qfnol31 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/world/asia/foxconn-worker-difficulties/index.html With these reports of poor working conditions coming out of China, do we have an obligation to boycott Apple products? Here is a company with vast resources, but they still choose to send their jobs overseas where workers endure long hours and terrible conditions. I realize that the plants Apple uses may not be the worst culprits, but they have the best chance of instituting major changes and they haven't done so. So, what are your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle_eye222001 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I think this situation has plus and minus room. It seems that the moral obligation to boycott a company is if a company directly supports an intrinsic evil. Planned Parenthood is a gimmie, but for those familiar with Home Depot, they quite loudly support gay rights. Unless you really didn't have a choice, I would argue you shouldn't purchase anything there. Your talking about Apple. Hmmmm. Maybe it depends on exactly how bad the situation is. Any stats on it? I would be sympathetic to boycotting Apple, especially since it does not deliver a product, you directly need to survive. Whether to boycott or not may also depend on what other issues are going on with other companies. If we boycott Apple, then to be consistent you should boycott that does the same evil deeds or worse. So, are there other companies that do the same thing but don't get near the attention for a variety of reasons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominicansoul Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 we should just boycott China Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 It took me halfway through the first post (without having read the link) to realize that you meant Apple the gizmo company, and not apple, the fruit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggyie Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) when I read the New York Times expose on this I felt self-satisfied that I do not own any Apple products, not even an Ipod. However then I realized I was a hypocrite because I was reading the article on a Dell computer. Dell workers also have hellish work lives. I still liked the articles because they help puncture the Steve Jobs hero-worship stuff. Steve Jobs knew how these people lived making his toys and he didn't care. The fact is tons of American companies exploit the desperate people living under today's autocratic governments. This has been going on for decades. So many Americans don't ask questions they simply buy as cheap as possible. Just imagine how different Apple's business plan would have to be if the workers in China were free to form labor unions. This is what pure capitalism looks like without any brakes applied by government regulation. Boycotting just one company won't make a difference, we need to show solidarity on a broader scale. We need to demand that our leaders hold China's feet to the fire on human rights. We need to strengthen international law when it comes to working conditions and the dignity of labor. ETA: brakes not breaks... sigh Edited February 7, 2012 by Maggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qfnol31 Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'll try to respond to these in greater depth later, but the big difference between Apple and every other tech company is the amount of wealth they have brought in. They just made $14,000,000,000 in pure profit. Before this last quarter they had somewhere around $88,000,000,000 in cash reserves somewhere. The company as a whole has the ability to do something about the current employee situation and they haven't, though they do put a minuscule amount of wealth into environmental issues and just now started matching employee donations, but overall it's a curmudgeonly place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus_lol Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I own an ipod because Apple is the only game in town for a large (80-160gb) mp3 player, thats it. If Creative or Zune were still active in that market i would buy one in an instant. I will never own an Apple computer, and i dont particularily care about the ethics of the corporation. Microsoft has done some lame things too. but i wont buy an apple computer because they are ridiculously overpriced for sub par performance. I am not such a hipster as to spend 2000$ on a fancy mac that can have its arse handed to it by my 700$ PC lappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 i definitely agree with Maggie, boycotting just one company won't make a difference...and, sometimes it is not possible to boycott certain products. writing letters to companies may be more helpful. also i do think that along with speaking out, we should boycott chinese apples whenever possible except for golden delicious and gala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 [quote name='Seven77' timestamp='1328583120' post='2382805'] i definitely agree with Maggie, boycotting just one company won't make a difference...and, sometimes it is not possible to boycott certain products. writing letters to companies may be more helpful. also i do think that along with speaking out, we should boycott chinese apples whenever possible except for golden delicious and gala [/quote] The best Galas come from BC anyway. At least when they're in season. The rest of the time they get a bit soggy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus_lol Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 The best things in life come from BC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Jesus_lol' timestamp='1328583552' post='2382809'] The best things in life come from BC. [/quote] True story. All from Vancouver. Edited February 7, 2012 by Lil Red ponies belong in the lame board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papist Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Ugh ponies [img]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/stacmck/Smileys/th_facepalm2.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 [quote name='Papist' timestamp='1328584555' post='2382817'] Ugh ponies [img]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/stacmck/Smileys/th_facepalm2.gif[/img] [/quote] SHADDAP PARASPRITE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie-Therese Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I hate anything branded Apple. I have an old ipod that I bought years ago because it was supposed to be such a great machine (I think its a 1st gen nano). Fact is, I think it su[acronym=''][/acronym]cks. The sound quality is total crapola. It forces you to be a total slave to Apple software. My daughter has a macbook that was issued by her school district as part of a grant program they won. Other than the fact that it's a computer that cost me only the insurance on it, if I had my druthers, I'd be giving her a PC to use instead. I used it a few times and I was completely underwhelmed. And I'm very fond of the products of the fair province of British Columbia, myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I like Apples. and apples the fruit too. is Apple the frue-it of the devil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now