Nike enjoys the popularity of its new ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick who gained attention for kneeling during the national anthem. Courtesy of Pixabay
By Jonah Hinebaugh
From Axe Body Spray’s LGBT-inspired ads to Nike’s newest campaign supporting Colin Kaepernick’s protest, it’s nothing new to see corporations swooping in to exercise faux-support for current issues.
But the real problem is the large corporations exploiting these different affairs for sales whenever most profitable. God forbid they try showing solidarity with anything before society shows mass support for the idea. It’s quite obvious, it’s nothing new, and yet it still needs to be pointed out and criticized.
The worst transgression these companies commit is shallowness.
While it may show “support” for the oppressed, what is happening in the scenes of its own company? How does the company treat its workers? Are they fairly paid to the point where they’re able to support themselves without working 50 or 60 hours a week? Are they given proper amenities like health insurance, maternal leave or even basic safety equipment while on the job?
This doesn’t just go for Nike. It goes for any corporation pretending to be some champion of civil rights. It’s grotesque the way it’s used for excess capital.
I can come up with multiple other transgressions enforced by the state and society itself. Police brutality is a chief one. It seems that even with body cams, people are beaten, harassed and even killed for, in some cases, little to no reason (F*** the Blue Lives Matter movement).
If they really cared, why not support different issues being talked about, such as excessive incarceration rates paired with the privatization of prisons. Maybe tie it with low-level, nonviolent offenders getting multiple years – that’s a worthy topic to be discussed.
Even the offenders who are released and deemed “rehabilitated” are stripped of rights, such as voting, and are often unable to get decent jobs. This then leads to getting stuck in a trap of poverty and most likely ending right back where they started because the prison system offers nothing more than sickening standards of living and jobs that pay half a dollar if the prisoners are lucky.
What kind of legalized slavery bullshit is that?
A great example is California Department of Corrections allowing women to serve as firefighters, risking death for less than three dollars. These pay rates are an exception to the wages mentioned above because, you know, they’re risking much more. The best part is these inmates not even being able to put those skills to use after being released.
It’s worth mentioning that people ridding themselves of their Nike gear are just as stupid; the guise of this being any sort of actual praxis is a joke. Cut off your swooshes and burn your shoes. It won’t matter because Nike has successfully pulled it off, indicated by the 31 percent rise in stocks after the campaign was unveiled.
