Much like the FIFA World cup, Detlef Schrempf from the Indiana Pacers and rapper B.O.B., I love Adidas.
It is a nice brand with good quality products. But I recently learned that I could love the company even more.
This year on Valentine’s Day, the com- pany posted an image on Instagram of two women who were wearing the same shoes. One girl was on her tiptoes to im- ply she was kissing the other and the quote read, “The love you take is equal to the love you make.”
This is a nice quote and really stands to show the company’s support for the LGBT community, but that’s not what made me love them. No, my newfound affection came from their response to the backlash that came with the photo.
In 2016 in America, you’d think that more people would be accepting of a pic- ture of a same-sex couple kissing, espe- cially one that doesn’t actually show the kiss happening. Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in yet.
After the photo was posted, those op- posed to same-sex couples found their closest source of wi-fi and started to at- tack. However, Adidas fought back.
After one user posted “Shame on you adidas!!!! I’m going to Nike now,” followed by an angry face emoji and a thumbs down, Adidas responded with nothing more than the waving hand and lipstick emoji. For those not well versed in the meaning of emojis, that was Adi- das blowing them a kiss goodbye.
Another user posted, “WTF ADI- DAS???? This day is for boy and girl, when they are couple. Not for lesbians, stupid Adidas.”
Adidas responded to this commenter, who was ignorant to both the LGBT com- munity and grammar, with “No, this day is for LOVE. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Although this is not the first time that Adidas, or any other company, has sup- ported the idea and rights of the LGBT community, this is one of the first times a major company fought back to show their support. Fighting with someone who is just going to ignore it may seem like a pointless battle, but each step (no pun intended) is important as people fight to be viewed as equal.
Adidas also didn’t get harsh. This could have easily turned into a heated ar- gument, or a flame war as Internet trolls call it, but Adidas just shut them down. People fight; it is in our nature. One per-
son always needs to be right and people will push themselves beyond facts and logic at times to ensure that their argu- ment is the winning one. It is important to take the higher ground to avoid this. That’s exactly what Adidas did.
One post isn’t going to change ev- eryone’s minds and one comment can’t cause a movement, regardless of how many followers you have liking your selfies. Change takes time. Adidas is helping the change. Hopefully soon we see other companies following suit, posting and defending what is right.
As for those who oppose the picture, or this article, go ahead and post your negative comments, see how many likes you can get.
