Sometimes I'm not sure if I really trust my moral compass...

So ... this is a conversation I had over brunch the other day.  There are times when I probably shouldn't let people know exactly what I'm thinking.

Me:  Are you all ready to go to Mexico?  You're going to have a great time!

Her:  Yeah ... if I can just survive long enough to actually go.  I've got so much to do before then.  Seriously, I need an assistant, someone who's willing to work for about fifty cents an hour. 

Him:  Well you do work with refugees and immigrants, if anyone has access to cheap labor, it's you. 

Her:  That's an awful thing to say!

Him:  Come on, are you saying you've never even considered it? 

Her:  Of course not!  What do you think I am? 

Me:  (mutters) Obviously not one to take advantage of the opportunities offered. 

Her:  I'm supposed to be HELPING them, not turning them into what pretty much equates to slave labor! 

Him:  But if you could, would you? 

Her:  ... 

Me:  I hate to admit it, but I might.  

Her:  ... 

Me:  I'm not saying that I'd do it, just that if things were different, if we lived in a world where slavery was considered "acceptable" ... I can't be sure exactly where my morals would fall. 

Her: ... 

Me:  I'd like to think I'd be all "Slavery is bad, m'kay?" but I know myself well enough to admit that, if the option was on the table and no one was going to judge me for it, I might. 

Her:  ... seriously!!! 

Me:  I said might. 

Him:  (shakes head sadly) Kellie, I'm very disappointed in you.

Me:  Oh, don't come across all holier than though.  I know for a fact that the only thing keeling you from committing cold blooded murder is that you wouldn't survive in jail. 

Him:  Touche. 

Her:  ... how are we even friends? 

I suppose it's lucky I don't live in a world where slavery is considered okay, I'm not sure if I really trust my moral compass.

Harry Potter and the Fair Trade Controversy...

I think most of you already know my opinion on human slavery.  In fact, some of you may remember back a few months ago when I made us all feel like awful human beings by showing us what our slavery footprint was.

Yeah, sorry about that.

But the reason I'm bringing it up again isn't to make you all feel horrendously guilty, it's to tell you all about something that the Harry Potter Alliance are currently trying to do.

Okay, I can hear you all saying "Wait up, the Harry Potter Alliance?  What is that, some sort of role playing game?"

Well possibly, I don't know what they do in their spare time, but the HPA is a charitable group of Harry Potter fans who work together to raise money for different causes.  Just to give you an idea of the scope of what they've managed to accomplish, they raised enough money to charter and fill five planes with things to send over to Haiti back when all the trouble was happening.  Seriously, FIVE WHOLE CARGO PLANES!

Consider it a lesson in never underestimating a bunch of nerds when it comes to getting shit done.

But recently the HPA has turned it's attention to child slavery, specifically in the manufacturing of chocolate.  They wanted to find out if Warner Brothers was using Fair Trade chocolate in its Harry Potter merchandise, so they sent them a letter to ask.

The reply they got was that, yes, Warner Brother did use non-slavery chocolate in their goods as per their ethical sourcing guidelines.  However, when the HPA checked with an external organisation that specialises in assessing organisations for things like this, they were told that WB actually received a failing grade when it came to using Fair Trade chocolate.

Hmm, sounds a bit suspicious, doesn't it.

When the HPA took this news back to Warner Brothers, they were told that WB had done their own report and that they were satisfied with the results of it, but when the HPA asked to see a copy of it, they refused.

Even more suspicious.

So now HPA has started a petition to try and get Warner Brothers to show a copy of this report that they claim to have.  Go have a read and if you agree that it all seems a bit fishy, feel free to sign it.

Personally, I think things like this are incredibly important.  It's one thing if a company chooses to use chocolate that isn't Fair Trade, but to say yours is when external groups are saying it isn't, and then to refuse to show the evidence you supposedly have, well that's quite frankly reprehensible.

I have enough human slavery bad karma all of my own, Warner Brothers, I don't need to be drawn in as an unwitting participant in yours too.

Slavery isn't good, mkay...

Today I learned something rather disturbing.  Apparently I have 25 slaves working for me.

It's weird, I know can be pretty careless with my budget from time to time but you'd think I'd remember buying that many human beings.  Maybe it was another late night eBay debacle?

But according to this site, that's how many slaves work for me, and who am I to argue.  After all, I answered their questionnaire, went through the whole rigmarole, and they gave me an honest answer.  I can hardly hold them responsible when I can't handle the truth.

It doesn't seems fair, though, that I apparently own all these slaves and I don't get any of the perks one would assume comes with illegal slave ownership.  Where's the scantily clad beautiful boys feeding me peeled grapes and fanning me with a palm leaf?  Where's the bevy of nubile young things catering to my every whim while wearing togas?

Sorry, all my ideas of slavery were stolen from old Mel Brooks films.

But seriously, I have to admit that the results disturbed me.  Apparently I'm below the average, which sits at 38, but even so 25 seems like an awful lot to me.

The survey was kind enough to tell me what parts of my lifestyle had the biggest impact on my ranking, and apparently those were my car, my gaming console, my body wash, my make up concealer, and my hair conditioner.  While most of these things are what I'd consider essentials (well, excluding the games console of course), it does bring up an interesting point.

Just because I need these things, doesn't mean I can't make an effort to make sure that the products I'm buying are as slavery-friendly as possible.  In some cases it's obviously more difficult, such as when  slavery is used to produce or mine the raw materials that are then used to produce the goods.  But that shouldn't excuse me from looking for alternatives.

Or at the very least, if the products I own are manufactured by slave labour surely I owe it to the people who made them to be aware of it.

So go check it out for yourself and see if your ranking comes back as better than mine.  Who knows, you might learn something along the way.  I know I did.