مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت ج

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

IDENTITY CRISIS

While Alex and Tim’s identity crisis was a matter of family and country, 200 years earlier the Luddites experienced a different sort of identity crisis.

Did the Luddites have a similar sort of identity crisis? No, the Luddites didn’t have a similar sort of identity crisis. They had a different sort of identity crisis.

Their identities were wrapped up in their jobs.

What was wrapped up in their jobs? Their identities were wrapped up in their jobs.

Today we use the expression ‘Luddite’ to describe someone who opposes new technology, but the Luddites were real people.

How do we use the expression ‘Luddite’ today? Today we use the expression ‘Luddite’ to describe someone who opposes new technology.

They were followers of General Ned Ludd in 18th century England.

Who did the Luddites follow? The Luddites followed General Ned Ludd.

They were hell-bent on destroying machinery and they weren’t afraid to put it all on the line.

Who wasn’t afraid to put it all on the line? The Luddites weren’t afraid to put it all on the line. What were they hell-bent on doing? They were hell-bent on destroying machinery.

Luddites were imprisoned, shot, killed, and hanged in their war against the machines.

What happened during the Luddite’s war against the machines? Luddites were imprisoned, shot, killed, and hanged in their war against the machines.

On a Saturday night, some big guys were drinking beer at the local bar, but it wasn’t an average night on the town.

Who was drinking beer at the local bar? Some big guys were drinking beer at the local bar. Was it a Friday night? No, it wasn’t a Friday night. It was a Saturday night. Was it an average night on the town? No, it wasn’t an average night on the town.

They were armed with rifles and sledgehammers.

Were they armed? Yes, they were armed. What were they armed with? They were armed with rifles and sledgehammers.

These were Luddites and they were preparing for battle.

What were they preparing for? They were preparing for battle.

They left the bar and picked up more guys on the way to the factory.

Where were they going? They were going to the factory. Who did they pick up? They picked up more guys.

It was a dark moonless night. By the time they arrived at the factory, there were 150 of them all ready to destroy the machines.

What kind of night was it? It was a dark moonless night. How many of them were there? There were 150 of them. What were they ready to do? They were ready to destroy the machines.

The Luddites weren’t against all machines.

Were the Luddites against all machines? No, the Luddites weren’t against all machines.

They were against the kinds of machines that were taking away their livelihood.

What kind of machines were they against? They were against the kinds of machines that were taking away their livelihood.

The Luddites were highly paid skilled workers that were being replaced by new machinery.

Who were highly paid skilled workers? The Luddites were highly paid skilled workers. What were they being replaced by? They were being replaced by new machinery.

This was the early 1800s, and cloth manufacturing was big business.

When was this? This was the early 1800s. What kind of manufacturing was big business? Cloth manufacturing was big business.

The expensive cloth England produced was sold all over the world and also provided lots of people with jobs.

What kind of manufacturing provided lots of people with jobs? Cloth manufacturing provided lots of people with jobs. Was the cloth only sold in England? No, the cloth wasn’t only sold in England. It was sold all over the world.

There were women who spun the raw wool into yarn.

What did women spin the raw wool into? Women spun the raw wool into yarn.

There were men who would weave the yarn into cloth.

What did the men do with the yarn? The men would weave the yarn into cloth.

And there were other people called croppers who used giant 50-pound scissors to cut the fabric.

What did the croppers do? Croppers used giant 50-pound scissors to cut the fabric.

All of these jobs were highly paid, and the factory owners like business owners everywhere wanted to cut costs.

Were these jobs high paying or low paying? These jobs were high paying. Who wanted to cut costs? The factory owners wanted to cut costs.

Soon there were machines that could do the spinning and the weaving and the cutting. And they could do it faster, cheaper, and better.

Were these machines better than humans at doing the work? Yes, these machines were better than humans at doing the work. How were the machines better than humans at doing the work? The machines could do the work faster, cheaper and better?