This week’s videos and reading materials were rough to get through. As always when learning about horrific events that take place, I find it even more and more frustrating knowing that they could have been prevented. Before this week, I had never heard about The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory incident. To hear that the young women working there were not sought after, even as they went above and beyond to get their work done for so little, was very emotional for me. Although progress was made following the incident, thanks to all the people who marched to provide a safer working environment, not only for women but for men as well, it was even harder to see the horrific conditions people continue to work in today. 

The video, Triangle Returns, left me in complete shock. Of course, I knew that working conditions in developing countries were, for lack of better words, bad, but I didn’t necessarily know to what extent. Watching this video reminded me of how important it is to pay attention to the world around me. It motivated me to do my research on matters that are not shown in mainstream US news but should be. As a citizen of this country, I feel an immense amount of guilt for supporting these companies who in return, are hurting thousands of people overseas. For huge American companies to take part in something so cruel was heartbreaking. Watching young men and young women being stripped of their basic human rights for a mere 40 cents an hour, in today’s present-day, is shameful. As stated in the video, we need laws to protect all workers.