The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was a tragic event to know that 146 women lost their lives in such a traumatizing event. It goes to show how companies really don’t care about their workers. They locked them inside the building like prisoners and did nothing but give the family members money as if that would bring back their loved ones. It’s disappointing to know that the owners of the factory were found not guilty. The way the justice system works in this country is horrifying, if you have money, you can get away with anything. However, I am sure that if it was 146 men that died in that factory the court would have found the owners guilty. It gave me some faith in humanity to learn that there was a march for the girls and because of them sweatshops in the United States were abolished and the rights for women were fought for. Women have been fighting for equal rights to men since 1700 and it is truly sad to know that we are still in this constant battle for our human rights. Its disturbing how big corporations and the government all over the world treat working-class people like nothing. Yes, sweatshops are banned in the United States, but these companies take their business to other countries and pay the workers an unlivable wage. learning about the fire that took place in a Bangladesh factory was shocking. The same thing that happened to the women of the triangle shirtwaist factory is the same thing that happened to the people in this clothing factory in Bangladesh. The doors were locked, people jumping out of windows to save their bodies so their families could identify them, the exact thing that happened at the triangle factory. Then, when the workers fight for their lives and protest to raise the wage to 35 cents they are beaten. I found it hard to watch the whole video because it is so heartbreaking and then to be reminded that this is still going on in the present day. Therefore, fast fashion is so toxic to our community, companies like Gucci, Gap, Nike, all the name brand companies are not ethical.
After reading “Virginia Just Became the 38th State to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Here’s What to Know About the History of the ERA” it was disappointing to know that the ERA is still not a part of the constitution. Why is it so hard for people to grasp the idea that women and men are equal? The right to vote was granted to women in 1920 and yet we still fight for the rights to everything today, just look at what’s happening in Texas with the abortion laws, it was annoying to read about Phyllis Schlafly and her view towards the ERA. People like Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, all the women of the suffrage movement are fighting to be seen as equals to men so they can work, vote, go to school. And this is what Schlafly feels, “What I am defending is the real rights of women,” Schlafly once said. “A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother.” This is something I hear a lot of women who are against feminine say. The right to be a mother and take care of one’s house is not taken away when women are granted the right to work and do all the things a man can. One birthright cannot overweight the other. I really enjoyed Glory Kalu Wilson’s post presenting women of the labor rights movement holding a quote by Susan B Anthony saying, “No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her sex.” Anthony and many women before her paved the way for us to continue to fight for our rights as women and for Schlafly to say that the ERA would harm us as women are disappointing.
