Quote of the Labor Day: Samuel Gompers
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 3.07
It is a good day to remind you to buy Fair Trade, products, and help marginalised producers and workers move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. Fair Trade producers move from being poor farmers working alone to organized co-ops producing better quality, getting more money and living better lives. Why organize? Samuel Gompers listed some good reasons:
What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful, and childhood more happy and bright.
"make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful"
WTF! Why can't all of these various issues finally intertwine and give me a truly progressive stance? How can I get behind this kind of oppositionally sexist rhetoric? Beauty is quality that I want in my life, but so is nobility, happiness and brightness. I want them for all people no matter how old or how they understand their gender. Happy Labor Day everyone!
LA: He did write these words a hundred years ago and I did not want to edit them, but agree with your point.
That made me wince too. It's comforting to know that the words were said a hundred years ago; not so comforting when I think that I thought they were said today at first, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
That quote is lame and sexist.
The lame editors at treehugger could have asked any Fair Trade industry person to write a better fair trade blurb. There are much better quotes.
It may sound judgemental but I suggest a headline like this: Do you read treehugger? Well get off your lazy bum and buy only fair trade chocolate and coffee.
Please stop consuming all that free trade coffee and chocolate. BTW, that organic, non fair trade coffee continues to exploit the labor who farmed it. Your life will not end, at least not from the lack of such luxuries.
thanks for the reply. i realized the historical frame after having my typical too-quick response.