Thursday, October 20, 2005 - We are all prostitutes

I was watching the excellent ' American experience' documentary series on Public TV a couple of days ago, unlike the UK, US  television is sadly lacking in documentaries apart from a few aired for the most part on Public TV, The History Channel and few others. The specific program was called ' Two Days in October' http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/index.html and was a juxtaposition between an ambush on an American army unit in Vietnam and police brutality on the University of Wisconsin campus, some of  whose students were demonstrating  against on-campus recruiting by Dow chemical, the manufacturer of Napalm. The show focused on both events and switched back and forth  whilst unfolding both stories and I highly recommend it.

 After the show finished I decided to look  up Dow Chemical Company on the internet, I'm not sure what to say,  however if they ever make a movie where the evil corporation is the villain ,  Dow would be a perfect fit.

 In addition to everyday products we  are all familiar with such as Saran wrap and Ziploc bags,  Dow  also make, made or own  the following;

 Napalm : a mixture of petrol and a chemical thickner which produces a tough sticky gel that attaches itself to the skin. The igniting agent, white phosphorus, continues burning for a considerable amount of time. A reported three quarters of all napalm victims in Vietnam were burned through to the muscle and bone (fifth degree burns). The pain caused by the burning is so traumatic that it often causes death.

Agent Orange -  a defoliant used in Vietnam, which has had a litany of lawsuits from army veterans.

Silicone breast implants - cancer, lupus, immune problems

 Union Carbide, purchased after the Bhopal disaster in India which killed approx. 22,000 people.

 Don't get me wrong I'm not on a political crusade, or trying to be morally superior, my previous job was selling military power supplies which went into fighter planes, tanks, missiles etc. I would have moments where I would question what I was contributing with my career, even though the power suppy component was little more than the size of a fuse in your car relative to the overall weapon, but still an integral part of the system.

 Many years ago when I was a punk rocker in the UK there was a  popular T-shirt which had Maggie Thatchers face on it and the phrase ' We are all Prostitutes'.

Would I turn down a $20K, $50K, $100K, $200K, $300K job for Dow Chemical Corp, even if it meant making, selling or distributing a material which burns the flesh off  fellow human beings ? Would you? What is your price? Are we all prostitutes?