If you guys _really_ don't care what other people think (as I'm sure many would say if asked) then why the hell would you care if you wore ugly comfortable shoes? Crocs hate seems even trendier than the shoes on Consumerist. :P

JeffM

Just my two cents.

SonOfMagicFact

chutch

JustaConsumer

Exxon should not be making record profits and asking for leniency for something they caused. They made 36 BILLION in profit in 05 and are set to make 3 billion more then that this year. Not to mention that they're spending more time and money on denying Global warming and lobbying then R&D of alternatives... Atleast BP is paying lip service to sustainable or zero emission alternatives.

Final

ryaninc

That said, I'm voting for Exxon. Crocs serve a great purpose as an idiot beacon. I ended up choosing another dentist when the one I had an appointment with was wearing a set of pink ones.

LUV2CattleCall

deadlizard

It's not like they've come up with any new escalator innovations since... well, since the invention of the escalator....

Some industrious citizen should get busy trying to make our ascensions safer and more enjoyable. :)

An escalator is a good example of one of those things that was, in a way, 'grandfathered' in, and you gotta wonder if it were being invented today, would it be considered a safe thing... [en.wikipedia.org] [en.wikipedia.org]

And oh, that totally reminds of this funny bit about how dangerous irons are
[video.google.com]

alphafemale

They shouldn't even be in this competition.

Mr. Gunn

erica.blog

magnus150

Does that make me a bad person?

HamCannon

TinkishlyDelightful

youbastid

youbastid

dirithmir

lorddave

Exxon, a heartless evil company that is making billions of dollars doesn't want to pay out for their oil spill. Besides that, I think oil prices are high, but only because demand is up.

But Crocs, a company that made a horrible shoe, proceeded to make it into a horrible fad, then balks that escalators love eating the stupid things.

For unleashing a fad on America, I put you in the same camp as pogs, digital pets, and friendship bracelets.

linus

They are likely to be THE MOST damaging corporation in history when it comes to misinforming the public, and successfully lobbying Washington for favorable legislation.

They underwrite several fake grassroots organizations that publish cleverly misleading reports about how the planet is getting cooler, why a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Hybrid, and how no one can ever prove 100% that greenhouse gases are from man made sources, so why bother trying to control them?

They have inspired people to reveal their misbehavior on web sites like [www.exxposeexxon.com] and [www.exxonsecrets.org] .

SourceWatch.org has an informative summary of what ExxonMobil has been up to here:
[www.sourcewatch.org]

Definitely worth a readthru.

ScottCh

I couldn't have said it better myself. That's an easy choice.

Raignn

Hmmm..,

Also, I agree with the guy who said if it was exxon vs people who bought Crocs it would be a tougher choice.

WEGGLES90

jetdillo

Buran

High profits from expensive barrels of gas? B-s

Angryrider

egoebelbecker

Crocs' stock is an absolute piece of shit and they have destroyed shareholder value at every turn (unless you call short interest shareholder value). They fail at the very mission statement of public companies-- create shareholder wealth.

BillyMumphry

Not in a publicly traded company. Thanks for showing all of us you have no freaking idea what you are talking about & should be summarily ignored.

Jaysyn

BStu

The other makes ugly shoes that stupid people wear.

sgodun

These shoes ARE comfy and useful, and the kids must've done something wrong if it gets stuck in escalators.

IrisMR

Someone please tell me they're working on getting the flag button back.

Rectilinear Propagation

Your gas went up 10% last week because oil is currently being traded in the futures market as a paper commodity. There are several billion dollars worth of artificial demand tacked on top of current, real-world daily demand. There is plenty of supply to meet current real-world demand. However, this trading continues to push the price up as people attempt to find a stable place to put their money into. Expect oil prices to continue to rise as a result of this. Artificial demand is pushing the demand for oil out by 3-4 months beyond what the world really needs. Thank the markets.

mthrndr

casey451

Workers in all positions are much less sedentary today than 20-30 years ago. People go through many more career changes and workplace changes than they did back then. At the low end, this doesn't matter as much. You can retrain your low-mid workers quickly and get on with life.

At the high end, you need people familiar with the industry and the company who can lead it competently. As a result of this growing anxiety, company boards feel they need to do more and more to keep executives at their company, like dumping 100s of millions of dollars on them as incentives to stay.

When the company does well, HOORAY, reward their excellence with piles of money. When the company is suffering, ensnare them in golden handcuffs so that they won't consider leaving a sinking ship. Either way, pile on more money.

ludwigk

imaima

Exxon-Mobile is a company providing us with various petrochemicals used in all walks of life. The Crocs shoes are simply blobs of hardened carbohydrates extracted by the said Exxon-Mobile, so whatever sins are attibuted to E-M by extension apply to Crocs. And since Crocs are much more hideous than unrefined oil (or even plain diesel) than Crocs is a more evil company.

Kilotonne

Trai_Dep

Trai_Dep

jeff303

Papa Midnight

krom

Claystil

hunterscanvas

CatMoran

I'm sorry, can you please identify, say, 3 CEOs of publicly traded companies (preferably Fortune 500, but I won't be picky) who have invested nearly all of their wealth into their company? If that's too much of a tall order, how about 1? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Beerad

speedwell

AceKicker

AceKicker

Canerican

Canerican

rainmkr

redrover189

I just don't think damning them based on an appeal is the best. There's gotta be juicier stuff about them - any of the Exxon execs frequent prostitutes? Or even better, use airport restrooms for gay flings?

redrover189

The product Exxon provides is of some value to me but Crocs are the bane of society. I would rather people wear sandals with socks (cringes).

Bmaz23

This game is a landslide. Turn to CBS and watch the games from the Midwest conference...

sleze69

Buran

urban_ninjya

Aside from the fact that they are made in China, I can't really see much evil in Crocs. Making a product that is basically "pugly" (so ugly it's cool) isn't inherently evil (not to mention, they've got tons of styles beyond the now iconic "beach" model, with varying degrees of ugliness from "awesome" to "barf"). Coming up with a product that is very functional and seems to have mass appeal doesn't seem very evil. You may have something with the escalator danger but on the other hand there's a lot of products that can injure/kill you when used the wrong way. It would be evil if Crocs engineered a non-skid material SPECIFICALLY to cause it to catch in escalators.

So Exxon by a long shot.

Troy F.

Let's see... on the one hand, there's really ugly fashion and the chance for a bloody toe. On the other, a company was complicit in murder, torture, kidnapping, and rape of oppressed people. Yeah, I know where my vote went.

These early-round seed matchips do seem pretty lopsided.

Beerad

No contest here.

Cheebus

Drowner

Your gas went up 10% last week because the dollar is falling, due to sub-prime mortgages. The specific catalyst this time was Bear Stearns.

The dollar buys less than it did before, including barrels of oil.

Oil companies make around 3-4% profit. Corporations at a whole average about 7%.

Murph1908

DearEditor

speedwell

m1k3g

jmsbmck

Kazari

friedfish1

Buran

Buran

cmdr.sass

If they think they have a chance in appeals court, they'll take it - it's not like they're chomping at the bit to pay 2.5 bil. It's fairly understandable that they'd try this. Their past deeds are none too great, but it's all relative.

redrover189

AaronZ

I remember my mom telling me to hop over the comb feeder at the bottom (or top) because it could "eat" feet and shoelaces. I think the only reason this is getting attention is because it's a very distinct type of shoe - if cowboy boots were a new fad, or if wooden clogs were, we'd probably hear similar things (although clogs probably wouldn't get eaten by an escalator). I remember this being an issue when flip flops came back into style about 8 years ago - my friend's mom wouldn't let her buy any because escalators would suck her feet in.

Sorry, but stupid brats in ugly shoes getting their toes eaten because their mom wasn't watching versus adorable sea otters, ducks and other wildlife getting killed or maimed by Exxon being crap (and then trying to get out of their punishment) is a no-brainer. Exxon sucks - think of the otters!

redrover189

bigdirty