In September, Nike released an ad featuring Colin Kaepernick encouraging people to stand up for what they believe in, and people everywhere lost their minds. Kaepernick’s controversy around kneeling during the national anthem has been rattling Americans for around two years already, so this was clearly a calculated campaign coming from Nike.

    Naturally, people were furious. Here’s the thing: it’s fine to be angry, and it’s fine to protest a brand, but there were a good number of people who really thought that their answer was to literally light their Nike products aflame.

    I feel confident in saying that this is one of the dumbest forms of protest I have heard of since people protested Charles Manson’s jailing because he “had some more good tunes in him.” This is the same Charles Manson that formed a cult that killed people in California. The point being: it’s dangerous, counterproductive, ineffective, and it makes you look ridiculous.

    Firstly, lighting things on fire can be extremely dangerous if you aren’t equipped to handle it. They’re risking not only their own safety but also the safety of others, and frankly, it’s not very nice. Nobody else should have to suffer because they decided they wanted to turn their $200 tennis shoes into a barbeque.

    Secondly, they already bought the product, so they’re wasting their own money. Burning the product doesn’t harm the brand in any way. If anybody is really so frazzled that you can’t handle having Nike in your home, please consider donating the expensive, high-quality clothing to those who need it (you know, instead of lighting it on fire).

    To be entirely honest, this protest only promotes the brand you’re trying to hurt. When a brand makes a political statement, as Nike did, consumers become divided. People who support the statement buy more, people who don’t support it will boycott. For the most part, people won’t make any action to buy more or less of a brand. In Nike’s case, after the Kaepernick commercial, their sales actually went up. They probably even anticipated this reaction and knew it would bring them free publicity.

    Last of all, they look stupid. I hate to burst any bubbles, but it’s best that somebody tell you now, before you make things look worse. When I see this kind of thing on Twitter, I scroll past it and roll my eyes. I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help.

    So, please, for my own sanity, don’t burn your clothes. Learn from the people that tried before you, and know that it most likely will not work. This is especially true if you’re going after a tyrant of a brand. If you really want to make a change, there are better ways to go about it and be taken seriously.

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