Ethics of having fun in Dubai

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This is more of a tangent than it is on-topic, but there's also the matter of how we define slavery.

Like for example I think most of us would consider most examples of medieval serfdom to be slavery (or at least difficult to differentiate from slavery), and yet in period it was never thought of as slavery and is rarely referred to as slavery today.

An economic structure can be quite enslaving before people feel comfortable explicitly calling it slavery, but also people are generally more comfortable applying negatively loaded labels onto things other people do, rather than things they're personally connected to.

"Modern slavery" or "slavery in the 21st century" is in some ways very different from the kind of slavery that existed existed before slavery (or "involuntary servitude") was (mostly) outlawed by many countries back in the 19th century. Back then, slavery was supported and enforced by governments. These days it is (mostly) illegal, hence (mostly) hidden. Exact definitions of "modern slavery" vary, but the general idea, as defined by today's anti-slavery organizations, is fairly consistent.

On the website of Anti-Slavery International:

- What is modern slavery?
- Spot the signs of slavery
- Frequently asked questions

See also, on the website of another organization, Free the Slaves:

- Modern Slavery: A Comprehensive Exploration
- Slavery Around the World

And see also the Wikipedia article on Slavery in the 21st century.

One could, of course, argue that most forms of labor in a capitalist economy constitute "wage slavery." But the levels of coercion and exploitation in the kinds of situations that the anti-slavery orgs focus on go well beyond ordinary "wage slavery."

Last edited by Mona Pereth on 23 Feb 2026, 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The following section of Anti-Slavery International's FAQ page is especially relevant to the current thread:

Also, as I noted here, there are quite a few people calling for boycotts against the UAE for a wide variety of other reasons having little or nothing to do with the slavery issue. So, simply boycotting travel to Dubai (if you can afford to travel there in the first place) does not send a clear message. To make it a meaningful form of protest, you would also need to write a letter to your local UAE embassy, or something, explaining why you refuse to travel to Dubai, to set your own concerns apart from those of all the other people who are boycotting the UAE for one reason or another.

and, in a subsequent post:


Here in the U.S.A. at least, there is a long history of professional Islamophobes and anti-Arab bigots whipping up frenzies about bad things happening in Muslim and/or Arab countries, for the purposes of:

(a) opposing immigration from Muslim and/or Arab countries,
(b) restricting the freedom of American Muslims to build mosques, cultural centers, etc., and/or
(c) opposing any attempt to accommodate Muslims and/or Arabs in New York City's public school system, such as by serving Halal food (similar to the way the kosher food is already served in neighborhoods with a lot of Jewish students) or by having a bilingual school for Arab-American students (similar to bilingual schools that exist for students of other immigrant backgrounds).

Such bigoted frenzies were especially common during the decade after 9/11/2001.

As a person with a history of protesting this kind of bigotry, I'm inclined to be wary of anyone advocating a boycott of an Arab country as their sole or primary way to take a stand against a worldwide problem.

Last edited by Mona Pereth on 24 Feb 2026, 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

In Australia under new legislation
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-16/ ... /106231326

You can now be arrested and charged for even voicing any of the above ^^^.

Of the countries you listed, only 2 are stable hubs for international business and holiday/tourism
Türkiye
USA
Slavery in the above relates only to sex trafficking. Türkiye women trafficked from eastern Europe, and in USA mostly Latin American.
India, China and Russia do get tourists but all 3 have bad reputations for different reasons
India - public health, scamming, dangerous for women
China - Visa hassles, language barriers, no social media and weird internet and payment issues
Russia - having a war, boycotted by everyone and arresting anyone off the street

All the other countries are no go zones

No, modern slavery in the USA is NOT limited to sex trafficking. See Modern slavery in the United States and key findings on the website of Walk Free.

In fact, alas, modern slavery in the U.S.A. has a lot of resemblances to what you've said about Dubai (except for being less prevalent per-capita here). For example, according to the above-linked page:


and:


Additionally, forced labor is allowed in the prison system, and we have, alas, the world's highest prison population.

I don't see a single person in America complaining.

There are plenty of people here in the U.S.A who complain about both our prison-system itself and our over-reliance on it.

Some random examples on the web:

- Equal Justice Initiative
- The Sentencing Project: "The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice"
- FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums)
- Wikipedia page on Criminal justice reform in the United States

And, regarding the exploitative private prison system, in particular:

- NAACP Opposes the For-Profit Prison Industry and Abolish Private Prisons on the NAACP site (after you click to close the ads that come up initially)
- Private Prisons on the ACLU site (you'll have to click to close an ad here too)
- Abolish private prisons -- a website devoted to that issue
- New York To Become First State to be Completely Done With Private Prisons, June 18, 2019, on the website of former New York State Senator Brian Benjamin.

Some more examples of opposition to mass incarceration here in the U.S.A.:

- Vera Institute
- Prison Policy Initiative

Mass incarceration is (ironically) not a problem for most Americans. They would like to see
1. a) more prosecutions
b) lowering age of incarceration
c) reducing probations (to protect communities)
d) Increasing numbers in jail and having more jails

2. In addition undocumented migrants caught as victims of human trafficking or forced labour sent back/deported (not given green cards).

So the comparison with Dubai is not quite the same.

!	Cornflake wrote:
	Several argumentative and off topic posts have been removed. Please take those, and particularly the lengthy hostile put-downs, somewhere else.

The only foreign country I've ever gotten to vacation in was Japan. My family is too poor to travel outside the US but my sister can afford to go on trips around the world and she took me with her to Japan as a birthday gift because she knew Japanese culture was a special interest of mine.

I really loved the experience and will always treasure the memories but looking back on it I can't help but feel that the only reason the locals were so friendly to us was because they knew we were a couple of white tourists with a lot of cash to spend.

I know enough about Japan to know that they really arent that fond of foreigners no matter how friendly they appear on the surface. It's even gotten worse under their new first woman prime minister who is just as bad as Trump in convincing her supporters to hate and blame all their problems on tourists and immigrants.

I've spent 3 years living and travelling through Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and HK). People throughout Asia (I would include Japan here even though I haven't visited there) are generally warm and friendly, admirable customs include courtesy, civic mindedness, respect for the elderly and inclination toward inviting you home for a meal.

I think friendliness is genuine and regardless of your background, so long as you show respect and kindness people generally reciprocate. Confucian, Hindu and Buddhist values have some role in shaping peoples friendliness and openness to foreigners.

I don't believe that's 100% true. Maybe on a surface level in modern times but you're talking about a country like Japan that at one point tried to drive out every foreigner, Asian or otherwise, through violence after the American Navy forced their borders open after centuries of self-isolating because Westerners wanted to do trade and the Japanese literally believed foreigners were evil. This sparked a civil war in which the Emperor overthrew the Shogunate and became the ruling power over Japan.

Ironically despite kicking the Americans and the Europeans to the curve they saw no issue with adapting our technology that was introduced to their culture through the foreign merchants they hated so much.

Fast forward to today with Japan's first female prime minister Sanae Tackaichi who is just like Donald Trump only she's a woman and she's Japanese. She's fed into the Japanese people's long-standing prejudices against foreigners and has been passing unfair laws making it harder for both immigrants and even tourists to come into the country, sound familiar?

I only know this because I keep up with some of the news about Japan. Plus there's been plenty of Japanese people and even Japanese wannabes in America on places like Reddit who fully support her and defend her unfair policies and toxic language regarding foreigners.

It's basically like the MAGA thing all over again, but it's been going on long before she came into power. I'm sure it's not true for everyone in Japan but xenophobia is a legit thing that's been a part of their culture for a long time.

I'm not trying to be judgy about it though. Maybe it's simply a matter of them wanting to protect their own beautiful and rich culture from colonists and outsiders trying to muscle in? I can totally understand that.

But I still say Sanae Takaichi is going to create a mess for Japan in the longrun just as Donald Trump is doing for the US. In fact her biggest mistake might be aligning herself with Trump's America while rattling sabers with China.

Since my country is no longer regarded as a trustworthy ally thanks to President Evil I have no doubt in my mind that he will leave her to the wolves when a war eventually breaks out with China, just as he's been doing with Ukraine. Not to mentiob the whole blunder with invading Iran.

Granted...but...folks on the ground aren't always as per caricatured in media/textbooks. But I take your point, I was reminded that smiling Hawaiians (when I last visited Hawaii in 1987) I met do not like foreigners who have spoiled their home but they are compelled to smile and greet visitors with an aloha and leigh!