Slavery can indeed be understood many ways, and Bilal is correct in that.

Submitted by Samir (United States), Dec 26, 2010 at 16:36

In Biblical times it was often a source of pride to "belong" to a powerful household. However, the situation then all over the known world was that the Head of Household had total dominion over his household members, whatever their legal status. Including life/death decisions. Classical Mafia "families" are still structured that way. Bilal wishes to infer that such situations today are acceptable due to local cultural traditions. That is totally unacceptable. Society changes, and the move away from slavery and other exploitation, physical or wage based, is the mark of modern civilization. Though there are still too many among us who'd rather bully than negotiate fair wages, history is moving inexorably away from what Bilal wishes to defend.

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