ILLICIT: The Dark Trade

Honestly I’ve never purchased a “fake” bag or watch or anything of the sort… I have expensive taste and a knock off won’t do it for me. Walking into Louis Vuitton and paying $1350.00 for a signature tote like I did last year for my mother’s Christmas present is more my style. There is something about paying that much money for a bag that is ridiculous and thrilling all at the same time. Downloading music off Limewire on the other hand is something in the past I’ve been known to excessively abuse. That is until I discovered iTunes. When I bought my Mac it came with iTunes and I had an account with them… purchasing songs for a buck doesn’t seem that big of a deal, especially if I like the artist I will buy the whole album… because I’m lazy and I don’t feel like scouring P2P (peer to peer) sites or clients to find what I want. Knowing now about illegal trade and how it affects people’s lives I consider it a bad thing, and I would never purchase a fake because that would be supporting the industry. I know these are intelligent people trying to make a living and perhaps illegal trade does give people jobs, but at the same time, they are capable of finding other sources of income… to hear someone say that it’s the only way for them to make money, or support their family. That’s a “cop out” I firmly believe that people are right where they want to be in life, if they aren’t, they need to change it, or ask for help if they don’t know how… things like buying and selling illegally are dangerous no matter the product. And if you think you’re getting a good deal, you probably are, at the time… but what if your purchase goes to fund the creation of a bomb that blows up your city? In other countries it’s how they do business or, at least some of the time… I think governments need to come together to make an international organization that can have free reign over territories and borders to combat this illegal trade, that would make it faster for governments to catch and stop this activity… that and arresting key members to bring down crime organizations. The world needs to unite to stop this evil and make life a better and safer place for all.
thanks for reading,
-A