Comments on: Modern Slavery in America

By: Who is really responsible?

Who is really responsible? — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:47:37 +0000

I thought your articled very imformative in many aspects. My question is in reference to the Factory owners, farms, mills, textile and other business that USE our weakest. I have seen first hand in FLorida the migrant field workers, undocumented aliens that were kept as hostage in forced work camps under lock & key when not in the fields. I attempted to call immigration for resolution and release of the captives with out success. I was advised unless I had a bus full, there wasn’t any one to come to the area for an investigation. OVER & OVER this happens. Many don’t speak English, have no clean clothes, no food, eating scraps… IT is the responsibility of these business owners to meet their obligations to the people they employ. If they can’t not provide the product to their buyers, then they should decline the orders… If “Big” buyers that use multiple farmers for example should also not support those farmers making a statement if you want our business to support yours then step up and do the right thing, someone else would be willing to sell, otherwise pay a few cents more to buy from a ” good” business WE need to find the man power & funding to enforce violators harshly. Shut down production – revolves around supply & demand. DEMAND better enforcement, supply better conditions.

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:26:20 +0000

Ooo, more facts to make tshirts relevant to everyday life :]
I wonder how walmart customers will feel after learning that they’re supporting slave labor? Not that they don’t already know it, my guess is they’re in denial.

By: Ugly Deaf Indian Muslim Punk Gurl!

Ugly Deaf Indian Muslim Punk Gurl! — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:37:39 +0000

great article.

By: J

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:55:22 +0000

Instead of waxing y’all with some intellectual political what have yous, I think it might be better if you ask yourself, “What am I going to do about this?”

Sitting around with words will have you sitting around with words. Take up some of your own action and we’ll meet back here. =)

By: PHJ

PHJ — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:21:13 +0000

Thank you so much for bringing this all together Stephen. People react in such cheap, defensive ways to the simple facts. There are many many many people in the United States (and other rich countries) who are living in hell. My suggestion to the cynics is that they should go out and meet them, and see for themselves what their lives are like. There are any number of voluntary organisations which facilitate this. It’s NOT about left wing vs right wing interpretations of reality — it’s about people living lives harder than anything you can imagine.

By: Brian Koontz

Brian Koontz — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:53:41 +0000

This is simple capitalism – exploit the world to the maximum amount that reality will support.

One can “restrain capitalism”, but it’s much better to kill the beast.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:51:20 +0000

WOW, did I miss something?!

Chicago, go figure!

The NEW WORLD was built by the’ BELGIUM DUTCH’.

Education is something that America sorely lacks!

‘Eyes Wide Shut’

By: russell olausen

russell olausen — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:24:04 +0000

Once again the fallacy of equal rights plays into the self-styled masters philosophy.The monetization of labour allows for such outrageous working conditions.Cursed at birth is the only description to give to people born within the grasp of evil wicked materialists cum sensualists.Sad to say, fate plays a hand in the lottery called life.I also think some slavery is mostly mental but the chains are no less stout.

By: sk

sk — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:22:11 +0000

One's intellectual guard should go up whenever one hears emotionally potent labels like 'slavery', 'genocide', etc. thrown about with abandon, esp. in this age of brand driven campaigning. The term 'slavery', in particular needs to be unpacked given the reckless manner in which it is used in political debate. According to research of the anti-slavery group, Free the Slaves, upto 75% of the world's 27 million slaves (a precise definition of which means people put to work for little or no renumeration against their will under actual threat of violence) are in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh doing menial agricultural and brick kiln labor. Although, comparable cases exist in the richer world as well, one would do well to pay attention to the larger socio-political situation than fall into the rhetoric of organized groups with an ulterior agenda such as the anti-immigrant groups which seem to be very concerned about "Human Trafficking", as well as others like religious fundamentalists, and even some well-meaning feminists allied with them, who are all in arms about "sex slavery". Bureaucrats from organizations like ILO--which has been reduced to near total irrelevance in fighting for rights of organized labor--can also jump on the bandwagon and feel virtuous again. Here is a somewhat more nuanced take on this matter which doesn't take all agency away from those being "trafficked" and also an audio debate that doesn't fall into the trap of a good vs. evil narrative.