In another NPR news clip that I was listening to about this Iowa meatpacking plant, they said that the owners face 9,000 accounts of child labor accusations, and if convicted, the maximum penalty was 700 years in prison. Yes, you read that right -- 700 years. Isn't that a little bit harsh of a penalty? I think so.
Let me qualify my statements by first putting it out there that I'm completely for universal human rights, socialism, etc, but being with a group of people who all want to save the world, it's easy to lose sight of reality and be swept into the oblivion of idealism -- so I'm going to be devil's advocate, the elitist, and the Republican.
I don't understand all the hubbub about immigration policy in the United States. Yes, these migrant workers are working long hours at difficult jobs and are provided minimal compensation, but at the same time, they are entering this country illegally. On the left hand side of the New York Times article, there are interview clips with some of the underage workers. One of the kids, a 17-year-old, works from 6am until 11pm -- 17 hours shifts -- and sleeps for 5 hours each night. Atrocious. Yet he chose to stay at his job in order to provide for his family, and even though he didn't receive overtime compensation, he didn't say a word, for fear of being ousted as an illegal immigrant. It's about the same story with all of them: they work because they must provide, and they never deplore their working conditions because they live with a cloud of secrecy over their heads.
That's what they must do to survive, and they know it. If they really had a problem with that, why would they be in this country? The owners of the meatpacking plant claim that they didn't know these kids were underage. It's not hard to fathom that a 16-year-old would lie about his age in order to obtain a job that he's not supposed to have, so why is the meat packing plant responsible? Let's say that the meatpacking plant did know that the kid was underage at the time of hiring, and the kid knows that it's illegal to work at the meatplanting plant if he's under 18, so why does the kid still apply for the job? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that child labor laws exist for a reason -- because working conditions are inappropriate for children under the age of 18, and the law is meant to protect them. If these kids are purposely avoiding the protection that the law is giving them by seeking these dangerous jobs, then that's their right. And it's also their responsibility.
With rights comes responsibility. If migrants are in this country illegally, they shouldn't have the right to choose from any job they want, because they're disrespecting the laws of this country by stepping across the border without authorization. If migrants take the right of having a job, they ought to take responsibility for their actions, including stepping up to the consequences of long hours and inadequate pay. No matter how deplorable the conditions are, it's better than the conditions wherever they were coming from. And that's progress, isn't it? So what more could they ask for?
1 comment:
I agree with many of your comments concerning the tension between the illegality of the actions of most migrant farm workers, and their demands for more benefits. However, one of the statements that you made struck me: "With rights come responsibilities."
Doesn't this statement go both ways? We, as citizens of this country, believe that we have the virtual right to inexpensive, high quality food, healthcare, etc. But then don't we also have a responsibility to those who provide us with these "rights"? These people form the bedrock of our agricultural system; the responsibility of providing our country with food rests almost solely on their shoulders. Do we not have a responsibility to them? How can we justify the type of treatment and the perpetuation of the attitudes we saw in the film? I do not believe that simply saying "Well, they chose this life, so now they have to deal with it" is good enough.
Please don't get me wrong: I'm not a fan of amnesty, or even the "out of the shadows" program proposed by Obama/Biden. I don't even know how I feel about universal health care for American citizens. All I know for sure is that when I sat down to my dinner tonight, something didn't feel quite right. I can't simply shrug off the feeling of guilt; yes, migrant workers have chosen to be here. But freely chosen? When one chooses the lesser of two evils, is this really a free choice?
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