Oh, please. Really?
Two major business reform groups have planned protests of Apple Stores in six cities, urging the company to ensure the safety of workers who manufacture its devices. On Thursday morning, representatives of Change.org and SumOfUs will deliver petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of people, many of them Apple fans and iPhone owners, and carry signs and leaflets protesting the company.
I’m all in favor of nearly every take-to-the-street protest, including for causes I don’t support, but this is just silly:
- Nearly anyone who uses any electronics or computers manufactured in the last ten years or longer has exploited a Chinese worker. Apple is taking the lion’s share of the heat for goings-on at FoxConn only because it’s the most media-friendly way to frame the story.
- When FoxConn holds an open hire, this is what it looks like. FoxConn conditions are horrid by American standards, and better than many alternatives in China.
- Meanwhile, anyone who votes Republican is probably supporting stripping away the rights that got us to the 8-hour day, 40-hour workweek, weekend, and overtime standard that we have today. Vote GOP if you want American semi-skilled workers to lead lives more like the Chinese.
- Finally, if you use any electronics, then you’re also supporting a hellacious industry in the Congo that we require to get us those rare earth minerals they’re built with.
There are legitimate ways to pressure China and the DRC to improve the working conditions of all its workers, not just the ones who build photogenic products under decidedly nonphotogenic conditions. Apple may have a role in this. But pretty much the only people who have the moral standing to protest in front of an Apple store are the Amish.
Wow – this gave me a nice chuckle. How’s this for a deal: people who use electronics can’t protest in front of Apple stores, and people who have credit cards and/or mortgages (or patronize businesses that do?) can’t protest in front of banks. Deal?
It’s amazing how quickly the big picture comes into focus when one understands the context of a situation far better than the proesters, isn’t it?
The essential difference: people protesting in front of Apple Stores do not have the facts on their side, while the people protesting banks do.
I mean, stuff like that used to matter, and I’m in favor of bringing that back.
Your comment about “context” implies that people can disagree on the facts in the case, which is why I said, I’m all in favor of nearly every take-to-the-street protest, including for causes I don’t support. People have the right to be in front of Apple Stores, or banks, or the Best Buy because it sells products that emit “dangerous infrared radiation”. But you have to be an idiot to participate in some of these protests. You can also be an idiot for dismissing protesters who are obviously not.