Although
slavery has been eradicated from America, it's still an issue in other places
around the world. People generally assume since slavery is no longer an issue
in America, it isn't an issue anywhere else. However, it is. There are more
slaves today than there have been at any other time in history. It's estimated
that there are somewhere between 21 to 30 million slaves in the world
(freetheslaves.net). The slaves today don't have any chances of escaping
either. Because of technology advances, security cameras and other high tech
equipment can constantly monitor the slaves and prevent them from ever
escaping. Any amount of cunningness, "the only weapon of the
weak"(Jacobs 556), is not enough to escape such inescapable conditions.
Why is there slavery still? The same reason there were slaves in the past.
Corporations would much rather outsource their work to foreign countries if the
labor is cheaper, and the cheapest labor possible is straight up slavery.
People these days idolize money. Holidays like the 4th of July, Christmas and
Thanksgiving are all pretty much just opportunities for businesses to host
super sales and other market actions. The value of holidays has gone down. Although not as extreme as Frederick Douglass's The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, everyone is slowly becoming alienated from such celebrations. We can change this,
however, by simply celebrating each holiday for its original purpose. Also,
boycotting any sort of “holiday special sale” going on would let the corporations know that Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, not a time to buy a super mega ultra portable vacuum cleaner. If we boycott these
holidays and spread the word about the ongoing issue of slavery, we can eventually end slavery in other countries too.
Source:
https://www.freetheslaves.net/page.aspx?pid=348
It's an interesting point about what you have about slavery. But I don't know how you would boycott holidays haha. But I guess it could work.
ReplyDeleteSlavery is sooooo bad, it always shocks me when I see how prevalent it was in history such as in American and in the Roman Empire. What kind of person does one have to be in order to feel okay about owning another? How do they live joyfully while being in control of another's entire life? The only thing a slave-owner needs to do in order to feel the guilt is to put themselves in the position of their slaves; yet they do not. It is certain that slave-owners are devoid of empathy, which is a terrible trait. Back to what you said, that is an amazingly clever stance on combating slavery, I never realized what sort of ramifications these mega sales had on the workforce and wholly support the course of action you have described.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks that there are still slaves today. I also agree that people put money over everything and how the values of Holidays have gone down.
ReplyDelete