Sound and Fury

By nature and upbringing, I am loath to join in on protests.  If you knew Monsignor J.D. Hishen or Ed and Mary Ann Bukowski, you’d have an idea how I got to be that way.  Still, I respect others who feel the need to protest what they see as injustice.  It’s all a matter of walking in other someone else’s shoes, if you will.

Which is why I respect the decision by [most likely ex-] NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the national anthem during the 2016-2017 season.  And if people want to protest Nike for making Kaepernick the center of an ad campaign, let them burn whatever Nike items they want.  I just wish Kaepernick and his critics would consider, really consider, the company in question.  Nike is nothing if not bald-faced—and part of what needs changing if we are ever going to address economic inequality in this country.

I suggest Kaepernick, his supporters and critics all stop what they’re doing long enough to go online and take a look at the interactive map Nike has so kindly provided.  It shows the company contracts with 46 factories employing 6000 workers in the U.S.; 11 factories employing 33,000 people in India; 123 factories employing 162,000 workers in China; and 39 factories employing 194,000 people in Indonesia (all employment figures rounded up to the nearest thousand).  Next, they should go to the company’s sustainability website.

I did and was struck by this line: “We believe in a fair, sustainable future—one where everyone thrives on a healthy planet and level playing field.”  Right, and the White Sox disregarded service time this week when they decided to keep Eloy Jimenez in the minors.

Nothing eats away at a person like poverty; nothing eats away at a society like poverty that stretches over generations.  If Nike cares so much about fairness and health, why does it avoid American-made goods and why do the workers in Asia who make goods that go to Nike earn so little, at least when compared to American wages?  Oh, and if Nike stuff costs so little to manufacture, why does it cost so much to buy?

But those websites sure are slick.