http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <sharelong60@...> wrote : Mike, I like your insights here and I too would enjoy finding out if there was a moment when the tide on slavery began to turn, at least for some. In this context, I wonder if the Arthurian legend is based on a historical figure and if that person really began to challenge the idea that "might makes right." On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:21 AM, "Mike Dixon mdixon.6569@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: That rationalization was based on the idea that that is how it had always been. Slavery had been an institution since the dawn of civilization. Probably because life was so hard, cruel and short. Our *more cultured* European ancestors brought Africans to work in the hot climates because they could take the heat,didn't look like us at all, were plentiful and cheap. De-humanizing the slave was an essential part in being able to make it work. Because life was hard and short, the common man had little time to contemplate ideas like karma, the golden rule, or what kind of future he was actually creating. It would be interesting to find out if there was some key event in history that got people thinking differently, like the industrial revolution providing some with the time and comforts of life to be able to even consider such matters. We have the luxury/burden of looking back to the past to see where we were and how we've evolved. On Monday, June 16, 2014 6:14 AM, "fleetwood_macncheese@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: I watched, "Black Fish", a documentary about the killer whale entertainment industry - not pretty. Also, "12 Years A Slave", which was fascinating, and horribly chilling, from a perspective of how human beings can rationalize treating other humans, as property. To see it in action was mesmerizing, as my mind and heart could not conceive of this ever actually being a reality, and yet, there it was, on a massive scale. It reminded me a lot, of accounts I have read of the Nazi mentality, rationalizing the treatment of human beings, basically as replaceable resources, and North Korea, where a sideways look can mean a bullet in the head, randomly. A friend refers to these types of movies, as ones to watch, not for enjoyment, but simply because we have to.
