Plague Journal, Cucumbers & Slavery
What is this?
Why it’s a potato cucumber that originates 
in India! The vines love sun and moist earth. The cucumbers are about the size of a golf ball. They can be eaten without peeling, and have a slight lemony flavor.
This is one of the garden “experiments” of this year that proved to be a success. That’s the fun of outdoor work, in the soil, helping things to grow. There is always something new to learn.
Upon recommendation from a friend we viewed a disturbing film last night. The 13th is a 2016 film documentary about the loophole in the amendment that granted legal freedom to enslaved Black individuals at the conclusion of the Civil War. The loophole, — freedom is guaranteed to everyone, unless, with the exception of all those convicted of a crime. The movie goes into detail about the series of measures from the period of reconstruction in the old South, to the current law-and-order program of the President and his party, aimed at the mass incarceration of the Black Community. The film is a grinding revelation that America continues to be a slave-involved society and economy. Slavery by another name, slavery relabeled.
This is a Netflix film, a must see.
If you should view the film, I am very interested in hearing what you think might be done about this atrocity……..
To see the trailer for The 13th film CLICK HERE.
One thought on “Plague Journal, Cucumbers & Slavery”
Several feelings ran through me at the end of the documentary, 13th. One was anger that our nation, the one that lauds freedom for all, could have allowed the travesty of the denigration of African Americans to have happened at all much less that it is still happening. But probably the most prevalent feeling was one of profound embarrassment, the instant understanding that at 69 years old, I had been unaware of this part of our country’s heritage. Why did I not learn this in high school or make an attempt to find the truth about racist tendencies engrained in our culture? What is now apparent is that although I may not have owned slaves or participated in overtly racist behavior, still, I have been and continue to be a part of the problem due to my own ignorance.
There are many who say that poor people or ethic minorities all have an equal opportunity to pick themselves up and make something of their lives and that by “choosing” to live in squalor or violent neighborhoods, they are just self-perpetuating their way of life. Though I did not believe this to be the case prior to viewing 13th, I now understand why this way of thinking is both incredibly naïve and counterproductive to making the changes that are absolutely necessary to repair our severely broken system of justice.
It is now evident to me that the violent behavior we see in many communities of color is the direct result of decades of violence perpetrated by white people on those communities. It is our ancestors who beat and subjugated the descendants of slaves. It is our ancestors who incarcerated black people so they would have to work the sweat shops for no pay. It is our ancestors who convicted minorities of petty crimes and therefore took away their right to vote in perpetuity. And it is not just our ancestors, for this laws of Jim Crow have only changed names as they continue to this very day.
We can fix this, but it will take a herculean effort on all of our parts. It will also take a generation to repair, for we must begin with the children, the children of all races. Only by truly equaling the playing field for education and advancement, plus teaching all children that the sins of their fathers are now archaic notions of a different age, can we begin to make amends. I understand that I will not be around if and when we are able to eventually solve these issues, but I know that I can begin to make that difference in the years I still have and I plan on doing just that.