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My Family’s Slave

theatlantic.com

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Re: My Family’s Slave

#201

Post by dismantlethesun »

jimmywanger wrote: post #47
creepydata wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excuse me? No, just no. Not in the same way a human slave needs to be taught. Not at all. And besides I said dogs "don't need to be taught their place in the world" not "what's acceptable and what's not." They do in a sense, of course, but not remotely in the same sense as a slave.

I'm objecting to your sentence, saying it's objectively false. Whether or not training another human being is ethical or not is another argument (e.g. children). A dog needs to be taught what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior. If you have somebody living with you, they need to be educated on what they can and cannot do. And since dogs and human are pack animals, you need to enforce the idea o…

I understand what you're saying, but his implication is that dogs do not have to be taught not to aspire to be better than dog-status. They cannot be any more than dogs.

This is clarified by using an inanimate object (wrench) as a the other example.

Human beings though have to be molded in order to keep their 'place'. They can even aspire to want to be things that they cannot achieve, such as my never ending desire to be the first man to set foot on Mars.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#202

Post by placeybordeaux »

tmaly wrote: post #114

Lola happens to be the word for Grandma in the Philippines. The description of this idea of a live in slave is alive and well in many parts of Asian and the Middle East. Life in the Philippines is quite a struggle especially in the provinces. I know of a few people that live and work in Hong Kong doing the same job described in the article, but they are doing it for two families for very little pay.

I was surprised the author didn't include the detail about lola meaning grandmother.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#203

Post by AceJohnny2 »

Angostura wrote: post #152
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alex Tizon built an exemplary career by listening to certain types of people—forgotten people, people on the margins, people who had never before been asked for their stories. [...] Alex did not know that we would be putting his piece on the cover of this issue; he died the day we made that decision, before we had a chance to tell him. How... serendipitous.

A serendipity is a happy accident. I don't this really applies.

Yeah, couldn't come up with the right word, hence the ellipsis :\

Re: My Family’s Slave

#205

Post by 5thaccount »

seppin wrote: post #116
tmaly wrote: post #114

Lola happens to be the word for Grandma in the Philippines. The description of this idea of a live in slave is alive and well in many parts of Asian and the Middle East. Life in the Philippines is quite a struggle especially in the provinces. I know of a few people that live and work in Hong Kong doing the same job described in the article, but they are doing it for two families for very little pay.

I am wrong to think that this kind of thing is more acceptable in Asia than anywhere else?

Depends where you define Asia as. Saudi Arabia plays in the Asian conference in FIFA, but so does Australia. Australian and Saudi values differ ever so slightly :)

This idea is definitely more acceptable than it is in the west in all the world. Africa. Asia. Middle East. Maybe not South America, but even there it would be more acceptable than it is in say Norway.

As for the absolute level of acceptability in each area or country, that is hard to work out, especially in Asia where saving face means something can be unacceptable in theory, but practiced quasi-openly, as in the example of the article, where Lola was an open secret in the guys family.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#206

Post by chrisseaton »

nradov wrote: post #93

For those who think it can't happen here, there was a recent case in Silicon Valley where a group of small business owners was keeping slaves. I actually ate at their restaurant and had no idea what was going on. http://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/20/plight-of-saratoga-hum...

But the article is already about how it happened here (the US) isn't it?

Re: My Family’s Slave

#207

Post by obstinate »

Mz wrote: post #154
obstinate wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think your advice falls into the "much easier to say (from a great distance) than do" category. What of it? You still don't allow people to remain in a state of slavery when it is within your power to free them with just a phone call to the police. It doesn't have to be easy to do to be unacceptable not to do .

You know, I have a life threatening genetic disorder. This is the root cause of my homelessness and the one thing I most need to get my life back is an online income adequate to support myself. I am an active participant on HN and I appear to be the top ranked woman here. I assure you, no one on HN is valiantly trying to help me solve my financial problems. In fact, I am routinely treated dismissively by people claim…

I'm sorry for your troubles. But being confronted, in person, with a situation that you think is domestic slavery and being asked on the internet for money by a stranger are two different things.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#208

Post by Mz »

obstinate wrote: post #207
Mz wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, I have a life threatening genetic disorder. This is the root cause of my homelessness and the one thing I most need to get my life back is an online income adequate to support myself. I am an active participant on HN and I appear to be the top ranked woman here. I assure you, no one on HN is valiantly trying to help me solve my financial problems. In fact, I am routinely treated dismissively by people claim…

I'm sorry for your troubles. But being confronted, in person, with a situation that you think is domestic slavery and being asked on the internet for money by a stranger are two different things.

I'm sorry for your troubles. But being confronted, in person, with a situation that you think is domestic slavery and being asked on the internet for money by a stranger are two different things.

I am not asking for money. And you are just proving my point.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#209

Post by callalex »

randyrand wrote: post #186
shas3 wrote: post #51

Great read! Many Asian countries have the concept of live-in housekeepers. I think the 'best' (scraping the bottom, here) arrangement is in Singapore, where the government, laws, and law-enforcement ensure that immigrant live-in housekeepers are treated fairly- kinda like au pairs, etc. in the US. I knew someone in India who brought their live-in maid's sister to the US in some capacity (and AFAIK, paid her wages- sh…

Can you elaborate on why some live-in maids in those countries are effectively slaves, but a maid that comes to the house daily would not be? What is the significance of the live-in part?

It is very similar to the now illegal idea of a Company Town, but at a smaller scale.

Re: My Family’s Slave

#210

Post by atourgates »

prawn wrote: post #171
Mz wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have seen career women kind of jokingly say "I need a wife." I was struck by the fact that Alex's mother, whom some people here are vilifying, managed to have a serious career like a man because she had Lola at home to do all the "women's work." This is mostly being overlooked in discussion and I didn't know how to bring it up myself. I appreciate you remarking upon it.

You might find the following book interesting - my wife recommends it to many people. It's by Australian political writer Annabel Crabb. The Wife Drought - Why women need wives, and men need lives https://penguin.com.au/books/the-wife-drought-9780857984289 "'I need a wife' -- It’s a common joke among women juggling work and family. But it’s not actually a joke. Having a spouse who takes care of things at home is a Go…

In the US - the number of stay at home dads is definitely growing (doubling between 1989 and 2012), but even in 2012, only 21% of those are voluntarily staying at home to take care of kids, while the majority are either disabled, or can't find work for another reason.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/06/05/growing-number-of-...

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