this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] Allonzee@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago

Ah yes, more of that voluntary nature of capitalism they like to crow about.

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 78 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

This can happen because, while slavery was abolished in 1865, the 13th amendment has a big loophole that carves out an exception to allow forced labor as a form of punishment - although 4 states recently rejected it.

In other words, McDonald's is a slaver. If you don't agree with slavery, don't patronize McDonald's.

I’m somewhat confused since one of the four states cited as rejecting it is Alabama, which is also the state this article is based in. What gives?

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Gotta say.....I didn't have McDonalds slavery on my 2024 bingo card.

Then again, these past 8 years have been basically the bingo card says "fuck it, free space, anything goes" for every space.

We had a sub called the titanic, who was searching for the titanic, which sank like the titanic.

We had a national state champions basketball team get invited to the white house for a celebatory dinner, only to be served several hour cold mcdonalds.

We had a billionaire attempt to rescue some trapped miners, only for him to change his mind and call everyone pedophiles. All because it was decided that the billionaires plans weren't the best.

Planking existed.

People bought images as NFTs, despite nobody seemingly knowing what that even means.

Roe V Wade was overturned

Covfefe.

A microsoft representitive smashed a plane of glass over a reporters head over critisms that they broke windows with Windows 11 controversial features.

Russia is now on day 900+ of it's 3 day special military operation.

The president in an official debate proclaimed we've defeated medicare.

A former president in a different debate claimed Ohio immigrants are eating peoples pets.

Some douche bought twitter, disregarded all brand name value, changed the name to X, told advertisers that boycotting X to go fuck themselves, and then tried starting a conspiracy theory that the worlds elite (as if he's not the highest among the elite) were running child trafficing rings out of pizza parlors across the united states, and then months later questioned why X had no advertisers. He also changed the blue check mark so it no longer verified anything, and cost money. Then he charged people with a blue check mark to hide the blue check mark after it became a laughing stock.

I only made one of these up. See if you can spot it.

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I know which one it is but I won't spoil it. I know because I was like "wait what, that would definitely have been on the news and everyone at work would have been talking about it." I work with that company quite a bit.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

But as far as absurdity, given other events, it seems like something that fits in, and COULD happen, right?

Yep. My first thought wasn't "No way" it was "I need to look that up". It was only your disclaimer at the end that made me realize. :)

[–] Eric_Pollock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 6 days ago (2 children)

So if working at McDonald's is now a form of punishment... What's that saying about the job itself even if you are being paid?

At what point can you be paid a low enough wage to where you're essentially working at McDonald's as a punishment for existing? Very weird standard their setting with this decision...

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Not to mention, do you really want to eat somewhere where the food is prepared by people with a grudge? Because let me tell you, if I was forced to work anywhere for free, I'd do my best to botch the job six ways to Sunday.

[–] dessimbelackis@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Ya this is like the Nazis using forced labour for wartime factories. Sabotage is inevitable

[–] Sabata11792@ani.social 2 points 6 days ago

That's not mayo...

[–] Sauerkraut@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Reminds me of "Arbeit macht frei" (work will set you free). -.-

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

What's that saying about the job itself even if you are being paid?

The whole term "minimum wage" sort of means "you know we'd give you even less and treat you even worse, but we'd get into trouble"

[–] Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

ADOC transports dozens of incarcerated people per day to jobs at government agencies and private businesses around Alabama, including KFC, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s franchises. ADOC also delivers inmates to meatpacking plants run by companies like Koch Foods and Gemstone Foods

Don't leave out the rest

[–] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 49 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Slave Labor is CONSTITUTIONAL! Besides if Americans DIDNT like Slave Labor they wouldn't eat at McDonalds!

[–] anachronist@midwest.social 3 points 6 days ago

Yeah the 13th amendment has a carve-out for prisoners

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIqNjC1RKU

[–] Sauerkraut@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 days ago

Welp, I am never eating at McDonald's ever again. I'm going to give up all minimum wage food chains while I am at it. Wage slavery makes me lose my appetite.

[–] Shameless@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is this also a consequence of allowing prisons to be privately owned?

I could totally understand a government owned prison, using prison labor for federal departments such as maintenance and landscaping etc.

As awful as this is, private prisons abusing loopholes as a way to make evem more profits, its hardly surprising

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Privately owned prisons are a small fraction of prisons. This is just a broken system.

[–] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

No, no, this is the system working as intended.

Every capitalists dream labor force is an unpaid one.

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 1 points 6 days ago

Every capitalist's dream labor is the one you could get in a German labor camp during WWII: an endless supply of people that can be worked to death.

[–] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

When I did time in 2005 I worked at a cemetery weed-eating for 24 dollars a month. My cellmate worked at the courthouse as a custodian, and some worked at a factory. I can't call it slavery because we were paid, and not whipped, but it is definitely exploitation

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 35 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

24 dollars a month. [...] we were paid

10c an hour. I can totally see how this is not slave labor.

I'll tell you what made it slave labor: could you quit that job?

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

I want to take up his point. It's much more like medieval serfdom than slavery. Such as:

  • Shit salary instead of no salary.
  • Can't me sold.
  • Has rights (more than a slave, less than a free man)

Although serfs were bound to the land unlike US prisoners where they can be transferred from location to location.

[–] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yes, but I lost privileges

[–] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 days ago

So, you get punished if you quit. That makes it not voluntary.

[–] dexa_scantron@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Forced labor is still slavery even if you're paid and not whipped.

All labor is slavery in a system that doesn't allow the laborer to keep the value they create.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 week ago
[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Seems like a natural extension of using prison laborers to farm the cattle for their hamburgers.

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 1 points 4 days ago

We got to bump up those numbers till it's just the C-suite and investors that aren't prisoners in this chain

[–] bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net 6 points 6 days ago

Tax evasion with extra steps!

[–] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 5 points 6 days ago

This isn’t news, the Hamburgler has been doing work-release there for over 30 years.