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I wouldn’t say that you are being Jingoistic per se, but I do think that
your view is a little uninformed.
I normally steer clear of political discussions here on Lugnet, but this one
does seem to be a real discussion and not an argument.
What is the purpose of boycotting Chinese goods? I presume it would be to
force the Chinese Government to treat it’s citizens better.
I agree that China is a veritable sourcebook for illustrating Human Rights
Abuses, if you don’t agree, visit Tibet. Oh wait, you can’t get into Tibet,
point proven. Their stanglehold on local the media is lengendary. I don’t
believe their Government should be supported at all.
The question you have to ask is,”Who is a boycott going to hurt?”. The
Government of China? No way, China is shipping these goods into our nation,
at these prices, at OUR NATION’S REQUEST. This is what the political label
“Most Favored Trade Nation” means. (This title was bestowed upon the PRC by
the U.S. during the Clinton administration during some of PRC’s worst human
rights violations). The money the government makes on Import /Export Taxes
alone keeps the “Federal Govt.” afloat.
A boycott of Goods sold in America is only going to hurt the People of China
who are trying to produce goods (for almost zero pay) for our bloated
consumer society. If we are trying to force change in the people of China,
this would be a good way to do it.
I believe our problem with China lies with it’s government. The only way
to force change at this level is to operate on this international level
The reason all of our threats and declarations about China’s abuses fall on
deaf ears is because they know that no matter how mad we “pretend” to be,
the bottom line in the U.S. is still the almighty dollar. Our nation’s
economy now DEPEND’S on China’s ability to produce consumable goods for next
to nothing, so we can continue to spend our money on increasingly vapid ways
to live in our excesses.
If we want to affect real change on an international level, we are going to
have to give up a lot of the luxuries we have, like $5 slippers and $20
coffee makers. We are going to have to insist that the Bush administration
remove China’s ability to rely on us for it’s financial stability. If our
Government would step up and protect people, we wouldn’t have to try to.
This is an issue that goes beyond The PRC’s human rights abuses, and into
OUR abuse of world economy. We could stand up for the abused people of
China and Tibet, but the personal cost is too high for the average White,
Suburban, Driving to Starbucks in their SUV, American.
Jon Furman (Who is White, Suburban, and Hates Corporate Coffee)
Lugnet #1123
In lugnet.general, Greg Perry writes:
> I experienced two LEGO "firsts" a couple of weeks ago - I visited the local
> Zany Brainy store for the first time to check out their LEGO selection and
> while there I discovered the first sets that I had seen stamped with the
> words I cringe at, "MADE IN CHINA".
>
> Before proceeding, let me say that I am not any kind of strident political
> activist or anyone of any particular high morals or principles. However,
> avoiding items that are "MADE IN CHINA" is the one "protest" act that I
> actively pursue. This is mainly due to the proddings of my much-more-aware
> wife who's interests are more humanitarian and political. While I certainly
> see the problems inherent in a society that forces it's population to work
> under virtual "slave labor" conditions, for me the botton line is that
> products made in China are inevitably cheap, inferior crap.
>
> And to me, that's not what LEGO toys and products should be about.
>
> The two DUPLO sets I found at Zany Brainy that were "MADE IN CHINA" are
> http://guide.lugnet.com/set/3263 and http://guide.lugnet.com/set/3264.
> These Tez and Google creatures are abominations in and of themselves but
> that's a whole other rant that's been worked over many times in these forums.
>
> Obviously, these are not regular LEGO bricks and so perhaps that is the
> hair-splitting justification TLC has for farming out the manufacturing to
> China. It does make me wonder though if LEGO is making non-Brick/System
> pieces in China how much longer will it be before they move ALL their
> manufacturing there? And what's that going to mean for the overall quality
> of their products? (at this point I could launch into another old favorite
> and start lamenting about the fact that newer bricks don't seem to connect
> together as well as old ones do, etc.)
>
> At this point I'll end with a couple of questions and comments for my fellow
> LEGO-loving fans:
>
> - Does anyone know how prevalent LEGO's use of China based manufacturing is
> at the moment? Anyone familiar with other TLC products made there? (I'm
> guessing at least some of the LEGOLand souvenir stuff is made there). For
> all I know LEGO may have been making things in China for years.
>
> - Am I just being jingo-istic (and euro-centric) in thinking that if LEGO
> products across the board begin to be made in China that there will be an
> overall reduction in quality?
>
> - Does anyone think LEGO is the kind of company that would NOT move to China
> if people raised a stink about it? Or do you think that they'll just be
> more concerned with the bottom line - especially considering their earnings
> reports from the last couple of years?
>
> Anyway, I've been wanting to vent my mild frustration and dismay at
> discovering LEGO products were now being MADE IN CHINA. Wouldn't surprise
> me to find out that no one else gives a brick but hey, that's the great
> thing about the Internet - any crackpot can moan, grumble and whine about
> any old thing they want. But where there's one crank there's usually at
> least one more...
>
> So there's my BotW.
>
> Greg
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