Social Injustice and the Paradox of Industry

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a radio show I listen to called This American Life. They aired an excerpt from a monologue by a guy named Mike Daisey. You can find it here. The monologue was about his trip to China where he visited a factory that makes Apple products. It was a very interesting and challenging piece as it raised many questions about social justice and the seemingly insurmountable issues we face these days.

Since then I have heard a lot about Apple and China and the injustices that many of these workers face on a daily basis. You can read a couple of articles from the New York Times here and here, one of them about recent suicides from these factory workers.

As I was making my way through my email inbox this morning, I came across an email from the people over at change.org. You may have heard about the lady who started a petition through them to get Bank of American to drop their debit card fee. Well, this petition was to try and get Apple to improve working conditions at the factories where iPhones and iPads are made. Don't worry I am not going to ask you to sign anything, but if you want check it out click here.

It occurred to me that going up against Apple is the sexy way to protest and work for change. And perhaps it is still the best way. I don't know. By going up against the giants of industry, one could force a greater amount of change. Public embarrassment and the possibility of profit loss is a great motivator.

But what about the injustices that we never hear about because they aren't sexy enough?

Going up against these things doesn't get our name in the paper or on the news or a video gone viral on YouTube.

But these things still matter.

So, for example, in the US these people are the working poor, the nameless faceless people who make too much for welfare but not enough to live. They are one paycheck away from the streets, but they live in slum housing.

I've said before that at least in the US we can't live here without participating in the so-called poverty and injustices of the world. Nevertheless, at least for the church, we have to start somewhere.

Lately it seems like I keep hearing something I heard back when I was in college from a guy named Dana Walling. "Everyday find out what you can do for Jesus and do it."

At least for the church (I don't know about everyone else), we have to resist the urge to always go for the big win and instead give ourselves over to that gospel movement that has been going for thousands of years.

The big wins come accidentally and only because we have dared to look our neighbor in the eye and see the face of Christ.

If all we ever do is go for the big win then our neighbors who are about to hit the streets will remain anonymous to us and that would be a damn shame.

Speaking Out

Like many of you, I am an avid listener of a radio show called This American Life (TAL). This past week they did a piece called Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory that I thought was one of their better shows of late. The first half of the show is an excerpt from one of Mike Daisey's monologue performances. I first heard of Mike Daisey when I came across this clip of a group of Christians walking out of his show in protest (watch your computer volume, he's a bit colorful). One of them even walked up on stage and dumped a glass of water on his notes. As a Christian myself, I was furious at this kind of ignorance, that those of us who confess to be followers of Jesus could be so hateful at someone like Daisey who seems to be so keenly aware of our culture problems and even ballsy enough to actually go to China and speak out.

Anyways, the excerpt comes from his new monologue called The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. In the excerpt from the show he tells of his infatuation with Apple products, his trip to China (Shenzhen to be precise), and the woes of our technological age, not least of which is our ignorance of where the products we buy come from and how it affects the lives of the people in other countries who make them.

What I loved most about the show was how it fairly portrayed the complexity of the issue. Neither Daisey nor This American Life criticize Apple with a holier-than-thou attitude. Daisey is clearly fan and TAL remarked at the end of their show that, as always, the show was produced entirely on Apple products. I myself listened to the show on my Apple iPod and am writing this post on my Apple laptop computer. The show notes that even the people of Shenzhen are conflicted, that while there are a number of problems that need to be addressed regarding the question(s) of justice, these jobs have made possible a certain quality of life that wasn't their before.

I find this kind of critique refreshing. I am not big fan of finger pointing, mostly because I can't extract myself from all of the problems of the world. To throw rocks at others as if it's entirely their fault is unhelpful and ignorant. At least for people in the West, and North American's in particular (my culture and the only culture I can and should speak of with any amount of confidence), we can't even drive on roads without being implicated in the injustices of the world, whether it be oil, deforestation, air pollution, or more. Same goes for politics, but that's another issue.

I recommend we all listen to this show and let it seep into our consciences. And if you just have to finger point, at least confess your own Sins first.