Americans Fight For Shoes.

In scenes remeniscent of the Battle of Gettysburg, a fight during the American Civil War over boots, Americans have turned on each other to get hold of Nike's new Air Jordans - whatever they are. Retailing at $180 in stores the trainers are selling on Ebay for as much as $605 and have engendered such lust that people have fought, robbed and shot each other over them. We asked a leading psychologist for his explaination; "Well, they're all bleeding nuts aren't they? This sort of hysteria is caused when people begin to fear that some one else might have something they haven't - in this case a brain. It usually starts with a marketing campaign in which the manufacturer suggests that being without a particular product labels you as a "loser." For many people this is worse that being stupid and, to prove that they're not losers, they become even more stupid than normal. After they've obtained the object of desire they then indulge in bouts of embrassing showing off, drawing attention to their new acquisitions in ingenious ways. In this case people have been seen walking down the street on their hands, waving their feet in the air and exposing themselves to the danger of being mugged. Others, who perhaps feel they have superior intellects, have purposely avoided this behaviour by putting their new shoes in display cabinets and charging an admission fee so others can view them. Either way it makes no difference in the long run. People either wear them and wear them out or put them on display until they become unfashionable."