Angry white people are burning their Nike gear now that the sneaker company has chosen to feature Colin Kaepernick in an ad campaign, and if that’s not a sign of the immense privilege of America’s snowflake population, I don’t know what is.
If you woke up today, and the most productive thing you could think of doing was logging onto White Supremacist Twitter and burning a pair of tennis shoes, I immediately know three things about you:
You’re white (duh)
The way you establish priorities for the use of your time and energy is incredibly stupid
Given that the marketing actions of an athleisure-wear company has thrown you into such a tizzy, you have absolutely no idea what actual pain and suffering entail
Sometimes it’s unclear who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are in a situation. This is not one of those times.
Colin Kaepernick has spent the last several years using a position of immense privilege to shed light on the actual problems that affect the most vulnerable people in America every day. In the process, he has burned up a good deal of said privilege, losing professional and pecuniary opportunities in the process. Spoiler alert: he’s the good guy.
But you, white person dousing a jock strap with lighter fluid? You, on the other hand, are the bad guy. You’re the angry white lady screaming in the background when Central High School in Little Rock was desegregated. You’re the cop with a fire hose and tear gas. With all of that power and unearned privilege, you’ve decided to use your leisure time to spite people who don’t have the luxury of joining your Sisterhood of the Flaming Track Pants.
Colin Kaepernick earned some privilege in this world, and he burned a bunch of it to shed light on the perpetuation of injustice. You burned a pair of gym socks, and the only thing you illuminated was the absolute vacuity of your moral standing.
