Re: Microcosm of America, HBO's "Schmatta" documentary
Anonymous
On Mon, 02 Nov 2009, "Irish Mike" <ad7...@webnntp.invalid> wrote:
>Just watched the HBO documentary, "Schmatta, Rags to Riches to Rags" which
>shows the rise and fall of New York City's garment district. Now all I
>know about fashion is limited to the pages of the LL Bean & Brooks
>Brothers catalogs. I might have walked through the garment district once
>or twice during business trips to New York but that's it.
>
>But the woes of the garment district seemed to reflect the sad state of
>the American economy. The garment district was once the biggest employer
>in New York city and the road from poverty to middle class for hundreds of
>thousands of Jewish, Italian and later Latino immigrants. And the garment
>district labor unions were a major political force.
>
>In the 1950s about 90% of the clothing worn by Americans was made in New
>York's garment district and a skilled cutter, tailor or pattern maker
>never had to worry about finding work. They could literally quit one
>company in the morning and have another job with another company by the
>afternoon.
>
>But then things began to change and more and more work was sent out of the
>country to be done by ultra cheap foreign labor. By 1995, only 50% of the
>clothing worn by Americans was made in America. By 2009, only 5% of the
>clothing worn by Americans was made in America. New York's garment
>district had lost an estimated 750,000 jobs.
>
>The saddest thing about the documentary were the interviews with the
>unemployed workers and bankrupt small business owners. These are highly
>skilled, experienced people who love the garment industry and really want
>to work. But the American jobs are gone. And to these people, a job is
>more than just a pay check. It is a matter of pride, purpose and
>self-worth,
>
>Irish Mike
>
I haven't seen the documentary, but I hope they covered the
sweatshops, starvation wages, capitalistic enslavement, company
stores, fires, rampant corruption, crime, and so forth. So it
really depends on your point of view. For example, most people
around the world, myself included, count it as a justified thing
that "America" is collapsing on all fronts and is headed for the
bottom of the sea. A lot of bad karma, man. Looks like those
chickens are coming home to roost. Never was an evil nation more
deserving of destruction than your "United States of America."
It may be difficult for you "Americans" to realize this. But
not everyone in this world is a big fan of your so called "USA."
It is with some irony that your politicians and captains of
industry are doing most of the things that are helping to bring
down your empire. Your "US" military isn't helping out either.
They, and your corrupt politicians and captains of industry, are
hated around the world. And I don't mean "maybe!" Billions of
people absolutely hate your greedy, arrogant, Godless, genocidal,
antichrist "US" terrorist global cabal like there's no tommorow.
"What, us?" "How could anybody hate us?," you "Americans" say.
You're getting what's coming to you, "America." So you might
as well face that fact and move on with your lives. "America" is
a thing of the past. And your corrupt bankers, lawyers, judges,
politicians, military, and captains of industry are the ones you
can thank the most for it. And thank yourselves too for having
supported them along the way to your graves.
The Juwes are
the men that
Will not
be Blamed
for nothing
-W.W. Gull