[*BCM*] Fair Trade Bike Frames & Components?

[Jym Dyer]

> I don't believe that I should boycott products that are made
> in other countries, simply because the workers are willing
> to work for less money.

=v= The word "willing" is an often false presupposition, and
indeed, half the issue right there.  Another half is of course
the environment.  There is forced slave labor and child labor
involved, authoritarian societies that pawn off the maintenance
of poverty as "living wages," and wholesale destruction of the
planet's natural resources.

=v= Many Americans fought and died for some very basic labor
rights, and many of us continue in (and some, murdered for)
the struggle for our environment.  The struggles have served
as a beacon for much of the world -- far more than glib lies
about how wonderful it is to exploit cheap labor and lax (or
nonexistent) environmental laws.  It is not "spoiled" to want
some time to ourselves, a living wage, and an unpoisoned place
to live and breathe.
    <_Jym_>