Why work in sweatshops? - why why why?

[sabre]

Today i was arguing about sweatshops with my friend and he said "well they dont have to work there if they dont want to" and i was kind of stumped. Why do people work there?

[PunkRawker677]

if you have a choice between
a - working for barely anything

or

b - not working, and getting absolutly nothing

what would u choice.. i'd choose a, as would anyone else that wanted to eat, and live....

[Sasafrás]

I get in those same sorts of arguements. I've mentioned this before, but once when I was telling a schoolmate that he shouldn't shop at Old Navy because they use child labour, he said, and I quote, "Well, those kids make some good clothes." People can be extremely shallow and self-centered.

Yes, what PunkRawker said is indeed true. They basically have no other options. Some people may say that the sweatshop problem is not our nation's problem, and, in reality, it isn't but the problem would not even be present if our nation didn't spread its business & commerce stuff all over the world in the manner in which it does.
Talk about semi-imperialism...

[sabre]

well why dont they just farm and stuff like those poor nations usually do? agrarian style

[RedRevolutionary87]

ja the problem is that land for farming is expensive

[alphaq]

most of the poor don't own farmable land.

[Optimus Prime]

also not every piece of land is farmable

[sabre]

well wat did they do before the sweatshops moved in

[PunkRawker677]

before sweatshops, or any-kind of factory.. going back to the agarian days.. the rich would make the poor work for little money.. they wouldnt own the land, they would just work it, and sometimes be able to take small portions of crops home.. it still wasnt better, because the owner always kept over 98%(im estimating, of course) of all profits...
its exploitation all the same.. no matter how u look at it..

[vox]

Just one thing:

Sweatshops ARE a problem in the US. California has a good number of them. In fact, a case can be made that California's economy relies on the labor of illegal immigrants, who are the most disempowered workers around.

vox

[Sasafrás]

OK, I see your point, vox, but I'm referring to those in foreign nations. The U.S. does need some sort of consent to build such shops/factories in other countries, but the problem is not that of the U.S., you know what I mean? I'm saying, however, that the sweatshop problem would have never arisen if the United States had not ever even wanted to extend it's commerce over into other nations. But, as far as sweatshops within the U.S., that is our problem. And, the labour of illegal immigrants in the States is a terrible problem that must be fixed. It seems like nobody, not even the government cares. For example, when Linda Chavez (who was going to be on Bush's cabinet) had that illegal Guatemalan immigrant working for her. There should have been a bigger deal made over that.

Has anyone seen the music video "Invalid Litter Dept." by At the Drive-In? That really disturbed me greatly.

[guerrillaradio]

Yeah the At the Drive-in video is very disturbing. The thing about sweatshops is that they are not actually a bad thing in principle cos they bring employment and revenue to the impoverished Third World. I think that factories of some form should survive in the Third World. What needs to be done is they need to have better and standardised worker's rights, NOW.

[mdk az us]

...but the illegals keep coming. Tens of thousands a month in Arizona alone. They take whatever jobs they can have and still say that their lives are better here.

[TheDerminator]

I agree with PunkRawker667,

Money = food

Money = clothes

Money = healthcare insurance

Money = drink & cigarettes

Money = a car & all other forms of transport

Money = Drugs

Money= Cinema

Money = Pop Concert

Money = magazines, newspapers & books

Money = Clubbing

Money = Being financially solvent in the eyes of shallow prospective partners!

Money = being able to afford the services and products of the sexploitation industry.

Money = Assistance to a poor family for some of the above

Money = part-time work for single mothers and students

Money = Freedom!

Welcome to the Land of the Free!

Welcome to the Free World!

Sweatshops = Money for poor + Money for the petty and not so petty BORG scum!

Welcome to Planet Grime!

May the Force be with U!

derminated

[Nateddi]

Quote: from mdk az us on 11:21 am on April 1, 2002
...but the illegals keep coming. Tens of thousands a month in Arizona alone. They take whatever jobs they can have and still say that their lives are better here.


Everyone with a Reagan in avatar must post in the Soc vs. Cap Barn

[Markxs]

the illegals have a right to come here !!!!!!!!!!!!! we surpressed them for hundreds of years. oil wars. drugs wars. slave wars. allow ppl to come to the western world, ppl are entiled to EQUALITY!

[Sasafrás]

Quote: from mdk az us on 11:21 am on April 1, 2002
...but the illegals keep coming. Tens of thousands a month in Arizona alone. They take whatever jobs they can have and still say that their lives are better here.Please refrain from using the term 'illegals.' It is very offensive.

[Markxs]

i hope i have not offended you, or anyone else if i did sorry. my point is that these 'illegals' are legal!! they have the right to be here. so lets ban the word illegal and replace it with legal make a lots of posts usseless.

(like this one )

[Sasafrás]

No, you didn't offend me because I know that you meant no harm and that you know better, but that mdk az us person did offend me.

The word didn't hit me too hard as I'm not an immigrant at all, but because I care about others, I just wanted to make that point to mdk az us. I agree with you, Markxs.

Yet another useless post! :)

Peace & Love, sweetie (I'm talking to you, Markxs)

[munkey soup]

"Talk about semi-imperialism... "

The U$ is a full-on imperial nation, there's no semi about it.

[Guest]

Quote: from sabre on 10:15 pm on Mar. 26, 2002
well wat did they do before the sweatshops moved in


I believe that was the feudal system my friend

[rebel with a cause]

btw, that was me that just posted that sabre, I didn' know I wasn't logged in, I saw "guest" and I was like, wtf, but yeah, it was feudalism before industrialization, I mean just look at the situation in Mexico, especially Chiapas (Mr. Marcos avatar), with the passage of NAFTA, the people work because its either exploitation or die

"war within a breath, it's life or death"

peace