Modern slavery

senior chef

senior chef

Senior Member
While slavery has been allegedly abolished in every country in the world, 94 countries have not actually made it illegal. China, India, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Muslim fundamental countries, and Brazil are among the worst offenders of "modern" slavery.

Types of "modern" slavery include : sex**l slavery, bondage (as a way of paying off debits), child slavery and forced marriage. Yes, even in the United States, sex slaves are imported from south of the border... both women and children.

There is no way of obtaining exact numbers, International anti-slavery groups estimate the number is in the millions.

Civilized nations, have abolished apartheid in South Africa by refusing to do business with South Africa. Abolishing modern slavery would be much, much more difficult because it happens underground, out of sight of the official governments. Yet, I hope and believe it is possible to do so, even though it would likely take many decades.
 

Unfortunately slavery has always been with us, ever since the agricultural revolution anyway. And in one form or another likely always will be.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't be diligent in trying to end it, we should. Even the US is not immune to the problem.

Contemporary slavery in the United States​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery_in_the_United_States
 
ElCastor said:
Ironically slavery in modern day Africa is abundant across the continent, and is a Black on Black phenomenon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_contemporary_Africa
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I thought only evil, rotten, no good, useless, scum of the earth Europeans that settled in North America and eventually became the United States and scum of the earth Americans and that brought people from the African continent in the 1600's and 1700's and 1800's and enslaved them and eventually along with Europe, Australia and some other countries outlawed slavery, were the only peoples that permitted slavery! You mean America, Canada and most European countries, were not and are not the only countries that ever engaged in the slave trade??? My goodness, I had no idea!! Where is the outrage?
 
A case could be made that most, if not all of us in every country, are slaves of the largest employers in our countries.

Those that work on computers are monitored every second. Getting a fifteen minute break/half an hour lunch. Complying to the workplace’s every rule and need. Do they have a choice? Not really, not if they want that job and that money to support their family. A different kind of slave, but a slave none the less.

Those that don’t work on computers are monitored by human taskmasters and tracking systems. Walmart and Amazon and the like. Good money is paid to those employees for meeting exacting expectations.

Even more exacting are smaller employers with a smaller workforce that require absolute attendance with no sick leave or vacation time or even breaks. The waiters and waitresses that put up with so much crap from those they serve with long hours and little pay. “Slaving” for just basic needs.

Welfare recipients who must meet insane demands to keep those less than plentiful benefits. Wives with no choice to put up with a husband’s abuse and husbands who endure the same. Children under the direction of uncaring court orders; and on and on.

Retirees who make 800 dollars and less a month who choose between food and medicine and can afford neither.

Modern slavery?

Look around. We are all slaves. Some of us choose our masters, some of us don’t. But we are all rowing on the same path to no where.
 
Aneeda72 said:
A case could be made that most, if not all of us in every country, are slaves of the largest employers in our countries.
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Oh really? Like most of us I spent many years of my life working. If I did not care for my situation, I found another. I was no slave, and I knew no one who believed they were a “slave”. So what is your solution to your perceived life of slavery? Socialism? I worked with former victims of Vietnamese and Cambodian Socialism. I can assure you that they were overjoyed to have traded that life for a world of work in the United States, and NEVER considered themselves to be slaves of that work.
 
ElCastor said:
Oh really? Like most of us I spent many years of my life working. If I did not care for my situation, I found another. I was no slave, and I knew no one who believed they were a “slave”. So what is your solution to your perceived life of slavery? Socialism? I worked with former victims of Vietnamese and Cambodian Socialism. I can assure you that they were overjoyed to have traded that life for a world of work in the United States, and NEVER considered themselves to be slaves of that work.
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I don’t engage in useless arguments anymore.

I gave an opinion on modern slavery. Agree or don’t agree, I could not care less. It doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t.

As for the Vietnamese and/or Cambodians allowed into the US; hmm, since my husband is a Vietnam combat marine veteran and I am a USWAC Vietnam era veteran my opinion of my country’s immigration policy towards these two countries would not be appreciated by you or anyone 😂. Trust me on this.

But don’t feel picked on. Due to so many wars, that our nation has participated in, I only give my opinion on the immigration policy on countries we have not been to war with, like Mexico. That war was so long ago.

My Uncle was at Pear Harbor, WWII, my step father was with Patton in Europe and on and on. I keep my opinions to myself on these after the war immigration policies as well.
 
Aneeda72 said:
A case could be made that most, if not all of us in every country, are slaves of the largest employers in our countries.

Those that work on computers are monitored every second. Getting a fifteen minute break/half an hour lunch. Complying to the workplace’s every rule and need. Do they have a choice? Not really, not if they want that job and that money to support their family. A different kind of slave, but a slave none the less.

Those that don’t work on computers are monitored by human taskmasters and tracking systems. Walmart and Amazon and the like. Good money is paid to those employees for meeting exacting expectations.

Even more exacting are smaller employers with a smaller workforce that require absolute attendance with no sick leave or vacation time or even breaks. The waiters and waitresses that put up with so much crap from those they serve with long hours and little pay. “Slaving” for just basic needs.

Welfare recipients who must meet insane demands to keep those less than plentiful benefits. Wives with no choice to put up with a husband’s abuse and husbands who endure the same. Children under the direction of uncaring court orders; and on and on.

Retirees who make 800 dollars and less a month who choose between food and medicine and can afford neither.

Modern slavery?

Look around. We are all slaves. Some of us choose our masters, some of us don’t. But we are all rowing on the same path to no where.
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@Aneeda72 , well said, thanks for including this dimension to the modern slavery discussion. No doubt there are some who may not understand the "economic slavery" phenomenon, but it nevertheless is a reality in modern times.
 
The lack of some form or universal health care in the U.S. enslaves many to a job they do not want.

Wars. The last righteous one was WW II. All since have been about oil, ego, greed and politics. There must be an enemy in order to justify the obscenely expensive military budget that prefers buying toys to kill with rather than caring for veterans who have been used up and thrown away.
 
Nathan said:
@Aneeda72 , well said, thanks for including this dimension to the modern slavery discussion. No doubt there are some who may not understand the "economic slavery" phenomenon, but it nevertheless is a reality in modern times.
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The main problem with the idea of "economic slavery" is that every one of them, at least in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, always have the RIGHT to move on to another job and/or get training for a different occupation. Thus, "slavery" does not apply.

I'm not saying that it would be an easy thing to move on. However, it can be done. If someone has the RIGHT to leave, they can not be considered a slave.

Example: It is common for immigrants to band together and share common housing. Yes, over-crowding is a problem, BUT such individuals CAN and do, live that way for relatively short times until they have trained for a better paying job. There are numerous well paying jobs that even untrained persons can get. Let's take a plumber job as an example. A person can go around to numerous plumbing companies and ask for a trainee position. It may take some time, BUT eventually the trainee will gain enough experience to take the tests and become a licensed plumber. After that, the sky is the limit.

Every day I see tens of thousands of young Mexican citizens cross the U.S/Mexican border to work in the U.S. Many of them have labor jobs and I see them wearing hard hats and steel toed boots. If Mexican citizens can do this, so can any American citizen.
 
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senior chef said:
The main problem with the idea of "economic slavery" is that every one of them, at least in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, always have the RIGHT to move on to another job and/or get training for a different occupation. Thus, "slavery" does not apply.
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I agree, in one way or another most of us would have fit a definition of "economic slave", had to work for food, clothing, housing, medical care, etc. Most of us did not have the freedom not to work, I didn't. However we did have the freedom to choose when and where to work, big difference.
 
senior chef said:
The main problem with the idea of "economic slavery" is that every one of them, at least in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, always have the RIGHT to move on to another job and/or get training for a different occupation. Thus, "slavery" does not apply.

I'm not saying that it would be an easy thing to move on. However, it can be done. If someone has the RIGHT to leave, they can not be considered a slave.
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Of course, you always have the RIGHT to move on, but as you mention, it may not be an easy thing, given a person's circumstances.

The term Economic Slavery is a metaphor for being "trapped in a dead-end job".
 
senior chef said:
The main problem with the idea of "economic slavery" is that every one of them, at least in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe, always have the RIGHT to move on to another job and/or get training for a different occupation. Thus, "slavery" does not apply.

I'm not saying that it would be an easy thing to move on. However, it can be done. If someone has the RIGHT to leave, they can not be considered a slave.

Example: It is common for immigrants to band together and share common housing. Yes, over-crowding is a problem, BUT such individuals CAN and do, live that way for relatively short times until they have trained for a better paying job. There are numerous well paying jobs that even untrained persons can get. Let's take a plumber job as an example. A person can go around to numerous plumbing companies and ask for a trainee position. It may take some time, BUT eventually the trainee will gain enough experience to take the tests and become a licensed plumber. After that, the sky is the limit.

Every day I see tens of thousands of young Mexican citizens cross the U.S/Mexican border to work in the U.S. Many of them have labor jobs and I see them wearing hard hats and steel toed boots. If Mexican citizens can do this, so can any American citizen.
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As I said, I gave an opinion. Not getting dragged into an ongoing never ending discussion on your opinion vs my opinion. Opinions are not right and they are not wrong. They are opinions. 😊
 
Alligatorob said:
I agree, in one way or another most of us would have fit a definition of "economic slave", had to work for food, clothing, housing, medical care, etc. Most of us did not have the freedom not to work, I didn't. However we did have the freedom to choose when and where to work, big difference.
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Did we? Did most of us have that freedom, that choice. Do we have it now?

Hmm. Did I, as a single mother with no child support, have the choice to quit a job which provided medical insurance for my disabled child and myself? Well, sure in theory, I did have that freedom, have that choice. I could let my child die for lack of insurance. Still happens every dang day everywhere.

Does my husband, who still works, have a choice to quit a job with very good medical insurance and rely solely on Medicare payments for our medical care? Sure he has a choice. But where does he get another job with excellent medical insurance which covers pre-exsisting severe medical conditions? I don’t know, do you?

There is ALWAYS freedom of choice, even for actual slaves, slaves that are owned/slaves that have been owned through history. Historically slaves, in America and elsewhere, had a choice. They could do the work, or be beaten to death. They could run, be caught, and hanged. They had freedom of choice. The choices sucked. I suppose Modern day actual slaves have this same choice. Work or die. There is always freedom of choice.

There really is no difference, in my opinion. The definition of slavery can be nitpicked to death. The assumption of freedom of choice disappears when all the so called available choices are bad. Freedom of choice is an illusion, always was-still is.

This is my opinion. The gospel according to me. 😂😂😂.
 

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