On Possesions
I believe that the more possessions one has, the more important he is. Considering the number of pens, pieces of torn paper, mangled bits of staples and rusty paper clips that I have scattered on my desk, I think I warrant the royal red-carpet treatment, complete with eight half-naked man-slaves with glistening bodies to attend my every whim and desire. Slaves, now that is an interesting subject.*A long time ago, before even the ideas of modern contraceptives were conceived, rich white people used to engage in the buying and selling of the not-as-rich black people. Yes, they sold prime specimens of the coloured population to other white people who were incapable of taking care of themselves while they barter away their humanity for material gains. However, there is a perfectly logical and valid explanation for that. They could not possibly live nobly while they were preoccupied with the greater task of profiting from another man's misery, now could they? I digress. Slave trade was common, and many rich colonial families owned at least five slaves. That, too, is justifiable. I mean, how could one actually expect dinner to be served promptly when the cook has to be out in the fields to thrash corn? Nevertheless, a respectable businessman was expected to own at least a couple of slaves to do the . . . everything.
The one thing I do not seem to get (maybe it's because I'm obtuse) is how does one actually own another human being? Perhaps they were possessed in thinking that it was possible. Back then, one owned a person, in the legal sense, if one could produce the necessary papers of purchase, especially if the slave in question cannot even pay his own market price. So, now we have ascertained the fact that one could have owned the slave's person. However, how does one own the whole individual, mind and soul included with the body? You cannot dominate another person's spirit, unless he was broken down by being subjected to systematic and brutal torture. Even then, it is a risky venture, with no clear win-win situation prognosis. If things went awry with the experimentation, not only would you have lost a lot of time that could have been spent pursuing pleasure elsewhere, but also the payment you put out for the slave, whom by then, would be too incapacitated for his original purpose.
Supposing you treated your property well, and one could gradually see the increase in the slave population. The initial reaction would be a congratulatory self-pat on the back for a wise investment that would lead you to further economic gains. Until of course, you realised that when left to themselves, they reverted back to nature; they reproduced. Suddenly the prospects were not at all that bright, when the problems started to arise. As the population steadily increased, so did dissension among the slaves. Your morale plunged, when the realization of the burdens of having to feed so many mouths finally sank in. You began to see the horrifying images of bushels of money disappearing to THEM. So you did the most rational thing, you limited their food supply. The law of nature helped you predict that the strongest would survive when they begin to fight amongst themselves for food. Hopefully, the weak and lazy ones who are not suitable for hard work will be eliminated in the process. Once again, a congratulatory self-pat on the back for another crisis averted.
Then, the inconceivable happened. The spirits that you could not exorcise from their bodies return to haunt you. The slaves revolted. Fortunately, they were severely disadvantaged due to the fact that you, in your typical farsightedness, have ensured that they would be weak from the combination of heavy toils in your plantation and the meagre amount of food given to them. They were quickly beaten back into another age of oppression by the backup forces sent by your sympathizers.
Not to worry though, the slaves will have their revenge, but they will have to wait another couple of hundred years for the invention of MTV.
Hail Angie
* The timeline here is a loose term and should not be held in the greatest degree of accuracy.
The one thing I do not seem to get (maybe it's because I'm obtuse) is how does one actually own another human being? Perhaps they were possessed in thinking that it was possible. Back then, one owned a person, in the legal sense, if one could produce the necessary papers of purchase, especially if the slave in question cannot even pay his own market price. So, now we have ascertained the fact that one could have owned the slave's person. However, how does one own the whole individual, mind and soul included with the body? You cannot dominate another person's spirit, unless he was broken down by being subjected to systematic and brutal torture. Even then, it is a risky venture, with no clear win-win situation prognosis. If things went awry with the experimentation, not only would you have lost a lot of time that could have been spent pursuing pleasure elsewhere, but also the payment you put out for the slave, whom by then, would be too incapacitated for his original purpose.
Supposing you treated your property well, and one could gradually see the increase in the slave population. The initial reaction would be a congratulatory self-pat on the back for a wise investment that would lead you to further economic gains. Until of course, you realised that when left to themselves, they reverted back to nature; they reproduced. Suddenly the prospects were not at all that bright, when the problems started to arise. As the population steadily increased, so did dissension among the slaves. Your morale plunged, when the realization of the burdens of having to feed so many mouths finally sank in. You began to see the horrifying images of bushels of money disappearing to THEM. So you did the most rational thing, you limited their food supply. The law of nature helped you predict that the strongest would survive when they begin to fight amongst themselves for food. Hopefully, the weak and lazy ones who are not suitable for hard work will be eliminated in the process. Once again, a congratulatory self-pat on the back for another crisis averted.
Then, the inconceivable happened. The spirits that you could not exorcise from their bodies return to haunt you. The slaves revolted. Fortunately, they were severely disadvantaged due to the fact that you, in your typical farsightedness, have ensured that they would be weak from the combination of heavy toils in your plantation and the meagre amount of food given to them. They were quickly beaten back into another age of oppression by the backup forces sent by your sympathizers.
Not to worry though, the slaves will have their revenge, but they will have to wait another couple of hundred years for the invention of MTV.
Hail Angie
* The timeline here is a loose term and should not be held in the greatest degree of accuracy.
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