#exploitation cw

[flowercrowncrip]

I know very little about journalism, but I am a bit surprised that “popular Sea Shanty band being investigated for modern slavery offences” isn’t a bigger headline in the UK right now. It just seems like the sort of thing more people would be talking about?

[whisperthatruns]

It’s Not Like Nikola Tesla Knew All of Those People Were Going to Die

Everyone wants to write about god but no one wants to imagine their god   as the finger trembling inside a grenade pin’s ring or the red vine of blood coughed into a child’s palm   while they cradle the head of a dying parent. Few things are more dangerous than a man   who is capable of dividing himself into several men, each of them with a unique river of desire   on their tongues. It is also magic to pray for a daughter and find yourself with an endless march of boys   who all have the smile of a motherfucker who wronged you and never apologized. No one wants to imagine their god   as the knuckles cracking on a father watching their son picking a good switch from the tree and certainly   no one wants to imagine their god as the tree. Enough with the foolishness of hope and how it bruises   the walls of a home where two people sit, stubbornly in love with the idea of staying. If one must pray, I imagine   it is most worthwhile to pray towards endings. The only difference between sunsets and funerals   is whether or not a town mistakes the howls of a crying woman for madness.

Hanif Abdurraqib, Poetry Magazine

[candycoatedemoboy]

you have to be a certain kind of evil to exploit tragedy by hacking into the phones of people such as bombing victims, parents of murdered children and families of deceased soldiers

[gravesung]

i think... chiaki moved away and became a trainee at like 14/15, and debuted at 17/18..... was with her first girl group for maybe 2 years before they disbanded, and she was rebuilt as a solo act with the intention of forming a new group whenever the right people came into play. part of her theming is always "you were too young." whether it's her first boyfriend being too old for her, or having to get into jujutsu sorcery when she just wanted to go to high school and feel normal, or losing the opportunity for a social life from fifteen yrs old to become an idol trainee. part of the doll theming.... commodity.... auuurhghghg

[songandflame-archived]

Talk about Fantine's childhood maybe? Did she make any connections or did anyone help her, even if she doesn't remember it?

@reverdies || thank you!

Ooh! I think Fantine was lucky in the regards that, while most people did not make an attempt to ouright adopt her, whether it be due to personal reasons such as lack of space or money — especially for those already in poverty — there was already a community formed amongst the poverty stricken. Those in the upper rungs of society never graced the areas of town in which Fantine ran barefoot with children in similar circumstances to her. Even if someone wealthier did come across her, Fantine was not worth their time or attention.

The poor had to be selfish to survive, no-one could blame them for that, but Fantine can remember those who gave her what they could (after their share, of course). Often, older women would take pity on the motherless child, clothing and feeding Fantine before sending her on her way. Although not educated, she could take advantage of an exploitative child labour; it was not well paid work, nor was it safe, but it allowed her a roof over her head and at least a meal whilst in various employ. Of course, as she grew older and became taller, she became unviable in that line of work, causing her to seek out other work such as farm work.

To have managed to survive infancy as she did, she must have had various people help her when they could; perhaps a woman who had lost a child and therefore cared for Fantine like her own. Honestly, Fantine can barely remember her earliest years. What she does remember is keeping those around her at an arm's length, trying to navigate the society she had been born into whilst simultaneously surviving by following unwritten rules.

In hindsight, it benefitted her that she should be a girl; most pitied her more so for nothing other than she was a young girl. Yet, there were times she wished nothing more than to be a boy— most employers preferred boys over girls, and there were times that unsavoury people would try to exploit her for more sinister purposes. However, when that happened, she would often be intercepted by an older, more streetwise woman who protected her from the consequences of exploitation. That stayed with her, most noticeably when she eventually did find herself working the streets and she made an effort to protect younger, more vulnerable girls.

[gwest650]

Lately I’ve been thinking that resilient is a dirty word. It’s a word that seems like a compliment, but it’s also a word that excuses the circumstances that led to resilience. It’s a word that does not assign accountability. You’re resilient, so nothing I hurl at you can break you.

The Door Ajar [x]