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Behind the Swoosh
By Mariel | April 23, 2012
People are amazing and it’s amazing to see what they can do. Nothing is more inspirational to me than hearing about what others have done to change the world around them and inspire others around them to action. On that note, Jim Keady, who spoke at Canisius last week is honestly one the most inspirational people I’ve ever met.
He is passionate about improving conditions in sweatshops, especially those in Indonesia that are owned by Nike. Conditions there are absolutely deplorable,with workers owning next to nothing and working in horrible conditions for many, many hours. They eat rice with maggots in it, live almost totally on credit because they don’t even make enough to make it to the next paycheck, rendering them slaves to the system. Mothers never see their children because they are at work constantly, and so the children don’t get an eduction, ensuring that they will be available to work in the sweatshops when they reach the appropriate age.
The most extraordinary part of Jim’s mission is that he is dedicated to actually reforming Nike’s system. I’ve found that too much of our solution to things today is to drop out and find alternatives to whatever is causing the problem. Alternatives are fine, but if a system is broken, fix it. Don’t leave or drop out, which is what Jim teaches. He has made himself, public enemy number one to the Nike corporation and has almost been arrested, threatened, and more, all in the name of social justice.
If you would like to learn more about Team Sweat (his organization, which consists of Jim and three other guys), visit his website teamsweat.org. Also, if you decide that his mission is really amazing and important (which you should, because it is) you can like them on facebook and send emails to the president of Nike urging them to reform their sweatshops.
Also you can buy a really cool shirt to wear your support, and his movie is also pretty amazing.
Sorry for the rant about social justice, I just find it really important and his talk just made me want to go out and spread his message any way I could. I hope that anyone reading this not only finds his mission important but finds a mission of their own. Life is nothing without passion. Set the world on fire!
Peace
Mariel
Topics: Mariel '13 | No Comments »