Kramer losses his mind

[acsguitar]

People are talking about slavery like it's over....

Slavery, whether legal or not, is in most countries (if not every country) on the planet.

That's just a little dramatic, don't you think?

I'd like to complain about that Britney spears song slave

[DK]

People are talking about slavery like it's over....

Slavery, whether legal or not, is in most countries (if not every country) on the planet.

That's just a little dramatic, don't you think?

It's not dramatic. It's fact.

[josebach]

People are talking about slavery like it's over....

Slavery, whether legal or not, is in most countries (if not every country) on the planet.

That's just a little dramatic, don't you think?

It's not dramatic. It's fact.

Sure, there might be rare cases of "slave labor" occuring here and there, but to imply that it's still the problem that it once was is totally absurd and yes... dramatic. Every country in the world has at least one person with a 3rd leg too, it doesn't exactly make it an epidemic. Besides, what does this even have to do with a race related thread anyway? I'm pretty sure that in the United States, there's no white people kidnapping black people and forcing them to work in the fields. Sure, there's hispanic migrant workers that might work for room and board, but it's not like they're being locked up at night. They at least have some choice in the matter. Like the choice to come to the United States in the first place.

[DK]

People are talking about slavery like it's over....

Slavery, whether legal or not, is in most countries (if not every country) on the planet.

That's just a little dramatic, don't you think?

It's not dramatic. It's fact.

Sure, there might be rare cases of "slave labor" occuring here and there, but to imply that it's still the problem that it once was is totally absurd and yes... dramatic. Every country in the world has at least one person with a 3rd leg too, it doesn't exactly make it an epidemic. Besides, what does this even have to do with a race related thread anyway? I'm pretty sure, there's no white people kidnapping black people and forcing them to work in the fields. Sure, there's hispanic migrant workers that might work for room and board, but it's not like they're being locked up at night. They at least have some choice in the matter.

LMAO... "they have some choice." You really don't understand slavery do you?

There are an estimated 27 million people enslaved across the world, in all regions of the world. This includes all seven continents, and yes, the United States of America. And that's not even starting about human trafficking.

I was just noticing how people were speaking of slavery as if the practice of it has ceased, which could not be further from the truth.

If you'd like to learn more about slavery in contemporary America look up an author named Kevin Bales. He's President of "Free the Slaves" and also works with Anti-Slavery International IIRC. Very intelligent guy, he's considered the world's leading expert on modern slavery. Give it a look.

[josebach]

People are talking about slavery like it's over....

Slavery, whether legal or not, is in most countries (if not every country) on the planet.

That's just a little dramatic, don't you think?

It's not dramatic. It's fact.

Sure, there might be rare cases of "slave labor" occuring here and there, but to imply that it's still the problem that it once was is totally absurd and yes... dramatic. Every country in the world has at least one person with a 3rd leg too, it doesn't exactly make it an epidemic. Besides, what does this even have to do with a race related thread anyway? I'm pretty sure, there's no white people kidnapping black people and forcing them to work in the fields. Sure, there's hispanic migrant workers that might work for room and board, but it's not like they're being locked up at night. They at least have some choice in the matter.

LMAO... "they have some choice." You really don't understand slavery do you?

There are an estimated 27 million people enslaved across the world, in all regions of the world. This includes all seven continents, and yes, the United States of America. And that's not even starting about human trafficking.

I was just noticing how people were speaking of slavery as if the practice of it has ceased, which could not be further from the truth.

If you'd like to learn more about slavery in contemporary America look up an author named Kevin Bales. He's President of "Free the Slaves" and also works with Anti-Slavery International IIRC. Very intelligent guy, he's considered the world's leading expert on modern slavery. Give it a look.

I will give it a look, thanks.

My only point was that there's a world of difference between the prevalence of slavery in the world 150 years ago and the prevalence of slavery today. Surely, you must agree that it's better now than it was back then. I just felt that comparing the two was kind of dramatic. That's all I was saying.

*edit*
I found a site that said 12.3 million people are enslaved worldwide, so there's at least some discrepancy as to how widespread it actually is.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4534393.stm

Regardless, it's pretty horrible whether it's 12 or 27 million, I must agree.

[Callahan]

I just checked out freetheslaves.net and it's a very, very interesting site. Thanks for pointing that out.

Here's a fun quiz: Who knows when the idea of "race" first showed up in any writing anywhere?

Wasn't it during the Enlightenment? I know it was within the last 300 years or so.

[DK]

I just checked out freetheslaves.net and it's a very, very interesting site. Thanks for pointing that out.

Here's a fun quiz: Who knows when the idea of "race" first showed up in any writing anywhere?

Wasn't it during the Enlightenment? I know it was within the last 300 years or so.

Close enough. A little longer ago, it was 1684.
But think of it this way: All these issues we're talking about as a matter of "race" - were just invented by Francois Bernier. Before his book, nobody cared about race, nobody mentioned it - it wasn't in existence.

In case you're missing the gist of my point, race is a man-made creation. Those we perceive as "white" people invented the concept of race as a means of control via slavery and human trafficking. Race is just an umbrella term to classify things we don't understand. The true term is ethnicity, and therefore what we think of as "racism" is really just ethnocentrism.

[Omaha Red Sox]

I just checked out freetheslaves.net and it's a very, very interesting site. Thanks for pointing that out.

Here's a fun quiz: Who knows when the idea of "race" first showed up in any writing anywhere?

Wasn't it during the Enlightenment? I know it was within the last 300 years or so.

Close enough. A little longer ago, it was 1684.
But think of it this way: All these issues we're talking about as a matter of "race" - were just invented by Francois Bernier. Before his book, nobody cared about race, nobody mentioned it - it wasn't in existence.

In case you're missing the gist of my point, race is a man-made creation. Those we perceive as "white" people invented the concept of race as a means of control via slavery and human trafficking. Race is just an umbrella term to classify things we don't understand. The true term is ethnicity, and therefore what we think of as "racism" is really just ethnocentrism.

But wasn't ethnicity relevant in terms of separation long before 1684? Certain people were only supposed to marry within a certain class, tribe, etc. of the same people, mostly due to religion. I don't know specifics on this, and agree that 'race' is man-made, but I believe the differences man has created are much older than 1684. Unless I'm completely missing your point altogether...

[DK]

I just checked out freetheslaves.net and it's a very, very interesting site. Thanks for pointing that out.

Here's a fun quiz: Who knows when the idea of "race" first showed up in any writing anywhere?

Wasn't it during the Enlightenment? I know it was within the last 300 years or so.

Close enough. A little longer ago, it was 1684.
But think of it this way: All these issues we're talking about as a matter of "race" - were just invented by Francois Bernier. Before his book, nobody cared about race, nobody mentioned it - it wasn't in existence.

In case you're missing the gist of my point, race is a man-made creation. Those we perceive as "white" people invented the concept of race as a means of control via slavery and human trafficking. Race is just an umbrella term to classify things we don't understand. The true term is ethnicity, and therefore what we think of as "racism" is really just ethnocentrism.

But wasn't ethnicity relevant in terms of separation long before 1684? Certain people were only supposed to marry within a certain class, tribe, etc. of the same people, mostly due to religion. I don't know specifics on this, and agree that 'race' is man-made, but I believe the differences man has created are much older than 1684. Unless I'm completely missing your point altogether...

Sorry - I may have miscommunicated. In terms of semantics and words, "racism" is an incorrect word because the concept of "race" is non-existent. That's basically what I was getting at with that; classification regarding ethnic background has happened forever, it's intuitive and natural. But the word "race" just irks me, because the word race was created with the intention of separating colors and classifying them in different social classes with no regard for their actual background.

For instance, my skin color looks "white" enough that I am perceived as "white" all the time. I am in fact an Armenian, which means I don't fit into the racial classifications of "white" or "black", and yet people classify me as what they assume I am with no real knowledge of my true background.

So to sum up, the difference is that ethnicities are there to be proud of, as it is actually who we are. Race on the other hand is just there to classify social status based on skin color and not on where we really come from.