this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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Mildly Infuriating

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He's always wore sketchers. Like since he was 4. Recently, he got really emotionally taking about shoes he wanted for middle school. He said if he doesn't get Nikes he's going to get teased. Great fucking marketing work Nike.

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[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 1 points 4 minutes ago

I went through the same Nike crisis when I was in middle school. Had to have them because my friends had them. Instead I got to joke about my "genuine imitation Nikes" from Kmart.

It's painful for kids that want to fit in because because they don't have the wider and wiser perspective that most of us do as adults.

[–] Dorkyd68@lemmy.world 64 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

It's not a Nike thing. It's a kid thing. Kids are dicks, sorry

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 12 points 1 hour ago

When I was a kid, there was a phase where everyone was obsessed with red flannel. Went on for like 3 months.

Imagine a pro dominantly black/Latino school in the hood where we're all dressing up like Al Borland from Home Improvement.

[–] DistrictSIX@lemmy.zip 4 points 47 minutes ago* (last edited 47 minutes ago) (1 children)

Is that why Apple has got the US by the balls because people want to avoid the dreaded green bubble in iMessage? I'm not from the US so that might be me misunderstanding the situation, but I've been told that even many adults in the US view that as a valid reason to avoid anything that's not an iphone, because of some social stigma attached to the green bubble.

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 40 minutes ago* (last edited 40 minutes ago)

As far as I hear every time: Yep

  • A european
[–] SphereofWreckening@lemmy.world 1 points 41 minutes ago

It's both. Kids suck and can be clique-like over the dumbest things. But these corporations also realize the amount they can make when their brand is a "status symbol", and they purposely market around that.

I got bullied in school for having reasonably priced shoes instead of Nike Air Max. Kids are pathetic.

[–] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

Get him heelys so he can stunt on the haters.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 28 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I got teased for my shoes. I got better shoes, I got teased for my jacket, I got a better jacket. So then they just made shit up to tease me about.

I saw the fucker that bullied me relentlessly for all three years in middle school about 10 years later. He was pounding stakes in the ground setting up for a carnival. He stopped me in apologized which was kind of surprising. I gave him an absolutely hollow but convincing thanks and what about my day.

I did a little light internet stalking, turns out he's vocal that can't keep a job, construction companies fire him for "no reason" and he's now down to whatever local company will hire him for physical labor. The only truly sad part is he has multiple children with multiple women and will not own up to any of them.

Though, I really suppose I owe a lot of who I am to the hell he put me through. Insults mean fuck all to me and I can ignore stress in a bad situation and make solid decisions.

[–] anachrohack@lemmy.world 2 points 54 minutes ago (1 children)

My elementary school bully got hit by a car and it ended his college basketball career

[–] DangedIfYouDid@lemmy.world 2 points 25 minutes ago

How much did your repairs cost?

[–] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 9 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

I rock my Skechers, android phone, basic Casio watch, and drive my 2003 Suzuki.

I spend my money on stuff that works. Not stuff that's marketed.

I sense marketing bullshit, and it's such a strong turnoff for me.

[–] IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world 17 points 3 hours ago

Yeah this is a Nike problem and not something that's been going on since the beginning of formalized group education.

[–] NABDad@lemmy.world 25 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

I always knew shoes weren't going to save my kids from bullying, so I got them karate instead.

The bullying still happened, until they decided it was time for it to stop. Then it stopped.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

I don't have kids, but I do have a brother who is young enough to be my child, and I was very happy when he broke the nose of his bully.

That motherfucker had to learn.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca -3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (2 children)

That sounds like your kids responded in a way that every karate club teaches against.

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 38 minutes ago* (last edited 37 minutes ago)

until they decided it was time for it to stop. Then it stopped.

Self defense against verbal harrassment.

[–] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 46 minutes ago

*Is legally required to say it is against

[–] lime@feddit.nu 5 points 2 hours ago

man, when i was a kid i was bullied for reading at recess, or infodumping about inappropriate stuff, or being bad at running. kids these days are so materialist.

[–] hawgietonight@lemmy.world 10 points 3 hours ago

Pre-teen is the worst age for this. Just try to get your kid past this the best you can. Happens everywhere, eventually they will mature and learn.

Heck, this is always the plot in school movies.

[–] TammyTobacco@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 hours ago

Now you have to make fun of your kid for being a sheep.

[–] SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 5 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Nike doesn't sell proprietary shoe laces that only work with nike shoes. Or sell gloves that pair with the shoes, so if you wanted to switch shoes you'd also have to get new gloves. Apple is awful for very different reasons

[–] Truffle@lemmy.ml 7 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Good for you. Whenever I get this kind of situation with ny kid I think "Will this matter in five years? Will this purchase break the bank?" If not, I buy/allow/rent whatever and move on. It usually does the trick and I don't mind if in my mind it sounds ridiculous or exaggerated, It is not about me but whatever they are going through and as long as they get the tools they need, so be it. Kid is very down to earth and doesn't usually overconsume. The only place where we overspend is the bookstore.

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Kid could toughen up a bit. Having your shoes made fun of is such a small insignificant thing. It's probably one of the best options out there, given it's not actually even about you. I can guarantee if the kid did not react to the teasing, they would find someone else to pick on. Who seriously cares about shoes?

[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 17 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (3 children)

I always had Chucks, not because I didn't wanna get teased mind you I just thought they were cool. Kids teased me for different things anyway.

But man, they never really lasted that long. One to one and a half years of daily use, and they doubled in price in the last ~15 years (which maybe isn't that much but I feel the quality went down a bit).

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

I remember being 4 or 5 back in the 70s, my mom tried to put me in Converse, I refused to wear them calling them "clown shoes". LOL.

I feel vindicated.

[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Yeah, ever since Nike bought the lot they've been a bit mad with the designs...

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 5 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I've always liked the style of chucks, but yeah. They fall apart faster than wet tissue paper.

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[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 31 points 7 hours ago

When I was young (in the late 80's) it was Air Jordans.

But, on top of being teased for not having them, you would also get jumped by kids who wanted to steal them from you.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 36 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

Did you try to teach him to be proud of his independence and differences? Maybe you can work with him on nice come backs against the teasing.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 33 points 6 hours ago

Oh man it’s like every out of touch bad advice I was given as a kid came back.

[–] ElderReflections@fedia.io 66 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

As far as I remember (25 years ago), this doesn't work. Kids just don't appreciate witty comebacks

[–] TammyTobacco@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 hours ago

It works if they're not comebacks, but actually hurtful insults.

They go hard, you go harder.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip 22 points 7 hours ago

If anything they lean in and double down.

[–] BorgDrone 7 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

But it’s not “his independence” if it wasn’t his choice to buy those shoes. You cannot be proud of your own choices when they weren’t your own choices.

[–] notnotmike@programming.dev 5 points 3 hours ago

That's actually a really good point you've made here. It's easy to defend the shoes as a parent because you're the one who (1) understands the rationale behind buying them and (2) made the decision to buy them

I wonder if a good decision in this scenario is to just give the child a shoe allowance and let them pick. If they want Nike's they will have to find a pair that fits the budget

[–] dil@lemmy.zip 29 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Comebacks dont matter when you can just point at the shoes and call him broke (im not a teen anymore but come on guys lol, thats when you fit in to avoid issues or have issues, no magical way out)

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 11 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

There is a way out, but it involves not caring what classmates think. That's a high bar for a lot of kids, especially in middle school. Kids have to come to that conclusion on their own. No amount of adults telling them "you shouldn't care" will change things.

By high school I found social success after not caring what others thought. But I had been bullied my whole school experience up til that point, so by high school I had run out of fucks to give. In other words, I learned the hard way, but that's something every teen has to figure out for themselves.

[–] QuizzaciousOtter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Is it even possible to not care at this age though? At this point school and interacting with your peers is a vast majority of your life. I don't think I have ever seen a kid being bullied every day at school and not caring. How can you not care if you're scared?

I guess it is possible as you get older, more mature and closer to adulthood. But for a kid in a primary or middle school? Kinda hard to imagine for me.

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 1 points 41 minutes ago* (last edited 41 minutes ago)

Oh, it's absolutely possible, but only after experiencing such abuse and isolation that you come to prefer your own company.

The last straw for me came when I finally stood up to my so-called "best friend," who acted perfectly sweet when we were alone, but who threw me under the bus whenever my bullies were around. Our families were (and sadly, still are) friends, so I'd known her since she was born and there was a lot of social pressure for us to hang out together. She abused me constantly and loved to fuck with my head. I figured that if that was the "best" friend I could have, then I didn't need friends at all. One day on the bus home, shortly after she'd spread yet another rumor about me, I called her a traitor and a backstabber.

She immediately turned to the bullies sitting behind us (whose hobbies included talking about me, stealing my stuff, and putting gum in my hair) and said, "That's so funny! She just called me a traitor!" Yep, I was done.

That was in my last year of middle school. Going into high school, I was resolved to not give a fuck what anybody said about me. I decided to stop trying to change myself to fit in. I embraced my own interests without a care what anybody would say.

And that first year of high school was when I ended up making actual, real friends for the first time. People who actually get me. The payoff was huge and still benefits me today, but it came at a great cost during my most impressionable age.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Yes, if they have already figured out how to handle bullies in grade school/middle school. Early grade school there was a bully who picked on me and my older brother helped out. By grade five I was the one helping other kids who were being bullied.

A lot of credit goes to youth groups like 4-H for helping to build self confidence and how to care for others. May have been lucky getting a solid local group though.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 5 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I don't know about now, but back in the 90s the magical out was that you punched them in the face.

Back then the concept of a school shooting didn't exist, and parents didn't threaten to sue the school every 5 minutes.

So teachers would just let the fights go.

"Oh, Billy tried bullying Bobby, and now Bobby punched Billy in the face? Eh....call me when they break bones and spill blood. I'm going to go make popcorn."

These days? I'm sure both kids would get expelled.

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

Yep. I was poor and weird but I was also 6 foot tall and pretty big. Its amazing what one really good punch to the face of someone does to your rep for the rest of high school.

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[–] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 33 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I tried, His Mom agreed and already bought him shoes.

[–] BossDj@piefed.social 33 points 7 hours ago

One of mine is in high school, and as much as I hate the confirming culture, especially because it's led by morons and marketing, I choose the same path. I allowed my (now high school kid) to participate in all the awful crap that I would never do myself when she felt middle school pressure. She was in the popular kids group.

The caveat has been it all comes with extreme education from my end. Not demeaning or condescending. I over-preach about marketing/ads/influencers and constantly question why people make the choices they do. I question everything though. "How do you know that?" often leads back to tick tock.

In my experience, the OTHER kids are now getting smarter as they age. Mine is now able to live her life how she wants and is still with that same group , and the kids (I shit you not) look to her for purchasing advice. The vanity kinda goes away as their brains leave that dumb social hierarchy age.

Note: My kids are/were decked out in Nike. We live by the world headquarters and a good chunk of the kids' parents work there. If that isn't peer pressure, I dunno what is!

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 11 points 8 hours ago

I love Skechers.

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