Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

True only if chattel slavery were the only kind of slavery.

The ruling masters treat those who work "at will for pay" like livestock when the masters demand taxes, threatening violence upon those who withhold the protection money. The livestock are being milked with every paycheck.

We definitely do not live in a system of chattel slavery, but that's only because chattel slavery is so much less efficient (for the masters) than farming those who are willing to repeat the mantra that we "are not being enslaved."



"Chattel slavery"...I'm sorry, but what are you on about?

This comparison doesn't reflect the current state of affairs in the United States.

Yeah, the NSA did some shitty things that circumnavigated loopholes in the Constitution.

But you still don't realize how good you have it. Being in a Western country like the United States is spectacularly better than living conditions on many other entire continents, and sometimes many countries on others.

I agree we should fight the NSA on this. No doubt about this. But you're not convincing everyone of your point by comparing journalists and citizens to "chattel slaves"...come on now.

Journalists are still afford a lot of protections, and incidents like this leak in the United States are still outliers.

The very fact that this leak is an outrage, that we are not desensitized to this news, demonstrates the state of our society. We are afraid of it devolving, but it is presently many tiers above your implied quality of life.

There is no slavery. There is virtually no indentured slavery, named or in practice. We still have a variety of liberties the KGB never expected themselves to have, let alone fought for.

We are not anything like chattel slavery. It weakens your argument to try to argue otherwise.


Circumvented loopholes in the Constitution?

Only insofar as breaking and entering is "circumventing" a "loophole" in the lock on my door.

There is no slavery. There is virtually no indentured slavery, named or in practice.

I take it you're completely unfamiliar with human trafficking and the sex trade.


> I take it you're completely unfamiliar with human trafficking and the sex trade.

Or the prison system, which the 13th specifically makes an exception for..


dylangs1030 said: "We are not anything like chattel slavery. It weakens your argument to try to argue otherwise."

Where is your disagreement? I'll reiterate:

> We definitely do not live in a system of chattel slavery...


I think you are being a bit disingenuous in this response, finish the quote:

> We definitely do not live in a system of chattel slavery, but that's only because chattel slavery is so much less efficient..

This statement makes it sound like you start from the position that we would live in a system of chattel slavery if not for its lack of efficiency then you are comparing what you deem the "current form of slavery" to chattel slavery. You are, to my reading of your whole comment, specifically saying that the slavery you allege we currently labor under is as bad or worse than chattel slavery.


US Commercial Prisons


Indeed. See eg. http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/18/prison-small-business-ent-m... and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/prison-labor_n_2272...

Money quote: "Oddo also said that workers were provided enough water, but the prisoners didn't sip it slowly enough."

Also for a sense of scope http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/07/what-do-prisoner... including this irrelevant but salacious detail: 'In 1997, a California prison put two men in solitary for telling journalists they were ordered to replace "Made in Honduras" labels on garments with "Made in the USA."'


You know, when you guys speak in literal terms of "chattel slavery" and "masters" it becomes very hard to take any point you're making seriously. Get some perspective, or go full Godwin and compare everything to Hitler and the Holocaust.


>You know, when you guys speak in literal terms of "chattel slavery" and "masters" it becomes very hard to take any point you're making seriously.

Very hard for the sheep, you mean.


Did npongratz ninja-edit or did you and the other reply not actually read the comment? The post you are replying to specifically says that it's not talking about "chattel slavery" when it refers to the current system as slavery.


No ninja-edits from me.


Some people need directives from their friendly public institutions as to what slavery is and what can be construed as such.

Some people would also be surprised to know that some colonists referred to themselves as slaves[0]…

[0]: http://youtu.be/3EiSymRrKI4?t=9m22s




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: