24th July 2011

It is Sunday and I am just resting. Just thinking about a recent book that I have read -- The Beloved by Toni Morrison. Wow! This is such a moving book and to somewhat (in my opinion) very emotionally draining. So much happened to the characters in this book that it really moved me to thinking about the millions of people who have suffered.

The book is basically about a family, about how far a mother will go to protect her children, and about making a life for one's self after the Civil War for people who were freed. (You can note that I do not use the words African-American. I do not like those words because I feel it has too much stigmatism denoted to it. You are either an American or not! There is no true race in America -- just a bunch of "mutts!")

The main character is this book is Sethe -- a runaway and now freed slave. What really hurt me about this character is that when I read, I try to put myself in her shoes. She walked through eternity for freedom to save her family while she was very pregnant. Her legs were extremely painful and swollen to the point all of her senses had become numb. I just cannot image what it would be like to run pregnant with swollen legs for my life. I understand the swollen legs during pregnancy. I could put my legs up and rest. There was no rest for a runaway slave, no safety or no freedom.

But in reading this book it made me honestly sit down and think about what it might be like to be owned by someone. Not necessarily in an emotional relationship but really owned to where I have no freedom. What would it be like to be told what time to get up in the morning, what my duties in life were and to have every aspect of my life controlled by someone else? It is damn scary! Oh well take a closer look, in this day and time there are still slaves -- abducted and sold for sexual purposes. Then there will always be people who pretend to be "dominated" slaves for a sexual game. But why would people want to have ownership over another person? Is it for controlling power or for an economic reason? Either way you look at it someone stood to gain from slavery financially. Another way to think about all of this-- controlling for financial purposes.

So what do you think I did about all these questions I had on women who were held in slavery? I spent an afternoon on the internet “Googling!” What I found was more than I was hoping for. It really depressed me.  I didn’t exactly know how to respond to all of the information that I had read.  My mind was in overload with some really heavy information. I really wanted to hurt someone but who and how. The best way to hurt someone is to expose what the issues are and become educated and then to educate. By posting this I might be able to save one life from slavery. By viewing this you might be able to say one person from slavery. That alone is just two lives that we cannot afford to lose.  

I am asking for everyone who reads this particular blog to examine all the information on this subject that I have posted. Watch the videos. In our lifetime we each have crosses to bear, and suffer at one point or another. My life has been painful, but, nothing can compare as to being owned by another person, or being in fear if today was my last day, or being held down and beaten, or having sex forced on me. I have my problems but there are minuscule compared to what our country had once participated in and what our country doesn’t pay enough attention to when it comes to women and children – especially.

If anyone gets a chance Read Toni Morrison's book - The Beloved and a Poem written by William C Bryant (1794-1878) called The Death of Slavery. Both are so passionately moving.