B&H: what goes on behind the scenes may surprise you.

[Wolfeye]

This.

Not to mention that some of the most even handed coverage of many world events that I've read recently comes from Al Jezeera, second probably only to what I get from BBC World News.

Consider the source all you want, nowhere in the Al Jezeera report do they mention anything about the owners being Jewish (that all starts in the comments). You want to imply your own prejudices, go right ahead.

The fact is the first time I walked into B&H was with my brother over 30 years ago, and then we went to Adorama and 47th Street Photo. They were all cramped little shops run by guys in yarmulkes and if you got there on Friday you better be done your business by 3:30. It's a close and closed community that doesn't tolerate any outsiders very well - and I know and love a lot of them. Knowing what I know about them nothing in any of these reports surprises me, and I'm about as far as you can get from an anti-semite. As they say, business is business, and they've run it this way for decades. Only now the internet has made their mail order explode where before it was just geeks ordering from the back of photography mags.

Discrimination is a fact of life. Everyone discriminates (more pointedly so the ones who claim they don't) and everyone faces some sort of discrimination. When it comes to working conditions everyone has three choices to make more money: more hours, promotion, new job. It's a catch-22 if you can't yet be promoted so you work longer hours so you get tired and you end up neglecting your health and then get injured on the job and never get considered for promotion and go get a new job, where the cycle repeats.

Everybody wants a piece of the pie, and when union organizers appear the first thing they ask is whether or not the workers are being mistreated. It's easy to encourage people to exaggerate their grievances to the point of appearing discriminatory. If you don't speak English and the company only does business in English, you're discriminated against, right? It's all a point of view, and that view licks its chops when the employer is a multi-million dollar company.

I'm not claiming B&H is incapable of wrongdoing, I'm just saying there are two sides to this story, and none of it has to do with antisemitism.

 

[BackdoorArts]

Discrimination is a fact of life. Everyone discriminates (more pointedly so the ones who claim they don't) and everyone faces some sort of discrimination. When it comes to working conditions everyone has three choices to make more money: more hours, promotion, new job. It's a catch-22 if you can't yet be promoted so you work longer hours so you get tired and you end up neglecting your health and then get injured on the job and never get considered for promotion and go get a new job, where the cycle repeats.

Everybody wants a piece of the pie, and when union organizers appear the first thing they ask is whether or not the workers are being mistreated. It's easy to encourage people to exaggerate their grievances to the point of appearing discriminatory. If you don't speak English and the company only does business in English, you're discriminated against, right? It's all a point of view, and that view licks its chops when the employer is a multi-million dollar company.

I'm not claiming B&H is incapable of wrongdoing, I'm just saying there are two sides to this story, and none of it has to do with antisemitism.

While I understand what you're saying, let's just say you're painting with a very wide brush. I wish I could say more, but at the moment I'm not at liberty to do so. When I am, I'll spill some beans. I'm not a union guy, but there is a reason for unionizing, and I'm with these guys.

 

[Blacktop]

supposed "antisemitic" news

LOL. That's like saying that BSNBC is a "supposed" liberal news organization.

To state that Al Jezeera is writing up the article to simply be Antisemetic,

I didn't say that. I just stated a fact that Al Jazeera (notice the correct spelling) is an antisemetic "news" organization. It's a fact ,like death and taxes.

Consider the source all you want, nowhere in the Al Jezeera report do they mention anything about the owners being Jewish

They don't have to.

 

[J-see]

I'd say; welcome to capitalism. You got to get that profit somewhere.

I don't doubt there's truth behind the stories. You can read that stuff on about every company. Amazon as an example did have/has a very nice way of handling its work force. It only seems to bother us when it occurs closer to home.

 

[Blacktop]

I'd say; welcome to capitalism. You got to get that profit somewhere.

I don't doubt there's truth behind the stories. You can read that stuff on about every company. Amazon as an example did have/has a very nice way of handling its work force. It only seems to bother us when it occurs closer to home.

Thank God for capitalism. Thank God my parents had enough sense to leave/escape Hungary in the early 70's. Thank God I don't live in some piss poor socialist country where everyone is equal. (in misery of course), except the rulers.

 

[J-see]

Thank God for capitalism. Thank God my parents had enough sense to leave/escape Hungary in the early 70's. Thank God I don't live in some piss poor socialist country where everyone is equal. (in misery of course), except the rulers.

I've got nothing against capitalism but it's not hard to see trends in our current manifestation of it. There's little margin left in manufacturing or raw resources so they have to cut corners some steps higher up the ladder.

 

[carguy]

I've got nothing against capitalism but it's not hard to see trends in our current manifestation of it. There's little margin left in manufacturing or raw resources so they have to cut corners some steps higher up the ladder.

While true, Capitalism isn't to blame, the actions of PEOPLE are to blame.

 

[J-see]

While true, Capitalism isn't to blame, the actions of PEOPLE are to blame.

Fundamentally it is the consumer who is to blame. As long as I don't care about anything but my product being as cheap as possible and delivered as fast as possible, someone down the chain will ensure they can fulfil my demands and force others down the same path.

We're not outsourcing to China because they can do it better.

 

[carguy]

Truth. Greed takes on multiple forms.