I have to agree with Kat. We , Americans have it
easier than some.
Kathy Jo
--- Kathy Salkin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Personally, I'd boycott the boots, but it's a
> tough moral dilemna, for sure.
> If they weren't at the shoe factory, they'd
> probably be prostitutes and that's
> even worse to me, especially with the
> skyrocketing increase of AIDS in Africa
> and Asia. Did you know that China has been
> lucky so far, but are now looking
> at a potential disaster the government is
> ill-equipped to handle? India is
> coping with a huge epidemic, and here in the
> good ol' USA, strains of
> resistant AIDS virii are popping up, thereby
> raising a spectre of another rise
> in cases. A very truly scary outcome.
>
> Sorry but you inadverdently got me on a
> soapbox. An elderly friend of mine
> got diagnosed with HIV not long ago because she
> didn't think she would need to
> have her lover use condoms for protection.
> I've heard that HIV is growing
> amongst the elderly, too. (off the soapbox).
>
> In my humble opinion, we Americans have it
> damned good compared with most of
> the world.
>
> Kat
>
>
>
> On Thu, 1 Aug 2002 15:16:39 -0400 "Cleveland,
> Kyle E."
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Right you are, Kat. There's also
> > state-sanctioned slavery in the Sudan. We
> > Americans don't realize what a luxury is our
> > right to "piss and moan" about
> > our lot.
> >
> > Here in Ohio, we had a shoe factory, Rocky
> > Boots, in a small southeastern OH
> > town. A year ago, the board voted to move
> the
> > manufacturing operations from
> > this little burg to a veritable sweatshop
> > overseas. Many jobs were lost and
> > the town suffered bigtime. The factory
> > overseas pays children pennies per
> > day to make these high-price boots--on very
> > dangerous equipment designed for
> > adult hands.
> >
> > My dilemma is this: Do I boycott the company
> > and insist that they shutdown
> > the overseas plant? If they do that, will
> > these children be "out" the only
> > chance at subsistence living they may have?
> > Your thoughts?
> >
> > -Kyle
> >
> > (BTW--as far as I can tell, the "surprise
> > attack" was cancelled--haven't
> > heard a thing since this morning.)
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Kathy Salkin
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2002 3:08 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: butt load of pocket change
> >
> >
> > Every time I think something's screwed up in
> my
> > life, I stop and think of
> > the
> > children who work in silk sweatshops in
> India.
> > They are sold into slavery
> > by
> > their parents and are made to work under
> > horrendous conditions. It's very
> > rare that one can escape into a better life.
> > And the fashion industry looks
> > the other way. Even the token clauses
> > outlawing child labour in their
> > contracts are rendered moot for all practical
> > purposes.
> >
> > Kat
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 1 Aug 2002 13:02:22 -0400 "Cleveland,
> > Kyle E."
> > wrote:
> >
> > > With these stats in mind, I'm not sure how
> > > Bobby's remarks could be seen as
> > > offensive. Our capitalist system favors
> > brain
> > > over brawn. If one is the
> > > least bit creative, it's not difficult in
> > this
> > > country to find work.
> >
> >
> > > I do think, however, that our's is a
> "culture
> > > of complaint". I'm as prone
> > > as anybody to the "victim mentality" so
> > > prevalent in our culture. The sad
> > > truth for the chronic "victim" is that it's
> > the
> > > same capitalist system that
> > > creates enough largess so that anyone can
> > > become a victim.
> > >
> > > If you want to see true "victimhood", take
> a
> > > trip sometime to South East
> > > Asia, where hundreds of thousands of
> > Cambodian
> > > kids have an incredibly bleak
> > > future. Why? because they've had an arm
> or
> > > leg (or both) blown off by a
> > > landmine. Their culture shuns the
> > "defective",
> > > so they are outcasts in
> > > their own country, usually living at a
> > > below-subsistence level.
> > >
> > > I have a friend who has a prosthetics
> > business
> > > in Pnom Penh. He trains
> > > young people (amputees) to make prostheses
> > and
> > > then sends them back to their
> > > own village to start "cottage industries",
> > > making prosthetics for others.
> > > Many of those kids go on to work for the
> > > original amputee, thereby growing
> > > the business.
> > >
> > > They do this with the most rudimentary of
> > > tools, often using hand tools as
> > > they have no electricity in many of the
> > > outlying villages. We have so much
> > > more than they, yet they still have no
> sense
> > > that they are "victims". It
> > > can be pretty humbling.
> > >
> > > Back to work...
> > >
> > > -Kyle
> > >
> > >
> >
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