Opening Ceremony Slave Labor

You're are damn right we are different.  We don't employ slave labor.

I'll be sure to send the Humanitarian of the Year award your way...

We contract out our slave labor.

How are you liking those Nikes?

Thank you. 

Yeah but the difference is that once it's done, we'd sue for pain and suffering. 

Yeah, I don't think so...

I think the difference is that we'd have a choice. It didn't actually say in the article, but I am guessing that not all those students had a choice...

Also, we'd be forced to sign a waver in advance saying we cannot sue...

Personally, I would not volunteer to hold a 40-lb box over my head for 6 hrs with a diaper on because I am not allowed to go to the bathroom. I would, however, wish to volunteer for other positions at the Olympics, but I don't know, maybe I'm only pretty enough to be hidden under a box and that's all I'd get to do...

At a tri when lines to porta potty are long, some people find a space behind some trees to go. Similar situation (with way more people in a smaller venue) but that the people had to stay in place for over 2 hr before their turn to perform, and they cannot run around in the stadium going back and forth the bathroom as there are others performing.  What do you do?  Pee in the box?

It is the student's choice to participate in such an event.   

Dude...you could have cheerled (cheerleaded?) at the beach volleyball. Just sayin'.

The stadium seats 91,000 people; there were only 50,000 volunteers and to the best of my knowledge, not 41,000 spectators. They had enough bathrooms to accomodate...unless it was still under construction.

But if it was all by choice and they knew what they were getting into, great. I hope it was a rewarding experience for everyone .

It's not a big deal, and understand we all come from different places and have different perspectives - it's not my position to knock it and people's choices. It's just that knowing there maybe could have been better and healthier ways to handle the situation is frustrating.

2 hours?  Try 6...

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/performers-wear-daipers-in-beijing-olympics-opening-ceremony-3105.html 

You REALLY think these people had an opportunity to say no.  This is CHINA.  THis is the place that throws you in jail (or worse) for speaking against the government.  THis is the place that lies about the ages of their athletes.  You think they are going to take some student complaining about the conditions?  Hell no.  Want to quit, I suppose you could but at what cost.  Maybe they "accidentlly" unenroll you from school.  You don't f**k with the Chinese government.

And some of these performers were not students.  Some were part of the People's Army. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2564625/Beijing-Olympics-opening-ceremony-Soldiers-wore-nappies.html

You think THEY had any choice in the matter?  You know DAMN well if the US ever did this we would be villainized by every country in the world, well except maybe China

I'm not one of the "free Tibet" wackos you see.  I'm about as right wing as they come, but action after action has shown that China should NEVER be awarded another Olympics.

You know, it's interesting that we deplore their human rights issues, but at the same time have no issues buying the stuff we import from them. If you consciously avoid Chinese-made products, that's one thing. But if you go on and on about how deplorable their practices are, but then load up your cart at Wal Mart, it comes off as hypocritical. Because it's one thing to call it out, but an entirely different thing to rail about it while at the same time being complicit in the very actions you're decrying.

Note: not talking about anyone in particular, because I have no idea about most people's shopping habits.

Address the point I made.  Don't change the subject.  Some of these people were FORCED to be a part of this display.  Do you agree that this is wrong?

Avoiding Chinese products is not the issue.  The issue is a government that has a horrible humans rights record.  In fact if it were not for the companies that have products made in China then the conditions would be much worse than they already are. 

Think it's bad to work 10 hours for $5?  Try working 10 hours for $0.  

The partial fix would be for our government to grow a pair and tax and tariff the hell out of Chinese products.  

The point of this post was to show that giving a country like China the Olympics was a bad idea.  (2012 - Iran! )  Many things have come out to prove this point and this is just another log to add to the fire.

Why not ask corporate america to stop establishing factories in China?  Why should the gov't be taxing Chinese products?  Even the American flags are made in China. 

That's one solution.  And you can do this with your dollar. 

However like I said before.  You think it's bad in China now.  Take away their industrialization.  That would be a BAD place to be.

If you take away their industiralization (or if they never industrialized), they'd be a simple, peaceful agrarian society. I'm not sure there would be much "enslaving" going on. 

But this quote may shed some light:

"Despite the sacrifices, the student performers were grateful for the opportunity to participate in the historic event and view it as an honor." That sounds like they volunteered, probably, but it was hard work. When the Olympics were in Atlanta, I'd bet that that the vast majority of the people you saw in the opening ceremonies were volunteers, and that they also probably worked their butts off. Maybe not to the same extent, but I think you could make the case that both were just groups of volunteers. No where in the story did it say anyone was forced to be there.

But back to the slave labor. I stand by the point that you can't in good conscience complain about working conditions in China while simultaneously partaking of their exports.

The tai chi guys were members of the army.  Doesn't matter if they volunteered or not.  I'm sure they had no say in the matter once they were there.  

Suicide bombers think it's and "honor" to die for Allah too.  I would not put too much stock in that statement.

I'm not sure how we got onto "working conditions" in the first place.  I was talking about the Olympic ceremonies, not factory workers.

I've made my opinions known.  I'll let you have the last word.

why are you so sure that people were 'Forced" to perform? 

How familiar are you with China?  How many times have you been there? How much do you know about their culture/habit/history as to understand their (I mean the CHinese in general, not the communite gov't) mentalities?