Re: Tale of the Week 274: Slavery - SUBMISSION THREAD
Submission TotW - 497 words
Slavery, then and now
Note:I don't endorse slavery in any way, nor would I want to decrease its severity. I simply looked at the subject slavery and ethics from a pure rational angle. This is what I think and is therefore not the 'truth'. I added this note because I know slavery is a very sensitive subject and this text could be interpreted out of context.
Slavery, it is no stranger to humanity. From the ancient Egyptians to the British Empire, slavery existed. This inhumane practice had been the rise and fall of many a great empire. Slavery has been present in all cultures be they white, black, asian or other. Slave markets were strewn around the world and was not a thing to be frowned upon until the modern era. It had been part of many societies for ages and they considered it not to be wrong. It was just the way of life back then. Today however we condemn this practice as an oppression of people. With the modern age came the idea of equality of all human beings and slavery was therefore banned in the modern world. However, this injustice is still a part of this world and will probably always be part of this world.
Most agree that the practices employed in most of the developing countries is borderline slavery. Many of the employees there are still children and are working in a similar environment as the Europeans did at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. But we are all slaves in a way. In most of the world, slavery is concealed behind supposed “choice”. However in the end it comes down to one simply thing. Money. You need money to survive. You earn money by working, at least for 99,99 percent of the population. Ergo, in order to survive you must work. Slavery is working in exchange for survival. I'm not comparing the slaves of old to our situation because they are two different things within the same subject. Other times, other circumstances. You now have the 'choice' to choose your labour and your 'master', your employer, as well that we enjoy certain freedoms the slaves of old never had. You get paid for this labour in money but that is just a middle ground as you require money to survive. Of course you 'willingly' sign the contract to your employer but do you have much of a choice in the matter? If you think about it, you don't.
The idea that slavery is evil is but a social construct that we as a species have agreed upon. It is just something we made. Ethics don't exist in the world beyond that of humans. We created good and evil and it has changed constantly over the ages. It would be nice to go to a future where slavery is a thing of the past, that we could overcome this, instead of staying the beasts that we really are.
Re: Tale of the Week 274: Slavery - SUBMISSION THREAD
TotW Slavery Submission
There are many ways to look at slavery when looking back from the 21st century. Many slave owners viewed the slaves as mere beasts. Many people now view the slave owners as mere beasts as well. It is easy to look back and see what we want to see. I admire people with dreams of a better future. Such was the vision that some had back in the 1950's and the 1960's. More importantly, they also had ideas on how to achieve their dreams.
For example, Rosa Parkas was one such dreamer of a better future. She refused to give up a bus seat to a white person in Mongomery Alabama. She saw the laws were imposing an injustice on many. This was the Jim Crow era. Colored people, a not so polite term as used, were kept from lunch counters where they would be able to sit next to a white person. This was the era of 'seperate but equal'. Seperate drinking fountains needed to be offered or blacks could not quench their thirst on a hot Alabama day. It was seperate or it was 'whites only' for all facilities and services. It was seldom equal.
Various people termed as 'freedom riders' road the Greyhound buses over the state line into Alabama. They were proud black men who did not acknowledge the local laws on giving up their seats to white people and moving to the backs of the bus. It was proper according to state law at the time that blacks do this, but many people were looking to a future when such legal obligations and actions would be held in contempt as a grave injustice.
Martin Luther King had a dream, again looking to the future, that all men would be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin. That skin color concept was a residue of the justification by some why the color could justify oppression. Skin color at birth could 'justify' in many white people this state of being.
Today we are about to see a new (private foundation) Memorial for Peace and Justice to open in Montgomery Alabama where much of this change happened. It will be a quiet setting for contemplation about the past as well as the future. The adjacent museum will remind us of the horrors of lynching and the humiliations that many had to endure in the Jim Crow era. This memorial and museum will be important to visit. It will be even more important for our children to visit. We all need to learn from the mistakes that were made in the past but we should not dwell upon those mistakes. Rather, we should dream of a better future for humanity as did Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.
Re: Tale of the Week 274: Slavery - SUBMISSION THREAD
Tale of the week 274 submission - 367 words
Slaves in the arena. That’s what we were. Taken from our homes, and sold to wealthy people for a pitiful sum of money. We were nothing but property. We were taken by a rival tribe after beating us in battle. They raped our women, killed our sons and sold us to the folks north of us, to the Empire. Where was the humanity? They were unused to our ebony skin, and they sent us to make a spectacle. People were amazed at our sight. We were forced to perform many grim tasks, all to the enjoyment of the pale owners. There is no end to the oppression. The free who see us both hate and love us. The men from my tribe had stuck together, working together to overcome the challenges thrown at us. All for the glory of the pale owners. Armed with spears, the future looked grim. We were sent out into what we had come to call our home. The red sand enveloped our sandals, and the sun blazed over us. With the crowd cheering all around us, we marched forward with gritty determination. We would fight for our freedom. Then we saw the beast.
We had seen its like many times before. The spectators however had not, and were amazed by it. The size was massive, covered in thick grey skin, with a long nose, big ears, and two giant, white tusks. We were terrified. We had fought it before, but not like this. The crowd annoyed the animal by throwing rocks at it, sending it into a furious charge towards us. It was ripping us to pieces, and the crowd loved it. Then it pulled back, and prepared to charge again.
The injustice was incredible. Our captors buy humans as objects, and base their economy on them. They capture animals, and torture them. As it charged towards us yet again, my comrades ran to the side. I however, stood still. I was tired of this long oppression by the pale owners. I couldn’t stand it anymore. This was all meaningless. Lives wasted in the arena, to please the masses. This is where lives ended. In the Coliseum. For the glory of Rome.
Frothy Goodness
Tale of the Week 274: Slavery - SUBMISSION THREAD
The Sick Baby Jester
Primicerius
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