I don't remember what day I read that post. I didn't log a reaction nor comment on it so it's not possible to easily find it again. I don't remember who made the post. I just remember the words and some of the arguments and the dismay it caused me.
My internal arguments with the reasoning grew, line by line. So while the recollection is still burning a hole in my consciousness, let me share a few of my reactions and counter arguments here. I hope they will be enlightening.
Yes, slavery has existed throughout time. It was a way of treating those who were part of the vanquished civilization. Being put into slavery was a means of belittling the survivors of the battles and reminding them (and their progeny) that they were not the superiors. It was, thus, necessary to serve the conquerors and be lowered in the social strata. They had to obey all orders or face brutality or death - or both. Many lost their status in humanity; they were treated as non-human, like herd animals as well as sources of gratification.
When slavery came to the Americas, the kidnapped souls were not even considered citizens of their place of transplant. They were merely merchandise.
The states of the new country (United States) began to enact laws that tended to disenfranchise those who were part of the African Diaspora, as well as the Native Americans. They began to be treated in similar fashion. The laws determined how one was allowed to dress and allowable movement [in both North and South Carolina], what one's lineage was (as a determinant of racial classification and status [see Virginia 1662]). The laws set forth whether neighborhood schools were accessible to the entire population or whether education was even allowed. Some laws forbade doing business with those of the diaspora. And then there were the fugitive laws.
Voting rights were determined by not only those laws but also based on whether one owned land. Voting, you see, was a privilege that was not even available to women until the Amendments of 1964 and 1965.
Perhaps the Facebook commenter's words were part of a response to the current outcry about police brutality. That also has its roots in our history from the slave patrols of 1790 South Carolina. It became a standard. It became the seed for police brutality and excessive force. It seems to have also been the seed for the formation of the Ku Klux Klan's activities.
So to those who attempt to justify slavery, please become aware that slavery - no matter when it occurred or to what culture it affected - was a matter of being subjugated in addition to justification for being treated in an inhumane manner. It became a lifestyle because open objection or refusal to obey was treated with punishment - or death. You see, slaves were quite fungible. Just as we, today, think nothing of what is now called "white privilege" and is taught to young, tender ages as social custom (and merely the way social standards are recognized) is not about privilege but about creating and maintaining an atmosphere of "us" and "them" as well as justification for exclusion.
As to slavery being mentioned in the Bible, even Christ spoke of inhumane treatment and counseled slave owners to be civil with their servants. Also in the Bible we are told slaves had options to buy their freedom or earn it after a period of years. They were not necessarily slaves from the moment of conception until death.
You May Want to Visit:
Posts
