modern slavery - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing
The purpose of of slavery was (and is) to force overwork and underconsumption in a sector of society so that another sector can underwork and overconsume; thus slavery was never abolished yet codified into the cultures of capitalism and class structure. For this to persist culture will codify vices as virtues, esteem villains and shame victims though the creation of misleading narratives.
In a culture of deeply entrenched power gradients, in a culture that makes a virtue of greed and social Darwinism, capitalism becomes a fig leaf for social extortion and the gaining of slaves via the ownership of their basic needs.
A calculation of the average monetary amount for each global hour worked, including all unpaid work, will show the true level and distribution pattern of modern slavery.
The unit that builds each currency is the GWH (Global Work Hour, paid and unpaid); currencies of higher value have more GWH units within them.
Zombie detector 101 - they don't care about the destruction of the planet. Show them a pod of whales being murdered and not a tear is shed. Tell them that the oceans are being killed for money, that creation depends on us protecting the oceans, and they won't refuse to eat fish. Tell them that it is full of plastics and pollutants and they will add more hot sauce. Tell them that over half of the plastic garbage is related to commercial fishing, that it is highly dangerous to marine life, and they just stare. These are the zombies and the plague of emotional indifference is the virus. Tell them that slavery is used to make fish cheaper, people who are tortured for years and often murdered at sea, that the fishing observers get murdered too and the zombies just ask for more mayo. The best we humans can do is make the right choices easier than the wrong ones and pray they begin to recover their heart beat and heal their putrified and nasty brains.
Capitalism was born in the days of slavery, when its founder, Adam Smith, considered the waged-servant a cheaper alternative to owning slaves since they "decayed" at their own expense. It was the capital available that determined how many of their children lived and died and kept the "race of servants and journeymen" at a useful level for the "upper race" of employers to exploit. As such the stark similarity between the boom and bust cycle of the world of money and a predator-prey cycle should be a somewhat obvious connection. More capital meant more children survived to become workers and all death rates fell, less capital meant more children died and death rates rose. Those people in long ago saw workers as no more than self-replacing tools and no level of inhuman treatment was too low.
Modern slavery was so rife in that time that the workers looked forwards to being sick for time off. The more major the surgery and the longer the recovery period the happier they felt.
Knowledge makes man unfit to be a slave.
Authored by , here.
It was genius, such genius, and we bankers all got richer than God. They came to us, cap in hand for a mortgage, to buy a house for their sweetheart, something bigger for the kids and we scratched our chins, assessed their credit worthiness and made the loan. Here's the sweet part, that money we lent didn't even exist until the ink was dry on the mortgage paper, then after typing a few keys of our computers the money was created - an hour or so work for us, a lifetime of hard work for the borrower to pay us back in real labour. Plus if they default we own the house, so either way we convert fictional credits into something real with no effort. We invent the money and they work until they die of sickness or old age. But here's the best part, they think they're free! Ha, ha, ha, ha, what morons. Think like a mule, get ridden like a mule, that's what I say! They're the slaves and we're the masters and I don't care if they know. What are they going to do about it? Demand reform? Those idiots are too busy watching Oprah, feeling guilty over every calorie and posting their humdrum lives to social media. I'm more scared of my pet canary.
In our western lifestyles we are crippled by a forced dissociation of the mind. We "believe" we stopped slavery but we actually know that we did not, we simply exported it. We are the beneficiaries of slaves in industries from seafood to chocolate plantations and fabrics. Our civilization is built on the bones of angels and I am here to tell you that everyone of those slaves suffering and dying is directly linked to the divine creator and so He is suffering in pain too. How can He not? But the disconnect that makes us "sleep" as the world is destroyed is not limited to slavery.
We know our world is dying but we buy hundreds of products we don't need - encouraged to dismiss alternatives as "crazy" or "hippy nonsense." As we carry on, struggling with dissociated minds, fuelling the wanton global destruction with our purchases, the elites laugh and keep our cash rolling in. They make no wealth, they steal it from us and control us with fear and distraction. If you want to save the planet, if you want to live a truly noble life, get away from mainstream media. As Jesus said, "you cannot worship God and money." You must choose. God is Love. You can Love the world and your fellow humans, fellow creatures, or you can suffer a system of greed in which the most corrupted and debased humans win power over us and make hell on earth.
Change is so simple, so empowering, so beautiful and fulfilling. Only buy products from virtuous cycles - that means ones that benefit people and planet. Buy nothing you don't really need. Buy local. Don't wrap your vegetables and groceries in disposable plastics. Take your money out of a big five and to the most ethical co-op you can. Trade and barter. Buy fair trade. Don't be fooled by companies that "green wash." We need radical changes to our system that only allow virtuous cycles to flourish. We can't just tweak our politics, we need a whole new system and it starts with you and me. The future is amazing, awesome. Come with me. We can heal.
Found in Are you awake yet? - first draft, authored by .
The fishing industry has captains that use the same playbook as pirates - get guys drunk, put them on a boat, torture them into labour for years. If they refuse, there is no walking the plank, they just toss them into open waters. Slavery is still a thing and the fish in the shops puts money in the pockets of their "masters."