Sweaty Sweaty Sweatshops

As consumers we have the responsibility to pay money for the clothing we buy. We think it is beneficial to know where the clothes we purchase come from. Even though we think that buying clothes from sweatshops in Asia is not necessarily correct, we do not believe that our consumer behavior will change. After recently reading an article over how sweatshops can be beneficial to a third world country, our perspectives changed a little bit.
We think that modern culture does not care enough about third world countries to stop consuming goods made in Asia. We are too comfortable wearing our sweet Nike kicks to even give a second thought to who made them. Rarely ever do we put on our Polo hats and Citizens of Humanity jeans and think about the small child in China who made $2 making them. We do however agree that it is ridiculous that the people who make our tennis shoes or jeans make cents per hour while we pay close to a hundred dollars for them. The shoes should not necessarily be cheaper, but the country who made them should be paid more for their work.

Finally, we do not believe that culture will ever recognize where the goods they buy come from. We will probably forget we even learned about sweatshops in six months. As stated in numerous articles, sweatshops are a complex issue that no one can truly understand, and neither can we.

Regardless that these shoes were made by a five year old in a sweaty sweaty sweatshop in China, people will completely overlook this detail when purchasing the Nike shoes they have wanted for months.

Wiz Khalifa Remix-Black and White ft. The Heavyweights

Peggy McIntosh suggests that every white person is born with an innate sense of superiority and equipped with an "invisible knapsack." This knapsack contains “maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks." The documentary "Brazil in Black and White" also suggests that because one is born a certain race, he or she automatically possesses an advantage. Through examples of different students in the documentary, the viewer is able to see a direct parallel from race to university admission. 

With the possession of the invisible knapsack, one is capable of overcoming many obstacles in life. After watching the documentary, it is evident that race is a huge factor when looking into college admittance. 

McIntosh's article is all about privilege. Privilege is defined as "a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities (www.dictionary.com)." The "politically correct" answer is that white people are not at all in authority or in office over other races. But in the culture we live in today, the past has effect on the present. This is a case of de facto segregation. Segregation has always been part of our culture. I do not believe that anyone can change the past in order to make segregation non-existant. All we can do is to decide for ourselves how we would want to be treated. The knapsack is not necessarily a negative thing, but rather something that culture and historical events have created.