I was very disappointed when I came across several articles about young black kids killing each other for an overpriced jacket called a "biggie" or "big boy". The real name for the jacket is Marmot Mammoth Parka, a heavyweight down jacket with a Gore-Tex shell. They come in several colors and cost around $700. For each jacket sold, a salesperson got a $7 or $8 commission, nearly double what they'd make for the next highest commission item (a technical ski jacket from Arc'Teryx that almost no one ever so much as tried on). I am not against buying expensive clothing if you honestly work and then you can spend your hard earned money to buy whatever you want buy. Robbing another person and taking their life for an article of clothing is wrong, barbaric and insane... there is no possible excuse to partake in criminal behavior just because you want something popular and expensive.
What puzzles me is that this nonsense is still going on in black communities. Back in the early and mid 1990's, many black youths were being robbed and killed for their starter jackets and Air Jordan's. Fast forward to 2014 and the same sick mentality still exists. I thought the inner city black community had moved on from this insane mentality but I was wrong. The endless consumption from poor inner city youth to wear and cherish overpriced clothing is a mental illness and these big corporations don't give a damn about the killings in the ghetto they just know it brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for them. Air Jordan's are made in China very very cheap and are sold in the United States for a price that far exceed the worth of the sneaker.
Marmot is an outdoor clothing and sporting goods company founded in 1974 as Marmot Mountain Works.The company was founded in Grand Junction Colorado by local resident Tom Boyce and by two University of California, Santa Cruz students, David Huntley and Eric Reynolds, who wished to make their own mountaineering equipment. I do find it odd that Marmot would make a piece with no sports application exclusively for Paragon, sell it for so much, and make so many in such big sizes, ...hmmm corporate greed and exploitation... but it is not illegal.
A man was shot at a skating rink at Bryant Park over his Marmot Mammoth "Biggie" jacket, reports the Business Insider. Cops have now taken 16-year-old Corey Dunton in for questioning, with charges still pending, according to The New York Times.
This isn't the first time the notorious "Biggie", a $630 jacket that was sold exclusively through Paragon Sports but was discontinued last year (a Paragon Sports sales rep told the Daily News that the remaining stock went on sale for $200, and sold out a few weeks ago), has been the cause of such crimes. In 2010, Malik Jenkins, was struck by two cars after three men tried to steal his coat. The trio were indicted the following year for the 18-year-old's death. The suspects tried to steal Malik's $600 coat. Malik Jenkins was wearing his friend's Marmot Mammoth - known as the "Biggie" - when he broke free from four men who tried to rob him on Dec. 29, 2010.
In 2013 Raphael Ward, 16, was shot in the chest on the Lower East Side also over the same jacket.
Sources: Complex.com, NY Daily News, New York Post
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| Group of black youth wearing the infamous biggie jackets |
Marmot is an outdoor clothing and sporting goods company founded in 1974 as Marmot Mountain Works.The company was founded in Grand Junction Colorado by local resident Tom Boyce and by two University of California, Santa Cruz students, David Huntley and Eric Reynolds, who wished to make their own mountaineering equipment. I do find it odd that Marmot would make a piece with no sports application exclusively for Paragon, sell it for so much, and make so many in such big sizes, ...hmmm corporate greed and exploitation... but it is not illegal.
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| Several black males wearing "biggie" jackets. Over $5,000 worth of jackets between these guys. |
A man was shot at a skating rink at Bryant Park over his Marmot Mammoth "Biggie" jacket, reports the Business Insider. Cops have now taken 16-year-old Corey Dunton in for questioning, with charges still pending, according to The New York Times.
This isn't the first time the notorious "Biggie", a $630 jacket that was sold exclusively through Paragon Sports but was discontinued last year (a Paragon Sports sales rep told the Daily News that the remaining stock went on sale for $200, and sold out a few weeks ago), has been the cause of such crimes. In 2010, Malik Jenkins, was struck by two cars after three men tried to steal his coat. The trio were indicted the following year for the 18-year-old's death. The suspects tried to steal Malik's $600 coat. Malik Jenkins was wearing his friend's Marmot Mammoth - known as the "Biggie" - when he broke free from four men who tried to rob him on Dec. 29, 2010.
In 2013 Raphael Ward, 16, was shot in the chest on the Lower East Side also over the same jacket.
Sources: Complex.com, NY Daily News, New York Post
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