#TheRealMonstersAreInPower HowWillWeEverProsper?

[karinaaajayy-blog]

Slavery.

When discussing issues that pertain to Race, Crime, and Punishment, it is inevitable to discuss slavery, and the way it has shaped the United States as we know it today. This atrocious act began when white people created the idea that the color of their skin meant that they were more superior than any other human being on earth. Furthermore, their own beliefs gave them the authorization to decide how to keep themselves in power, and maintain dominance over any one who did not look like them. One of the first ways we see this is when white Europeans traveled across the sea to steal and colonize America. In order to ensure the land remained theirs, they murdered thousands of Native American people. Shortly after this, they brought people over from Africa, to serve and be sold as slaves on their new land. Their servitude would help build America into the great nation they dreamed of it to be, however, they would keep black and brown people as slaves even when the foundation was built. Eventually, slavery became completely normalized despite how gruesome and inhumane slaves were being treated. One of the reasons why white people felt the need to enslave black people and keep them under their control was, they created the notion that black people were monstrous and barbaric by nature. However, the reality was that white people were truly the monsters because they found a way to enslave an entire population and cross them over seas to serve them, and because of the way these people were treated once they were slaves. Slaves were tortured, beaten, whipped, and killed on a daily basis. White people treated them like property, because in their minds, they were just objects who did not know pain. One prominent case of slavery that highlights the horror of forced servitude in America was that of the murder of one of Arthur William Hodge slaves. Hodge was a West Indian Slave plantation owner in the 1800s, and he brutally murdered one of his slaves by the name of Prosper, because he had eaten a mango that fell from one of his trees and did not pay for it. Hodge wanted Prosper to pay for the fruit, but he did not have enough. This angered him so he ordered his other slaves to hold Prosper face down on his belly, while he endured a beastly whipping. This continued for about an hour, until Hodge decided that it was not enough. He made his slaves carry Prosper up a hill and tie him to a tree. He was beat over and over again, and left overnight against the tree. The next day, he was whipped again however, Prosper had fainted during it. A couple of days after the assault, Prosper had passed away from the injuries he had received from it. It was not until three years after the incident hat Hodge was criminally charged for the murder of Prosper. After the court found him guilty, Hodge still found the means to flee The story of Prosper clearly shows us a common theme that was discussed throughout race, crime, and punishment and it was that white people have brutalized and dehumanized black people far more than they ever could. There was a belief that black people were savages and needed to be controlled, however, it was white people that should have been guided differently. During slavery, slave owners constantly mistreated and abused their slaves in private and in public. Not only did slavery become normalized, but so did violence against black people. A film that also exemplifies that the notion that white people were truly barbaric, and heinous in the way they treated black people can also be seen in 12 Years A Slave. To be specific, this is clearly demonstrated in scene were Patsey is tied around a tree, forced to strip out of her dress, and face away from owner, Epps, to be whipped. Epps does this not only in front of his wife, but Solomon, a friend of Patsey as well. As Solomon tries to look away from the harsh whipping, Epps wants him to watch the entire thing or he threatens to whip him as well. Due to the fact that Solomon cannot bear to watch it, he makes him whip Patsey instead. Although Solomon tries to be gentle, Epps continues to threaten him with more violence if he does not whip her with more force. His fear and distress forces him to truly inflict gruesome pain on Patsey. Despite the fact that Epps is not the one who finishes the whipping, it was barbaric in the sense that he forced someone close to Patsey to harm her. This if anything, makes the matters worse because Patsey understands that he had to do it in order to spare himself but at the cost of someone he loves. There is something truly sinister behind Epps’ act of violence towards Patsey, and it demonstrates how cruel and brutal white people have always been. During this time period, there were no laws or an official system to protect slaves and their rights as human beings. Slavery set the precedent for abuse that black people would continuously endure for centuries after. White people in positions of power have been able to get away mistreating and dehumanizing black people for far too long. This is seen not only during slavery, but in our modern day lives as we have seen many white police officers murdering and injuring black civilians. Just like slave owners, their crimes and brutality were unaccounted for and justice was never served. Slavery was clearly a crime against all black people, and it specifically targeted this race. It set the foundation for the years of suffering even after slavery came to an end, because this time period devastated this race so heavily. White people recognized how much they were benefiting off the exploitation of black people and wanted it to stay that way. Therefore, even when slavery came to a legal end, they were still able to keep black people under their control by finding new legal ways to do so. Both the cases of Prosper and Patsey demonstrate the savagery behind slavery and the manners in which slave owners behaved. Since way back in time, white people have truly maintained the idea that they are superior to all mankind because of the color of their skin, and they must perpetuate this power by keeping everyone else in oppressed classes. Everything about the slavery era is ultimately wrong, the true monsters were not black people, they were and have continued to be white people in positions of power. Prosper and Patsey have showed us that it began with slave owners, but these same slave owners remained alive through the generations after them and these people are now our law enforcement officials, senators, governors, and the list goes on. Despite what white people may have believed back then about the nature of black people, the history they are allowing to repeat itself will never allow black people to prosper. Resources: http://theconversation.com/american-slavery-separating-fact-from-myth-79620 http://slaveryandremembrance.org/articles/article/?id=A0011 http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/slavery-in-america/