[Joe 6-pack]

Just wait ‘til folks are lining up for their free Obama shoes!

[smokingfrog]

Houston man shot over Air Jordans

[ILS21R]

One of the comments from the story:

Should have thrown a stack of job applications at the crowd. That would have made them scatter faster than pepper spray.

[traditional1]

The bulk of the payments for the shoes, most likely, were EBT's

[crosshairs]

Materialistic poverty.

[who knows what evil?]

Over frickin’ shoes??? You were right, Mr. Traficant...beam us up; there isn’t enough intelligent life down here to even bother with...

[DemforBush]

I’ve seen too many of these incidents to be surprised anymore, but I still have to shake my head. All this nonsense over a lousy pair of sneakers. We truly have lost sight of what is really important.

I’m reminded of a particular Calvin and Hobbes strip (it went something like this):

Calvin: “Today’s consumer is hip and sophisticated. We aren’t manipulated by commercials and advertisements”

Hobbes: “I think I hear advertisers laughing”

Calvin: “Hold on, I need to inflate my basketball shoes.”

[servantboy777]

Is it just me or is there some sort of weird commonality to these stories?

[combat_boots]

I am glad I do not understand this.

In my mind, the closest thing is the people stealing and selling Scrooge’s drapes.

[lysie]

Ah! The good old days.

I don't remember one violent outbreak for these. ;-)

[wolficatZ]

[tumblindice]

We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious Air Jordan. Nasty elvish pepper spray! It burns us my Precious! gollum gollum

[TexasFreeper2009]

Why would anyone riot over butt ugly shoes that I wouldn’t wear even if someone gave them to me?

[equaviator]

What kind of pepper goes into that pepper spray. Is it black, habanero, white or is it multicultural?

[Bigg Red]

I think that high-priced athletic shoes must need some sort of laws to control their availability, as the sale of them seems to lead to violent confrontations. Shoe control now!

[Conservative4Ever]

Had to Google what the shoes looked like. First, they are singularly unattractive and second, they’re just shoes. Really people, over shoes???!!!

[Scoutmaster]

Thank goodness these were just the Retro Air Jordans.

When the Nike Air Jordan XI was released, there was fighting, stabbing, gunfire, and other recreation at malls and stores in Orlando, Lithonia (GA), Richmond (CA), Richmond (VA), Indianapolis, San Antonio, and Charlotte.

I'm sure I missed a few.

[ozzymandus]

Really, what is is with blacks and tennis shoes? Huh? WTF?

[Teacher317]

And in the next 1-6 years, when these same people are told that they are not getting their handouts anymore...

If this is the reaction over competition for POPULAR AND AVAILABLE SHOES, imagine how they will behave when it is over SCARCE FOOD.

[atomic conspiracy]

"A burst of pepper spray."

Napoleon would prescribe whiff of grapeshot for this sort of thing.