Big Bang Theory

I can't imagine anyone's watching The Big Bang Theory and not finding it extremely funny.  It's a good show that occasionally makes viewers aware of what's new and exciting in scientific fields and introduces viewers to some of the great thinkers of our generation.  You can probably guess, though, that I don't want to talk about any of that.  Instead I want to talk about how in one episode that I watched recently (a re-run, I'm pretty sure) Penny mentions how she got a great manicure at a store that she thinks was a front for human trafficking.  Once the joke was said and laughed at, the conversation moved on and human trafficking wasn't referenced again.  Penny's saying that she got a great manicure, pausing, and then saying that she thinks the store was a front for human trafficking was, indeed, funny.  If any of the characters said the same thing it would still have been funny.  In fact, if any character in any show said the same thing the joke might still have been funny. 

My first question is why someone's saying, "I got this great manicure at this place... and I think it's a front for human trafficking," is funny.  My second question is whether or not a popular TV show's bringing up the joke is good or bad. 

First of all, we all have to acknowledge that our society jokes about a good number of things that perhaps we should not joke about.  For many of us, though, these jokes are what keep us sane.  If we were not able to joke about the state of our government, about Catholic priests, about consumerism, etc. many of us would find this world way too depressing to survive.  Jokes and laughter are survival mechanisms, no question.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that, either.  We need to be able to joke about the awful things in our world or we won't survive.

I've talked a lot, in private conversations, about the tendency some kids and even adults have in making bets or jokes that essentially are, "blah blah blah, and be my slave for a week."  I don't know if that really constitutes a joke or anything so we have to be really careful with that type of language.  Yet if we are joking around and don't mean anything by it, then we have to ask ourselves why we joke about slavery and human trafficking.  If we laugh at and make these jokes and bets because there's something inherently funny about slavery to us, then we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves, as Ice Cube would say.  Sometimes we grow up thinking certain things are funny and we have no idea why.  That's okay... as long as we become aware that some things we grew up thinking are funny are not at all acceptable. 

Ultimately, though, there's nothing inherently funny in slavery, and working out a joke about slavery that is funny requires more work than it's worth, so why do it?  I still can't decide if The Big Bang Theory intended to raise awareness about human trafficking or if they were just taking advantage of a situation to make a funny.  And that's the thing: intention is key.  If we make jokes about human trafficking just to be funny then we are essentially arguing that there is something inherently funny about slavery when in fact there isn't.  Just because human trafficking exists and is out there doesn't mean we can or should take advantage of it as a comedic situation. 

On the other hand, if we insert jokes about human trafficking with the intention of raising awareness, then of course we're doing a good work.  Yet if that's the case, we have to be careful.  The fact that millions of people who might not have known about human trafficking now do because of a throw-away joke by Penny in The Big Bang Theory is a positive step, but there are some issues: some people may have missed it, or not understood the joke precisely because they don't know what human trafficking is; there was still no indication of why anyone should care about human trafficking.  Penny seemed a little upset and nothing more.  The whole situation would have been different if Penny had gone on to say, "Now I'm upset about this manicure.  I shouldn't give money to traffickers.  I should tell the authorities."  More jokes could have been made that also outlined the appropriate emotions and actions to take in such a situation.  Then millions of viewers would have certainly got a good education about human trafficking that they otherwise would not have received.

You know, at the end of the day, what I'm trying to say is that little comments like the one Penny made can make a huge difference.  It's entirely possible now that many people think it's acceptable and funny to joke about human trafficking for no good reason, and in addition think that it's not their business to care about human trafficking as an evil in our world, and in addition think that it's okay to take advantage of the services of trafficked persons.  It could have been possible, on the other hand, to educate millions of people on how to think and feel and act about human trafficking to make this a better world to live in and, because it's a popular comedy show, they wouldn't have even really noticed that they were receiving such an education.  It's possible that The Big Bang Theory did a positive thing simply by mentioning human trafficking, but the joke as it was relied far too heavily on uneducated viewers to understand why the show did a good thing. 

We all of us need to keep our eyes and ears open for such references of human trafficking so that we can point them out and talk about them when others do not, and so that we can avoid making the same mistake that The Big Bang Theory made.

Idle Hands

There's a lot that I could write about idle hands.  You know that saying, idle hands are the devil's tools, or whatever the saying is.  I find that to be mostly true and particularly relevant to human trafficking.  But right now I'm not going to go into that.  Instead I'm going to take a more circuitous route and talk about how wasting our time with ridiculous things harms the fight against human trafficking. 

For if you have idle hands, you probably aren't using your time wisely.  This is something that I know a whole lot about, especially recently.  Fortunately I don't think that I do a whole lot of mischief in any form when I have idle hands.  I do, however, play a lot of stupid on-line games when I have idle hands.  That and I read a lot about sports.  Of course there are times in our life when we need to unwind and calm ourselves, at which time playing games and reading about or following sports can be healthy, if not downright necessary.  At what point, though, do our idle hands grow addicted to such mindless activity?

I don't have the answer to that question.  All I know is that it's a necessary question: when our idle hands addict us to mindless, useless activities (80% of what we do on Facebook, Pinterest, ESPN, etc. is mindless and absolutely useless), we quite obviously will have less time to do something productive.  By "productive" I don't necessarily mean that anything tangibly productive is happening.  Productive activities can include reading the news (real news, not ESPN) or surfing the Internet (on useful websites like Polaris Project or IJM) or chatting up a friend (friends in Congress especially).  Doing any one of these activities can be productive in many ways.  In terms of human trafficking, these activities can be productive in keeping ourselves aware of the latest updates on our journey to eradicating the world of slavery.  And I don't know how often I have to say it, even to myself, but awareness of what's going on is a major first step.  G.I. Joe knew what he was talking about.  All we have to do is transfer our mindless addictions to mindless productivity.  It doesn't take that much energy to read or chat.

I'm as much to blame as anyone.  I have never been all that good at keeping up with human trafficking bills before Congress, news stories, or recent investigations into human trafficking.  Lately I have been particularly bad about it, though, as my idle hands have diverted much of my time and energy into the most useless and lazy life I can imagine.  When there are people out there needing our help, I and we can't let such things happen to us.  There are simple, productive, and much needed things that we can be doing to bring us closer to total liberation.

Facebook Page

In the interest of gaining wider support for the book, and thus wider support for the ending of human trafficking in our world, I have created a Facebook page for 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves.  Go to your Facebook and like the page (facebook.com/27millionrevolutions) to do your part.

And if you haven't already bought the book and gotten the full experience, you can go to Amazon and rectify that situation.  I promise the book is far more insightful, provocative, powerful, and even more funny, than this blog has ever been.  Obviously I wrote the book, but I honestly believe that all of us would be better off if we read 27 Million Revolutions.  Let's all stop being lazy and read a book for a change!

Mutual Aid

Before and during my bike trip it seemed as if I were the only person who knew anything much about human trafficking.  It was amazing to me how many people didn't even know slavery exists still in the world.  Yet now, especially since publishing the book based on this blog (available here: 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves), it's amazing to me how many people that I run into that either know more about the subject or ask me about books or films or shows that feature human trafficking that I have never heard of. 

On one hand, I am embarrassed: shouldn't I, the author of a book on human trafficking, know more about human trafficking than most people?  To some extent I'm not entirely embarrassed, because, as a writer, once you finish a project it's hard to still think about it.  If I were a social justice advocate first and a writer second, then maybe it would be all good, but I'm a writer first who happens to also be super passionate about securing freedom for all, so I still react to the publishing of my book like a writer.  Oh well.

On the other hand, I acknowledge one of the means of fighting human trafficking that I've talked about on this blog and especially in the book: we must help one another.  We cannot ever remain confident in our own self-righteousness and instead receive help from others and encourage each other to read, see, and get involved in new anti-trafficking experiences.  Indeed, it's been a blessing having my book be a catalyst for discussion... to hear how much more other people have already read and thought about slavery than I have.  It encourages me to continue to be active and not let my mostly-normal reaction to publishing 27 Million Revolutions be permanent.  I must get off the couch again to keep my eyes and ears open.  Slavery is still around us, all around me, and just because I published a book that may or may not be helpful to others and to the 27 million slaves out there doesn't mean that I can take a break.  Slavery doesn't take a break and neither can I.

What's also been good about the experience of hearing the knowledge and experiences of others is that I need not feel wholly guilty for taking my mind off of slavery for a little while.  One definition of mutual aid is that we support and encourage one another; yet another definition is that we all work toward freedom so that, if one of us needs to take a break, they can. 

Thank you to all those who have reminded me of the importance of mutual aid in ending slavery.  Thank you, because now I can, after a long hiatus, say: Let's all keep our ears and eyes open, support and encourage one another, discuss the evil of slavery whenever possible, and together we can do great things.

Koto

The other day my fiancee and I learned that a particular restaurant that we like, Koto, has suspect business policies regarding its hibachi chefs.  There are a number of lessons from our new knowledge.

1)  The more we talk about human trafficking with our friends and family, the more we can share knowledge and suspicions of businesses that may be in violation of simple good manners towards our fellow men and women.  In this case, my fiancee had been talking about my new book with a co-worker.  By talking to the co-worker my fiancee learned that she is somewhat involved in local human trafficking organizations who have red-flagged Koto as a possible violator. 

2)  We need to be ready to change our lives and habits at a moment's notice if we hope to put an end to slavery.  My fiancee and I love going to Koto, especially since we live right across the road.  Now, though, we can't in good conscience do so.  Of course, my fiancee's co-worker said that Koto is a possible violator, and it's perhaps not a great thing to remove our business from Koto based on suspicions, but then why not?  There are many other restaurants to go to if we must eat out.  A lot of restaurants are possible violators, and we just have to keep an eye out.

3)  Indeed, we need to keep an eye out.  My fiancee and I had remarked, the last time that we were at Koto, that the hibachi chefs were susceptible to mistreatment.  They come over here to the States hoping to make a good living for themselves, in a state--Vermont--that is notoriously good for foreigners to move to.  New American residents who don't speak much English must rely on the reputation of a state like Vermont or the reputation of the American dream.  If all that they have heard and believed turns out to be false, then they won't know until they've already been sucked into slavery.  We talked about this... and yet didn't decide to do or research anything.  We should have. 

We all should learn how to be more proactive rather than simply think and wonder and talk.  Although, as I said in lesson number one, talking can go a long way.

Read the Book

The blog has become a book.  Maybe now I can focus more on writing the blog again.  Check it out!

Amazon

Finally Publishing

About eight months after I had originally hoped to publish (that's what we call naivete), I am finally getting 27 Million Revolutions for 27 Million Slaves onto the presses.  It has unexpectedly been a very emotional ride, which you won't hear about for months and months, but suffice it to say that my first ever serious publication is not quite as exciting as one would hope.  At the end of the day, though, I feel successful.  Now, selfishly, I'm most worried about selling the friggin book; of course, I'm also worried that, once having sold the book, that readers will find it somehow useful, helpful, meaningful, or whatever positive 'ful' word you can insert.

Of my trusted readers of this blog, if you want to buy a copy (it won't be available on Amazon for about ten days, and when it is it might be a couple of dollars more expensive) e-mail me at jlucy.wilde@gmail.com and then we'll go from there.  Happy reading!