Why Do We Think Slavery is Evil?

[Won2blv]

I know that this will get quickly shot down because of reasons like the fact that Kobe Bryant can walk away from basketball at any moment and he is free to roam about as he wants.

It's not just that Bryant (or any athlete) has the freedom to walk away.  It's that he entered into his NBA contract voluntarily.  Bryant wanted to be a professional basketball player, and followed that desire through to its end.  Pursuing a career and entering into contracts voluntarily isn't slavery.

I think the case against slavery would be one of the harm it does to people, in that they are being either imprisoned or forced to work against their will.  Some will extend this to situations such as factory work in the USA before the advent of unions, where workers sought out jobs that required long hours and poor conditions for poor pay and even changing conditions (ie, they might wind up being asked to do work they did not sign up for, on threat of loss of pay or loss of the job).  A case can be made that even that latter situation, which isn't slavery in the technical sense, is nonetheless harmful to people.  Is it evil, or wicked, or immoral?  I suppose most people would consider it to be.

Bryant is not a slave of the Lakers, but if he wanted to play for the Heat, it would be the owners of his basketball skill that would only be allowed to trade or release him. He is free to do what he wanted but not play in the NBA unless the team owner allowed it. People in the OT had just a few options of livelihoods. They were the property of their masters, but it is not like they had too many options. And their entire livelihood was cared for. I don't think its as a demeaning of a situation when its pretty much your only way to a means of life. So think about that point about being forced against their will. If you were a slave in those days and you had a place to sleep and food to eat but your labor was owned by the person providing all of this, what are your options in that time?