"Calling in sick"

“Resenting the unfair appropriation of their labor, many slaves feigned illness and lied in order to avoid work” (Takaki  pg.117).  Basically, the slaves were finding ways around working; they were out smarting their owners.  One thing that really stuck out when I looked a little deeper into this subject is that many of the slaves were actually smarter than their owners.  Many of the slaves could find ways to avoid going to upcoming slave auctions just because their owners were ignorant or blind to the fact that their slave knew English or knew how to communicate with one another.  Some of the things that the slaves would do to avoid an auction were ruining the equipment, ruining the supplies for the equipment, and slowing down or stopping their own production/work (http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/index.php/movements-and-campaigns/movements-and-campaigns-summaries?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=22).  I also found in my research a story about a woman who actually hid her entire family in the woods when it came time for an auction so that the slave owner couldn’t separate her family.  How did that slave owner not realize where those slaves went?  I understand that there were many slaves on a plantation, but how did that slave owner not realize that the same family would go missing every time a slave auction would come up?  That brings up another question, how could someone that oblivious to what he had, even own slaves?  That shocks me. 

            If you think about it today, people call in sick to work all the time whether it be to just plainly get out of it or to not go because they have made other plans.  They don’t have any real merit to call in or not show up to work.  The slaves were actually finding ways to get out of work in order to keep their families together and to save their lives or the lives of their families.  How easy was it to fake an illness back in that time period.  Think about that.  

Not quite ethnic studies, but something I needed to talk about.

Last night, I met a person who completely fills the description of uneducated about the subject of gay marriage.  He was throwing around the terms "fag" and "faggot" like they were nothing and meant nothing and weren't hurtful.  He also said that, "Gay people want to get married so they can get the money that their partner has when they die."  He said many things but that really got under my skin.  BUT, I was unable to defend myself because I didn't want to get into a fight or start any trouble.  So, I sat back and let this man talk about something he knew VERY little about and I have never in my life felt so little, low, or defenseless.  I was so afraid that something might happen that I didn't voice my own opinion to this guy and stand up for myself and what I believe in.  I feel extremely low and little right now.  

          If I ever see this man again, I will be ready with a full response to his "arguments".  1) Gay people aren't fighting for the right to get married just so they can have their partners' money when he/she dies, we are fighting for the right to marry the one we love and want to spend the rest of our lives with.  Why should ANYONE be denied that right? 2) Gay and lesbian couples make MORE money in a year on a salary based income than heterosexual couples.  Who says that allowing gays and lesbians to get married will hurt the economy? It has been PROVEN that we are just as successful when it comes to partnerships and supporting families.  3) Do you have ANY idea how you made me feel? I have NEVER in my entire life felt so speechless and defenseless about myself.  Your ignorance made me feel diminished, but I won't allow that to happen any more.  4) Go educate yourself on a topic before you start talking untruths about it.

          Regardless of the situation, if something like this happens to me again, I WILL NOT BACK DOWN OR LET MYSELF DOWN! 

Caliban, the Controversial Character

Caliban

            One thing that I would like to talk about that hasn’t been talked about a whole lot during class is the character of Caliban.  Throughout the book, Takaki has referenced the character of Caliban a lot and how the English easily saw him and grouped him as one of the Africans because of his skin or his color or his overall looks.  I guess I just find it extremely interesting that when this character from The Tempest was first introduced to the public, they immediately grouped him together with the Africans because he was different than they were.  That just shows, I guess, just how ridiculous ignorance is and how it can be hurtful to someone or a whole people. 

            In order to go a little further in depth about this I decided just to look at a few different production photos of The Tempest to see how the character of Caliban has been portrayed throughout the years in different productions.

            This is one of the first pictures I came across and I found it to be almost disturbing.  Imagine if you were one of the English citizens and this is something that came out on stage.  What would your first reaction be?  Obviously, scared and unsure.  You haven’t seen anything like this anywhere else except for the Africans whose ONLY similarity was a darker skin complexion. 

            I guess, I just have to ask, what do you think of when you see this photo?  Is this a picture of someone you would expect to see everyday?  If you saw someone who looked like this walking the streets, would you talk to them if they came up to you?  Do people really not see color like they say they do?