The shackle shoes

[Matthew Ellis]

I don't know about you but this has turned into a controversy Adidas recently released their new shoe design and it looks like a normal shoe only it has shackles .People say this design is clearly racist . I will disagree with this theory probably because Adidas knows who they're selling to which is a mainly black population .If they were smart they wouldn't design a shoe to be racist 

[Hutch Hogan]

Considering the amount of people that would have to approve the shoes, racism probably wasn't the intention.  Though now that it has been marked as racist, the shoes won't be released. 

[Latch33570]

Some people just walkaround with a chip on their shoulder and look for things to call racist when they weren't meant to be. They are race baiters.

[TheUrgeToSneeze]

This is an issue where there is a disconnect between image and meaning. The design's intent is that the shoes are so cool that you'd want to shackle them to you so nobody could steal them. However, Adidas failed to recognize that "shackles" on largely young black males' ankles are still strongly associated with slavery. I highly doubt this design was meant to recall slavery imagery and thus I can't really agree that this was a racist design, rather an unwise (and ignorant) one.

[Latch33570]

It still is stupid to call it racist. That is just dumb. I mean it is shoes for christ sakes.

[Hutch Hogan]

Klansmen's robes are also clothing, but it is possible for clothing to make racial statements.  Though like I said, it's really unlikely that they were trying to send a racially charged message. 

[Latch33570]

I think it is obvious they didn't. Being a large business and wanting to sell the shoes of course they didn't mean to offend anyone. Like I said. Some people look for reasons to be offended.

[Eystein,]

Is there no end to stupidity?! This has obviously nothing to do with racism. It's a silly shoe with referance to shackles in cartoons if anything, not slavery... How can anyone honestly be offended by this?!

[Chen]

A. Are there any pictures? A link?

B. I remember hearing a rumor going around on the internet about a certain brand of shoes (can't remember which one) which have a swastika hidden on the inside of the sole (you have to cut it open to see it). Does anyone know of this?

[Latch33570]

I googled that and it looks like your areright about the swastika. I wonder why the shoe company would do that? Are they made in India? Is it just a fake? I wonder.

[Chen]

me two