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by VLM 3488 days ago
To localize the argument, aren't you claiming something like "the civil war ended in 1865 therefore historical black and white issues are no longer relevant in modern America"
1 comments

Well, slavery is mostly no longer a relevant issue in the U.S.
Except it is. The text of the 13th amendment:

>Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

"Except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted..."

Hundreds of thousands of Americans toil away in prisons as free labor due to "tough on crime" policies and the militarization of police forces. McDonald's, Whole Foods, Walmart, they all use prison labor where the prisoners get paid literally cents an hour and sometimes not at all.

There were big prison strikes and protests about it earlier this year - https://theintercept.com/2016/09/16/the-largest-prison-strik...

It's terrifying.