Appropriating the
term “slaves” froma
modern perspective

> Trivializing the exploitation of millions

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

(Authors note: This article describes the
very serious and horrible acts of people
being exploited. If you are particularly
sensitive to hearing about abuse, you
might want to not read this one.)

lavery is the concept of owning other

people as property and using them
for unpaid labour. It is quite literally
treating others as sub-human, and
is almost universally condemned in
modern society. While the most well-
known example of slavery in North
American society involved black people
being exploited by white people in the
1600-18008, it has been widely practiced
throughout history world-wide.

While slavery is often thought of as
archaic, it continues to be implemented
in some form across the globe today,
despite being illegal in every country.

In fact, there are more people in slavery
today than ever before due to population
expansion. The majority of the estimated
30 million slaves today are in developing
countries, particularly India and

China. However, human trafficking,

Ambiguity in the M-103 proposal

globalization, and exploitation of
displaced persons or immigrants
ensures that is not only a problem in
the developing world. Thousands of
people in countries like Canada, the
US, or the UK still experience slavery.

While all slavery is absolutely
horrible, particularly heinous is the issue
of sexual slavery. Many slaves today are
kept for the purpose of being sexually
abused or forced into prostitution, and
this includes children. Many slaves are
sexually abused in addition to other
dangerous and painful work. It is one
of the most brutal, dehumanising,
cruel lives a person can live.

There are two punk groups
from the US and UK called Slaves
(the American stylizing the name as
SLAVES.) Explaining their name, the
American singer Jonny Craig said “Men
have been enslaving men for as long as
we've had gods to hide behind. Every
man is a slave to what we love—whether
it be women, drugs, music, or sports.
Through art, we are all equals.”

I'm sure that Craig did not intend
his band’s name to minimize the
seriousness of millions around the world
being stripped of human rights. Jonny’s
defence of the name comes from a place

> Compromises essential to freedoms

Colten Kamlade
Senior Columnist

 

here has been a surprising lack of

conversation about the recent “anti-
Islamophia” motion that was proposed
by Liberal MP Iqra Khalid. Among other
things, M-103 states that the government
should “condemn Islamophobia and all
forms of systemic racism and religious
discrimination.” The Conservatives, as
well as some Liberals, have been hesitant
to pass this motion. Their concern is that
the word “Islamophobia” is too vague,
and therefore open to interpretation.

On one hand, the wording matters.
Members of parliament should know
exactly what they are voting on. People
complain that the Conservatives are
bogging down a process that should
be simple. I don’t believe that’s true.
Islamophobia is an ambiguous

word and is often used unfairly
to silence legitimate criticism. In
response to M-103, the conservatives
put forward a similar motion that
removed the word “Islamophobia.” The
intent was not to exclude Islam, but to
eliminate ambiguity and avoid giving
the religion preferential treatment.
The conservative motion explicitly
denounces discrimination against
Islamic people. When asked why they
turned down the alternative motion,

the Liberals responded by saying that
the “wording matters.” This is true,
which is why M-103 should not contain
words with unclear definitions.
On the other hand, M-103 is not
a bill, which means it will not become
law. If the motion is passed, from a legal
standpoint it cannot restrict anyone’s
right to freedom of speech. A committee
will be formed to discuss solutions
to religiously- and racially-motivated
crimes. Some members of parliament are
still worried, however, that this motion
is the first step in an attempt to stifle
critics of Islam. I am not above such
concerns. It is not difficult to change the
wording of the motion, and the fact that
the Liberals are unwilling to make such
slight alterations alarms me. Perhaps I’m
being paranoid, but when it comes to my
rights, I don’t mind being overprotective.
I would like to stress that I agree
with the principles advanced in
M-103. Eliminating discrimination is
a commendable endeavour, and I fully
support a revised motion. However,
as it stands, M-103 is too ambiguous,
and I can’t support something if I
don’t know precisely what it means. I
sincerely hope that the two parties can
see past their differences on this issue.
Surely, we can agree on cultivating a
culture that condemns violence and
discrimination in all its forms.

 

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of privilege, and denies the systemic
racism and abuse that contributes to
slavery. Slavery has an extremely racist
and sexist history, which continues to
dominate in its role today. Trivializing
the millions of people—particularly
women and people of colour—being
brutally exploited under violent threat
is not something one can defend.

It is true that “slave” is often used
ina less serious definition than the

Liberal MP Iqra Khalid

one million
slaves worldwide

 

original meaning. We're probably all
guilty of making jokes about being
slaves to our low-paying, less-than-
satisfactory jobs. But earning minimum
wage at Starbucks is a lot different than
regularly being beaten, starved, and
dehumanized while working hard labour
for no money. Calling yourself a “slave”
to your love for craft beer is different
from being a stateless child shipped off
in a crate to be sexually abused for profit.

Photo of Iqra Khalid via thestar.com