Re: MicroSoft as Slave Master?

From: Charles Hixson (charleshixsn@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Jul 26 2002 - 14:37:25 MDT


John K Clark wrote:

>"Charles Hixson" <charleshixsn@earthlink.net>
>
> > "These people". And interesting term.
>
>Yes, I thought so too.
>
> >And because they are "these people" it is right to turn them into
> >slaves?
>
>These people are convicted criminals who are paid for their work. And I will
>bet you dollars to donuts these people are fighting each other for the
>privilege of working for Microsoft, assuming any of this is true that is.
>
If you mean that they tend to be kept in such inhumane conditions that
even the chance of slaving at an assembly line job for pennies an hour
seems an improvement, then you are probably right. If that isn't what
you mean, then you (I presume) metaphorical use of the language is
cloaking it from me.

>
>More generally I don't have the slightest moral reservation to criminals
>having to work for their food and housing just as you and I have to do, I do
>
If they were paid a reasonable wage, then I, also, would have little
reservation. As it is the wage that they are paid is extremely scant.
 It's much, much less than minimum wage. The latest report that I've
seen claims that in Federal prisons the wage is $.11/hour (11 cents per
hour). I presume that room and board are not deducted from that, though
I don't know for certain.

>have practical reservations however. These people are not very smart nor
>very hard working and these people will rob you blind if not closely
>
I'm suspect that most of them would. They have been so cruelly taken
advantage of that it would be unreasonable to expect otherwise. But I
don't know for sure, and I doubt that you do either.

>supervised. These people do not exactly make ideal employees for a good
>business plan, but if Microsoft has somehow found a way for it to work then
>good for them.
>
> >Many, and we don't know how many, are in prison primarily because
> >they are black.
>
>I grant you that many people in prison are there due to foolish drug laws,
>but the last I checked it was not a crime to be black.
>
> John K Clark jonkc@att.net
>
>
>
It is not, officially, a crime to be black. Unfortunately, the laws are
not enforced in an even-handed and just manner. It's also not a crime
to be poor, but a poor man who had done nothing culpable has a much
higher chance of ending up in prison than a rich man does.

-- 
-- Charles Hixson
Gnu software that is free,
The best is yet to be.


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