Reply #56: Get educated, please. [View All]

I find this statement of yours particularly galling:

"...if the factories weren't there, the adults and children who work there would be in a worse situation. Clearly, they view the factory jobs as better than the alternatives, which is why they work there."

The same argument could have been made 160 years ago by any slavemaster; 120 years ago by any sweatshop owner. It was morally repellent then; it is morally repellent now.

What a wonderful choice: either work in brutal conditions, or starve. Get it? THERE ARE NO ALTERNATIVES, and the CORPORATIONS WHO EXPLOIT THESE WORKERS KNOW IT.

This is exactly what spurred the rise of the labor movement in this country: The demand that workers be treated with respect and dignity, and be given a safe working environment and a sufficient wage. That should also apply to anyone who is working anywhere in brutal conditions, especially in China.

(And, Wal-mart employees really aren't that much better off, either, in my opinion...)