Recovered from the Wayback Machine.
We all know that there’s no fucking way in the world we should have microwave ovens and refrigerators and TV sets and everything else at the prices we’re paying for them. […] You want to “fix things in China,” well, it’s gonna cost you. Because everything you own, it’s all done on the backs of millions of poor people whose lives are so awful you can’t even begin to imagine them, people who will do anything to get a life that is a tiny bit better than the shitty one they were born into, people who get exploited and treated like shit and, in the worst of all cases, pay with their lives.
(quote via Simon Willison)
We’re still hearing more details about a young man killing himself in China because of a missing iPhone prototype, and the subsequent accusations against him. Fake Steve Jobs hit the issue right on the head with biting satire, as he writes about our willingness, or lack of willingness, to pay a little more for something in order to ensure good working conditions for the workers.
There will be lots of condemnation among the social media: blog posts, and Twitter trends, and shaking of virtual heads. Avatars will get colored, icons posted, hash marks used. Solidarity!
The same folks making the most noise, though, will most likely be the first in line at Apple to buy that iPhone when it comes out. Stand in line, and blog, Twit, Book, Space their experience. Because, let’s face it, and I’m sure Fake Steve would agree: it’s a lot easier to dye your avatar green, than to make a lifestyle change that will make a real difference.
I find it ironic that as this story is being discussed, a report comes out about Apple’s record profits, primarily due to the iPhone.