51–60 of 88 posts
This is one of those moments where I'm utterly distressed by the lack of a solution to curb all the frivolous consumerism of the world. It's scary to consider how many others are just like Xu and how many more, us included, are only slightly better off.
Suicide is a tragedy and people should always do what they can to prevent it. However, it is also something that will always occur in some portion of the population, typically as the result of depression. We should not ignore the fact that the suicide rate in, for example, the United States is an order of magnitude higher than it is at Foxconn. Foxconn employs over 1.2 million people, so the number of suicides will a…
You should try reading the article next time -- this post has absolutely nothing to do with suicide rates. I guess your response is somewhat appropriate though. Like the company he worked for, you didn't even stop for a second to think of Xu as a human being, he was just a means to an end. In your case, that end being the collection free internet brownie points by posting a contrarian opinion.
It's actually reading the surrounding details of Xu's life deeper into the article, and particularly his poetry, that makes it abundantly clear that more was preying upon his mind than long hours and an institutional environment.
Suicide is a tragedy and people should always do what they can to prevent it. However, it is also something that will always occur in some portion of the population, typically as the result of depression. We should not ignore the fact that the suicide rate in, for example, the United States is an order of magnitude higher than it is at Foxconn. Foxconn employs over 1.2 million people, so the number of suicides will a…
You should try reading the article next time -- this post has absolutely nothing to do with suicide rates. I guess your response is somewhat appropriate though. Like the company he worked for, you didn't even stop for a second to think of Xu as a human being, he was just a means to an end. In your case, that end being the collection free internet brownie points by posting a contrarian opinion.
This is one of those moments where I'm utterly distressed by the lack of a solution to curb all the frivolous consumerism of the world. It's scary to consider how many others are just like Xu and how many more, us included, are only slightly better off.
We should definitely do what we can as consumers to pressure the companies and governments in our supply chain to improve the quality of life for their laborers. I'm just saying that the alternative world where these guys are all living out peaceful, prosperous lives just "because" is not one that has ever existed either.
Time for another facile PR stunt, Apple! Alternatively, how about sowing 0.01% of your cash back into these workers and demanding that the factory improve working and living conditions?
This isn't an Apple thing, it is an Industry thing. > Major customers of Foxconn include or have included: Acer Inc. (Taiwan)[49] Amazon.com (United States)[12] Apple Inc. (United States)[50] BlackBerry Ltd. (Canada)[51] Cisco (United States)[52] Dell (United States)[53] Google (United States)[54] Hewlett-Packard (United States)[55] Microsoft (United States)[56] Motorola Mobility (United States)[53] Nintendo (Japan)[…
Of course, once you've retrieved someone from a net you need to give them access to other interventions and I'm guessing these are missing for Foxconn workers. Sadly, they're also missing for a bunch of people in different countries.
This is one of those moments where I'm utterly distressed by the lack of a solution to curb all the frivolous consumerism of the world. It's scary to consider how many others are just like Xu and how many more, us included, are only slightly better off.
What if we didn't buy electronics, or what if we insisted on treating these workers so well it made more sense to leave the factories in the US? Then our money stays here and young men and women like Xu are back in their villages trying to scrape out a living on a few square meters of soil. Workers take these jobs because it's an opportunity to improve their life and the lives of their families. It may still be miser…
What you're arguing is (excuse the hyperbolic nature of the example) that slavery is better than leaving indigenous people in their natural setting. Your argument makes sense from an economic perspective but I don't believe it holds water when you account for quality of life.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if we didn't buy electronics, or what if we insisted on treating these workers so well it made more sense to leave the factories in the US? Then our money stays here and young men and women like Xu are back in their villages trying to scrape out a living on a few square meters of soil. Workers take these jobs because it's an opportunity to improve their life and the lives of their families. It may still be miser…
This argument always comes up and its an argument I hate. If for no other reason, I dislike it because from what I've seen rates of depression are dramatically higher when you introduce these sorts of jobs vs. letting people scrape by working land in a 3rd world setting. What you're arguing is (excuse the hyperbolic nature of the example) that slavery is better than leaving indigenous people in their natural setting.…
It's wrong to assume indigenous people need saving, but IMO it's also wrong to assume their lives were great before.
It's hard to remember sometimes that all the people in the world that live lives so much worse than ours still have their own hopes and dreams, their own aspirations and imaginations. This article made me quite sad, despite the great poetry.
I agree in every respect, but also hesitate to say lives "worse" than our own. Different indeed, but I don't have an inkling of how to understand any of the varied Chinese cultures or social classes. Nor can I fully appreciate what would be required to compare the quality of those lives, with such different belief structures and goals. I can only see a beautiful soul snuffed out and wonder why he chose that route. Bu…
I am a white upper-middle-class knowledge worker who lives in Canada, so I suspect I can objectively say that most of the people in the world are worse off than I am, in terms of security, comfort and stability.
But that doesn't mean they are any less human, or any less worthy of a good and decent life, and the fact that so many are denied that makes me sad.
I do what I can (supporting charities and organizations who help, and doing what I can in my personal life), but it's still easy to feel helpless about the whole thing...
The poems is heart breaking. Read them, even if they put a dent in your day.
I mean... 《一颗螺丝掉在地上》 "A Screw Fell to the Ground" 一颗螺丝掉在地上 A screw fell to the ground 在这个加班的夜晚 In this dark night of overtime 垂直降落，轻轻一响 Plunging vertically, lightly clinking 不会引起任何人的注意 It won’t attract anyone’s attention 就像在此之前 Just like last time 某个相同的夜晚 On a night like this 有个人掉在地上 When someone plunged to the ground ...fuck.