An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

The reality of the American culture really hit me after being enlightened about the Apple working conditions in China. I am well aware that today it's all about the next best thing and getting everything at a fast speed, but I cannot believe the lengths that our companies are willing to go to in order to uphold this standard. Our greed for products no matter the harsh working conditions makes me think that we could be even worse than the Europeans in Heart of Darkness. Obviously Apple isn't going around killing anybody like the Europeans did, but Apple has been lying to costumers by refusing to stick to the quality of work that they agreed to. To make matters even worse, Apple's greed continues even though it is the greatest company in the world. It shocks me that Apple hasn't focused on using some of its profit to stop these reoccurring factory accidents. I was most disappointed by the ineffective audits at the Apple companies. The audits have been finding the same dangerous conditions for years, and these auditors should never let offenses slide, no matter who the company is.

I think that most people are blind to the extent of the violent conditions that workers are enduring. However, unlike Marlow's aunt, we have ways to find out about the business that is going on overseas. I know that it is going to be hard to get the world to overlook Apple's successes and motivate the people to help. I must admit that I plan to upgrade my iPhone to an iPhone 4 for my birthday, and it would be very difficult for me to sacrifice my phone for a cause that I have never seen with my own eyes. I think the best approach is to spread the tragic stories of workers such as Lai Xiaodong, who lost their lives in Apple factories. Describing the conditions will not reach Americans the way that personal stories of unfortunate Chinese workers will. 

Comments

[dan r]

I completely agree with you about our greed for technology. We know where it comes from but we feel that as long as it isn't happening in the U.S. then it doesn't effect us. Going against the Apple company is like losing automatically due to the fact that they are such a large and powerful company. Greed is based upon ignorance and blidness and that is the main problem with America as a whole.