Posted on 03/16/2005 8:26:30 AM PST by mr_griz
Modern Day Slavery
By Raymie Lynch
Greetings All
I have been kicking around an idea in my head for the past couple of days and decided to write about it today. I consider myself a historian. In fact, I have a degree in history. I decided to put that training to use today. Most historians have a favorite period of history. My time period is the antebellum south. The antebellum South is a fascinating period in America History. This was the era of big cotton, slavery, large plantations, and the exploitation of immigrants. I am almost a subject matter expert in this era. In fact, I would propose that the emergence of modern day America has it's roots in the customs and practices of the pre-civil war era. The socio-economic structure of the antebellum south was complicated. In fact, I dont have the time to really give a big picture examination of how it relates to my topic. With that said, I will now make a comparison of the plantation system with what I call modern day slavery.
The typical plantation in the South had a certain hierarchy. At the top was the Master or Owner of the plantation. Believe it or not, a considerable number of them were educated Northern professionals who had migrated to the South and married into established Southern families. Second was the Overseer. Usually this person was a native born white or possibly Irish immigrant hired to keep the slaves in line. Third, you usually had a Slave Driver. This person was usually a trusted slave who would do the bidding of the Master and Overseer. It was the Slave Driver's job to keep the other slaves in line. The Slave Driver also served as a spy and would be rewarded for selling out his fellow brothers and sisters in bondage. It was also his job to sow discord among the slaves to keep them from unifying. Fourth, were the house slaves they were sometimes the illegitimate offspring of the owner. They usually received better housing and clothing. As a trade-off they were at the master's beck and call 24 hours a day. Finally, at the bottom of the pecking order were the field slaves. They were the ones who performed the backbreaking work of tilling the fields of cotton, sugar cane, or tobacco.
Now that I have set the stage, I would like to examine how the plantation system works in modern day America. The Master of the plantation is the Democratic Party. The Overseers are the liberal white elite who set the agenda for the party. They are the ones who push for gay marriage, homosexual rights, removing the 10 commandments, abortion, and removing every trace of God from the public square. The Slave Drivers are the Black Leadership. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the Congressional Black Caucus do the bidding of the Democrats and the liberal white elite to keep the masses in line. They are rewarded for their efforts with money, fame, and passage of more government programs. The house slaves and field slaves are the masses of black people. They are held in bondage to a system that is designed to deceive them and keep them beholden to the master.
During this time period, some slaves rebelled against the system. They either "escaped up North to freedom" or led slave uprisings. In general, these slaves were considered troublemakers by the masses. Usually because of these slaves' actions, life was made harder for the rest of the slaves left behind on the plantation. Sometimes those who escaped, would come back to help others escape. Some were welcomed; while others were greeted with scorn and distrust.
This practice still takes place today. The "troublemakers" who have rebelled from the system are the black conservatives. They either escape from the Democratic Party and join the Republican Party, or they stay and try to get the masses to rebel against the evil platform promoted by the party. Just like in the antebellum south, some of the blacks who have escaped have come back to try to help the masses. Unfortunately, these black conservatives are greeted with scorn and distrust. The modern day overseers and slave drivers have been able to sow discord to keep the masses angry and confused; therefore, unable to dream of a life outside the Democratic Plantation.
Although the situation is looks bleak, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I believe we are on the verge of a second civil war. This war will not be fought with rifles or cannons. It will be a battle of ideologies. I believe the key to winning the war will be the issue of "moral values." If black conservatives are able to convince the masses, who claim to be Christian, that the platform of the plantation is anti-God and evil, the war can be won. If not, the masses will continue in servitude to their Democratic masters.
Ramie Lynch March 2005
That, from my grandfather referring to his dad and grandfather (who was pretty old at the time). They had their trip to America paid for in return for some amount of time (I recall 10 years) working a peanut farm.
Whoever owned the place had paid for and owned the slaves but he only had them (great and great-great grandfather) for a short period of time and evidently wanted to get as much work out of them as possible.
My grandfather also further claimed that after emancipation many of the slaves didnt have anything else to do or anywhere else to go and stayed right where they were, doing essentially the same things under the same conditions in fact, many of their descendants are, to this day, in the same town.
That was his claim they might not have been free to do whatever they wanted (but then, neither were the indentured) they had been purchased and were owned but people didnt run around beating damned-expensive slaves for giggles. And, that they had a better deal (at least during the period of servitude) than the indentured servants did.
For whatever thats worth. This all in the general vicinity of what is currently Abbeville, AL.
Absolutely brilliant!
Rice and Powell are perfect examples of those who escaped only to be scorned by their own.
Here, this is for your book,
It was both slaves and indentured. I read a book in the 80's about Africa. When a Caption VanDorf, a dutchman came around the cape of good hope to trade found the Zulu's tribe. The Zulu's were/are famous slave traders. They would attack villages throughout Africa taking slaves.
When the met VanDorf, they wanted to trade for his silks and european goods. The only thing they had to trade were, there slaves which VanDorf took in trade and took them to Brazil where they were sold as slaves.
They worked there way north to the upcoming Americas as slaves stayed as slaves sold to south for work.
There has never been a Zulu as a slave. In fact in Africa today, Zulus run everything as managers or formans of all work and do not work for any other tribe member.
The fact is slaves here were slaves to the Zulu's and never free people enslaved unlike the white slave trade when europeans were taken off ships and sold as slaves in Egypt and africa but that is a different story.
Slavery has existed since mankind and I am glad that America got rid of it but it should not pay any price today for doing the right thing.
All your bucks are belong to us
The Slavery... is slavery by government(socialism) and has nothing at all to do with race or even class..
The Owners.... are not all democrat, republican or even AMERICAN..
The Overseer's... are not all of any race or class...
And the field slaves... are any that receive remuneration from federal, state or local governments.. especially contractors.. far beyond "'civil service field workers"... Lawyers, doctors, accountants, the academics, lobbyists, the political apparatchiks and many many more "nuances" or "niches" of complicitcy that gain livelihood from "socialism".. And that don't account the true believers in socialism which may not be on the plantation at all.. they are another class of malfeasants..
**- This history dude has totally missed the trolley.. except that while "hoeing cotton" he "IS" considering other things than plantation life.. And thats a start.. Could be he himself is a recipient of government largess... probably is..
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