On Thu, 1 Aug 2002, Cleveland, Kyle E. wrote:

> -Kyle
>
> (BTW--as far as I can tell, the "surprise attack" was cancelled--haven't
> heard a thing since this morning.)

"surprise attack"??-Gary


>
> -----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."
> <[log in to unmask]> 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
> >
> >
>