Pynchon's exploited children

[Doug Millison]

Prompted by Pynchon's frequent characterization of the abuse of 
children by adults (including Weissmann/Blicero's -- the conquering 
colonial taking advantage of his power over the indigenous people -- 
sexual abuse of the young Enzian; see also V., COL49, Vineland, & 
etc.), the following report may be of some interest to fellow 
P-listers:

  _Fingers to the Bone: United States Failure to Protect Child
Farmworkers_ -- Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/frmwrkr/

According to this report released in June by Human Rights Watch,
thirteen- to sixteen-year-old children are working 70 and 80-hour
weeks in American fields and orchards under threat from heat illness,
pesticide poisoning, injuries, and lifelong disabilities. The
112-page report documents these conditions -- both statistically and
in the first person, reviews the lax laws that govern farmworkers in
the US, and examines the racial dimension of the issue (the vast
majority of farmworkers being Latino). The report conclusively
illustrates that such occupational abuse of children doesn't only
occur in so-called Third World nations.

from:
The Scout Report for Social Sciences
September 5, 2000
Volume 4, Number 1
Internet Scout Project
University of Wisconsin
  Department of Computer Sciences