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Let me start by saying that I love sneakers.

I REALLY love sneakers. I have been collecting sneakers for over a decade, and now own close to 200 pairs. I have had pairs that you will never be able to get, and pairs that only 24 other people own. When it comes to sneakers, trust me, I’ve been there and done that. 

My mother will tell you about arguments we’ve had because I was camping out in front of a store for close to a week just to get a pair of sneakers, and this was years before the Galaxy Foamposites.

Now that my credentials have been placed on the table, I am going to tell you: IT IS NOT THAT SERIOUS.

The Nike “Galaxy” Foamposites are amazing. I’ll be the first person to say that and I can’t knock anyone who decides to camp out for a pair of sneakers. But when your safety gets threatened for sneakers, it can never be that serious. 

For the people who went out and waited patiently but still were not able to get their shoes because a riot or something broke out, I’m sorry. However, if you are one of the people who didn’t want to wait on line for the shoes and start some nonsense just so that maybe you could get a pair instead of the person who waited on line then you are a clown and should not be allowed to buy shoes. 

Since we can’t just allow you to not buy shoes then I think that stores should realize that they have to better implement ways to control a crowd. If barricades have to be put up in the form of a line that looks like you are about to get on a ride at Six Flags, then so be it. Stores cannot continue to allow people to just govern themselves outside and then take no responsibility when it gets crazy. 

On the other hand, it should never get “crazy” outside, because as free thinking human beings we have to remember that these are just sneakers. 

In six months we are going to be on to the next one. Even if the resale value is astronomical, you should still conduct yourself as if it were any other line. You wouldn’t riot to go see a movie or to get to the front of the line at the DMV, so why do you think it’s OK to do this because a pair of sneakers is being released?

Hearing that riot police had to come down to the Orlando mall where the Galaxy Foamposites were being released saddens me. It almost makes me feel as if the sneaker culture that I have grown to love is officially dead. 

It’s been ravaged by the same people who used to call me stupid for waiting on line for my limited edition kicks, but these sneakers will NEVER be as limited as the sneakers that I used to wait for, so why all the madness? 

The genuine feeling of actually wanting a pair of sneakers because you knew that nobody else would have them is over. It’s been replaced by people wanting to buy and resell sneakers just to make a fast buck. This in turn has bastardized the “game.” 

One moron is trying to sell his pair for $61,000 and another idiot has been trying to trade his car for a pair. 

Let the haters call you an idiot for waiting on line for a week to buy a pair of sneakers if you truly love the shoes. But don’t give them a reason to call you the same because you got arrested for trying to buy those same shoes.  

When it becomes a matter of not just personal but public safety, I’m sorry, but it’s just not that serious.

Good luck to those still trying to get a pair, and congrats to those that got their pair but next time, let’s try to have everyone who actually wants a pair, get it, and get it safely.