Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Does Nike Hate America?

The National Football League opens its season on Sunday. Actually, the first game will be Thursday evening, between Atlanta and Philadelphia.

So, what does Nike do? To mark the occasion it has introduced the new face of its #JustDoIt campaign: Colin Kaerpernick.

As you know, Kaepernick was a second rate quarterback who became infamous for refusing to stand in respect of the National Anthem. Then, he was seen wearing socks that portrayed police officers as pigs.


Which leads to the obvious question: why does Nike hate America?


The NFL player protests have damaged the league. The players insist that they are protesting racial injustice, and in particular, they are protesting white police officers who commit crimes against young black men. Unfortunately, they do not own the meaning of their gestures. Unless you believe that the National Anthem was the battle cry that set white police officers to oppress black youths, their protest was misplaced. At the least.


The players insist that they are not disrespecting the nation. And yet, actions speaks for themselves. They mean what they mean, not what you want them to mean. You cannot go around flipping off people and declaring that you are thereby showing affection.


Besides, as has been reported, Kaepernick was simply doing what his girlfriend-- who sympathized with Fidel Castro and with Islamist terrorism-- was telling him to do. He was not a profile in courage. He was whipped.


The tagline of the Kaepernick campaign is: Believe in something. Even if it costs you everything.


At the Powerline blog, John Hinderaker analyzes the meaning of the slogan, under the rubric: Corporate Suicide Watch. He notes that Kepernick is still a multimillionaire. He is not a homeless person living on the streets of San Francisco. By the way, how much is he earning for his role as the new face of the Nike campaign? Do you think that he is doing it for nothing?


Nike apparently thinks Kaepernick has sacrificed everything, which tells you something about 21st century corporate America. Kaepernick is a multimillionaire whose “sacrifice” consisted of kneeling during the National Anthem, wearing socks depicting police officers as pigs, and generally denouncing his country. Which has led to a second career as a leftist spokesman. That is not exactly a contender in the annals of Greatest Sacrifice Ever.


As for the notion that you should believe in something, Hinderaker easily makes a hash of the absurd notion:


Further, Nike’s tag line, “Believe in something,” naturally raises the question: Does it matter what you believe in? Any normal person would say that it does. After all, the worst monsters in human history–Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Nero, Hitler, Amin, bin Laden, Castro–all believed in something. It was just the wrong thing.


So, does corporate America believe in America? Do they feel any debt to the nation that made them into hyperrich oligarchs? Or do they return the favor with hatred?

18 comments:

Dan Patterson said...

Nicely summarized, and much appreciated.

Freddo said...

On the other hand, watch as bad stories about labor conditions in Nike factories get memory-holed.

trigger warning said...

"When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use."
--- Lenin

I've never understood why folks persist in believing that large corporations and the USCoC are pro-American.

Anonymous said...

Excellent vidoe regarding sports and politics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUOEPsNbqk

Callmelennie said...

The notion that Kaepernick was a second rate QB should be dispensed with post haste. He almost led his team, the 49ers, to a Super Bowl victory .. and this in an era when the 49ers have been an average franchise at best. He was also an extraordinary runner for a QB. Check out the video link; I would challenge anybody to show me a more remarkable run

No, the way to get at Kaepernick is to point out he was the son of an absent black father, who was adopted and nurtured by loving white parents and whose talents were molded since he was a child by white coaches who was made a wealthy man by an enterprise created by white males. And this is how he pays white folks back? By destroying a league that was at the forefront in giving blacks opportunities; by destroying the future earning potential of hundreds of black athletes? That's the way to get at Kaepernick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8BFc5V2Hic

Callmelennie said...

I see your blog doesn't support hyperlinks, Google up "Colin Kaepernick, 90 yard touchdown"

ASM826 said...

Here's my alternative ad:

John Basilone, GySgt USMC

ASM826 said...

FYI, hyperlinks in Blogger require the correct tagging.

1. Copy the code below, then paste it in the predefined comment field.
TITLE
2. Replace the text within the quote marks with the link to be addressed, and replace the TITLE text with text that you want to be the title that readers see.

Sam L. said...

NIKE has shot itself in the sneakers with a tommygun, and every other body part above the feet that is covered with NIKE gear.

Thanks for the picture, ASM828.

Christopher B said...

Brian Stark - that's debtable. Much like Case Keenum for my Vikings last year, Kapernick had one breakout year in a career that was otherwise pretty pedestrian, and it came too late to save him. If he was so stellar then why was he riding the bench the year after the Super Bowl appearance? Running quarterbacks get eaten for lunch in the NFL (see RGBIII). You have to be a consistently superior passer to make the top of the league as a qb. Kapernick is no better than average.

Anonymous said...

Another Trump win. These people are hilarious. Globalists who sell out American labor and find their American patriotism by supporting fraud activists like Colin Kaepernick.

Aggie said...

I have a great faith that Americans are equally capable when it comes to Nike.

sestamibi said...

Kaepernick may not have thought things through completely when he pulled his publicity stunt, but he wasn't a second-rate quarterback by any stretch--at least in his first years in the NFL. Don't forget he led the SF 49ers to the Super Bowl in his first year in the pros.

sestamibi said...

Oops. Didn't read prior comments. Both Brian Stark and Christopher B are correct about stages of CK's career to which they refer.

Ares Olympus said...

If kneeling during an anthem is an act of hate, we're definitely a nation of triggered people who deserve the country we've become, weak, blind and foolish, lost in the motivated reasoning of our own shadows.

Anonymous said...

AO: so funny. It’s always the same people who talk about hate, while they can’t fathom it about themselves. Shadows, my ass. You probably don’t cast a shadow.

Anonymous said...

I stopped watching professional sports long ago, having tired of watching a bunch of millionaires play a game and then complain about it. And now this. These days, some people are so addicted to the adrenalin that spurts out upon contact with political correctness, when something is (usually left-wing) politicized by a celebrity, a "news" article or report, or anything, they automatically and unthinkingly adopt it as their next cause, becoming fervent overnight believers in something they never gave any consideration to before. The sanctimonious self-satisfaction that comes from the adrenalin rush hides from them this question: Why should entertainment, a job, or anything else be politicized at all? I would sure hate to have to sit through an actor's tirade before watching its movie, whether I agreed with the point of view or not. And I'm sure my customers would not stick around long if they had to put up with protest signs during business. But it would be like quitting drinking to them. They need it now to feel good about themselves.

Anonymous said...

And the real question is what are you going to do about it given the amount of money you are making? How glorious to pontificate and go through the motions and not have to really involve yourself in the solutions. What a bunch of phonies and hypocrites. Again what is your solution and how are you going to get involved?????
I suspect this is what happens when one does not know how to deal with one's on freedom to take actions that actually takes a step/steps towards solving a problem. Come and see me when you actually get your hands dirty dealing with those you purport to want to help. Stop pulling an AO. Talk and kneeling are cheap.
Typical leftist dribble.

dtrumpet