On Colin Kaepernick’s Nike Ad: Will the Revolution Be Branded?
Dave Zirin makes some good points that I was thinking about myself. The Nike-Kap shyt is cool but this isn't no revolutionary shyt. Nothing is going to change from this campaign, no systemic changes, nothing. It's just PR. You can't fight white supremacy with a white companies money (especially a GOP supporter).
Just another example of people getting caught up in symbolism instead of actual progress....
Shout out to Kap though
In Nike’s antiseptic, hollow corporate-speak, Kaepernick is simply “moving the world forward.” There is no mention here of police violence or racism. And it would be stupid to expect it. This is Nike. Asking them to be a voice for social justice is like asking a dog to meow.
But global, multibillion-dollar corporations that run an archipelago of sweatshops don’t underwrite rebellions. They co-opt and quash them. If anyone can navigate this snakepit, it is Colin Kaepernick, but it won’t be easy. The revolution will not be branded. We should be honest about that. The message of standing up to police violence and racial inequity shouldn’t end up in a swoosh-laded graveyard. That’s the risk that comes with this sponsorship. But if anyone has earned the right to take that risk, it’s Colin Kaepernick.
Dave Zirin makes some good points that I was thinking about myself. The Nike-Kap shyt is cool but this isn't no revolutionary shyt. Nothing is going to change from this campaign, no systemic changes, nothing. It's just PR. You can't fight white supremacy with a white companies money (especially a GOP supporter).
Just another example of people getting caught up in symbolism instead of actual progress....
Shout out to Kap though


