk. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/99 "2011-12-27T19:51:51Z")
The “whole community” benefits from a diversity of opinion, does it not? And like you, **sven** is a big, sturdy girl, more than adequately equipped to wage her own battles and face the consequences of her own actions. (Or to avoid them altogether, by occasionally refraining from swinging her sole hammer at the same ubiquitous nail.) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280/100 "2011-12-28T01:29:31Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > One should take into account the damaging effects of neurotoxic African parasites on the portions of the brain that control logic and reasoning. We have much to learn from neurotoxic African parasites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-riot-over-a-pair-of-sneakers/607280.md?page=6)