Got Them J's Though

Unnamed sources have confirmed that the Air Jordan6 “Black/Infrared” is scheduled for release in just a few short days, Black Friday, 11/28/14. That means that come Thursday thousands of “Sneakerheads” across the country (give or take a few folks looking for an easy come up) will gather their sleeping bags and prepare for an overnight wait in line. Not only will they sacrifice hours just to be among the few who were lucky enough to get their hands on the remake of the limited classic kicks, but they will also sacrifice hundreds of dollars, YES! HUNDREDS! I ‘ve heard of guys spending as much as $500 on one pair of sneakers. What makes it worse is that half of the people who actually get a hold of a pair won’t even wear them! They’ll just admire them while they sit among the other 20+ pair in their collection. I’ll admit that I’m guilty of purchasing a few more expensive, quality items such as jackets and shoes, but you better believe that I always get more than enough wear of it, to the point my friends are probably tired of seeing some of them lol. With that said, I’ve learned to say “no” more than “yes.” Its one thing to treat yourself once in a while but you should be able to do so within limits. If people could learn to be more logical than emotional they would use their money more wisely. I can think of 100 more practical, responsible things that people could do with their money.


Almost 30 and you still don’t have a car…but you got them J’s though (guess you need to be stylish and comfortable if you’re walking). If you make these kinds of purchases on a monthly basis, one pair of sneakers could cover one month’s car payment. 30 degrees, in the dead of winter, you’re walking around with a hoodie and no coat….but you got them J’s though. For the price of one pair of sneakers you could have purchased, one maybe even two coats.

All jokes aside, we all need to learn to spend more responsibly. Paying almost double the value for a sneaker (something that has no ability to increase in value) is an action that only an enslaved individual would take. Unfortunately, this mentality seems to disproportionately affect African Americans. As the hip hop culture becomes more mainstream, we begin to see this kind of thinking among youth/young adults of other racial backgrounds, with regards to material purchases. Nonetheless, Blacks still seem to suffer the most severe case. Who are we really trying to impress, when we buy things that we really can’t afford? Somewhere down the line our priorities got mixed up. Back in April of this year I touched on this topic in my article titled “Wealth” (http://jaeblog.com/2014/04/14/wealth-2/#more-322).

If you are buying these sneakers, I just hope you paid your bills and yourself first!