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Aswad -> RE: SLAVE TRADE (8/1/2007 10:55:36 PM)
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~fast reply~
Slave trade is technically illegal, yes.
That said, so is a lot of WIITWD.
It depends on the slave in question, really.
In a more literal interpretation, a slave is property.
By default, any property one owns is indeed transferrable.
A modern concept of property is more comprehensive, however.
Many jurisdictions do not allow one to sell a DVD one owns to another.
Similarly, it is not incompatible with slavery to include conditions of ownership.
Those may, and will for most, prohibit the owner from transferring ownership to another.
Again, dealing with it from the angle of the modern concept of property, not from the judicial side.
Legally speaking, I don't think you're crossing a line that hasn't already been crossed, as the slave remains as free as ever to run away or whatever. In certain relationships, this is acceptable, in others it is not. But unless one has taken steps to prevent it, I think it would be hard to build a case supporting the assertion that it falls under trafficking. And I don't think the people who work with trafficking would want to waste their time cracking down on it, as it is as obvious to them as to us that it isn't the same thing at all.
But, yeah, there is no consensus definition of slave, outside the literal one, so one can't say anything general about such transfers of ownership, save that it depends on the nature of the relationship between the slave and the owner. Some would prefer chattel slavery, some would prefer to stay with one owner but will accept a transfer, most will not accept a transfer at all. Except for the latter group, I don't see a problem with it, and think some people could find it a trip that adds to their enjoyment.
Some of it comes down to the idea of slavery as a relationship model vs. slavery as a status or institution.
In private, and with a lot of the people I talk to, I use the term slave exclusively in reference to slavery as a status which is independent of the relationship aspect- with the defining characteristic of the relationship side of things being a modern concept of ownership- and use submissive in reference to other forms of power dynamic. But online, I just try to go with whatever the people I'm replying to call it, for lack of more precise terms in the lifestyle. Down the path of this digression, though, lies a lot of four letter word bandying, or so my crystal ball tells me, so I'll leave it at that.
A voluntary trading network with people vouching for each other would go a long way toward M/s speed-dating, though.
Hmm... slaveBay. [:D]
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