Ignorance is Bliss

In the Book of Negroes seminars, we discussed the slave trade and how this now seemingly horrendous industry was so common. Was everyone who owned a slave immoral nearing the point of inhuman? How could these people not see the suffering they were inflicting on other humans? How could they have not put themselves in these peoples’ shoes at least once?

They didn’t, because it was convenient not to.

Following society was much easier than going against it. It is more convenient to not think of these peoples’ personalities, families or pasts- to not think of them as any more than animals or machines. Reading this novel in a generally egalitarian society, we are angered to think that people were ever treated this way.

In America, owning a slave was inexpensive; farms and plantations used them because it was the cheapest way to run their industries. Looking back many of us think that the money saved isn’t worth the cruelty put on slaves, yet we are still ignorantly living in that same mindset the farmers or plantation owners did hundreds of years ago.

Almost every female in North America has at one point purchased something from Victoria’s Secret. In 2008, it was reported that Victoria’s Secret uses child labour in Burkina Faso, Africa to produce their cotton. Hundreds to thousands of children labour long hours in blistering conditions. They are even beaten with sticks if they do not labour fast enough. This sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?

This information is only a google search away. There really isn’t any excuse to purchase these items, yet we still do. It is more convenient to be ignorant to the cruelty involved in purchasing an item- or the cruelty involved in harvesting a crop- than to spend the extra money that ensures that the item or the crop is manufactured without cruelty.

Same goes for KFC. Many can agree that KFC is delicious and cheap, yet little people consider the cruelty involved in that process as well. The chickens are treated worse than animals. They fester in their own filth in stacked cages the size of a sheet of paper; this isn’t even enough room to spread their wings. Could you imagine living your whole life lying in feces with your arms clipped to your sides? Not only do they not have the room to stand up, they also physically can’t because they are stuffed so full of growth-inducing drugs that the bones in their legs cannot withstand the weight of their bodies. In the slaughterhouse, still conscious chickens are thrown into scalding water- they are literally boiled to death.

KFC is also careless with whom they choose to employ as factory workers. Videos have been released of factory workers sadistically throwing chickens against walls and stepping on them. Among these are other offenses that I can’t even bring myself to type because they are so wretched. Supervisors have also made appearances in these videos- doing nothing.

So why are we still buying from these companies that have been publicized for cruelty? Because we would rather spend $19.99 on a bucket of tortured chicken, than $39.99 on a bucket of free-range chicken. We would rather own a cheap bra than fork out the extra cash to ensure that the cotton in our lingerie is harvested ethically. 

We live in a time when information is available when we choose to open our eyes. We can no longer plead ignorance to the cruelty that is inflicted on others, yet we look back on slavery and wonder how these slave owners could have been so cruel. We, the consumer, have inflicted intolerable cruelty on countless animals and humans, and are every bit as guilty as the slave owners hundreds of years ago.

Note: More information and a petition against KFC cruelty can be found here on a PETA sponsoured site.

Human Organ Trafficking

In discussions for Book of Negroes, human organ trafficking brought up as the ‘modern version’ of the slave trade.

Blinded by my ignorance, I was shocked to hear that this was still going on in the world.

I did some further research and learned that, in fact, the illegal trade of organs is booming. For example, 10,000 black trade kidney operations occur annually. That is more than one kidney every hour!

There are three categories of illegal human organ trafficking:

1. Victims are forced or deceived to give an organ. One sad story is of Petar Sutovic, a 24-year old Serbian boy. His death was reported as a ‘drug overdose’, yet no dead certificate was issued. His mother insisted on a second post mortem inspection and then it was discovered that both his heart and his pancreas were missing. His mother believes that his drug overdose death was staged.

2. Victims formally or informally agree to sell an organ and are either not paid for this organ or paid less than the promised price. Victims include people who are in desperate situations, especially financially. Lebanon and Beijing are two places where this type of organ trafficking is common. In Lebanon, many Syrian refugees escaping the civil war sell their organs because, due to desperate circumstances, they feel they have no other choice. After their treatment, they are given no pain relievers or anti-inflammatories and provided with little basic medical aid. In Beijing, people in desperate need of financial assistance will sell their kidneys for around $5,000 and 'transplant tourists' will purchase them for around $200,000.

3. Victims are treated for an ailment, which may or may not exist. During treatment, organ(s) are removed without the victims’ consent. Victims’ are usually homeless people, migrant workers, people who are mentally disabled or handicapped and illiterate persons.

Although all horrendous, the third category of organ trafficking is the one that sticks with me the most. Traffickers are preying on the silent- those that cannot fight for themselves due to their status in our society.

Thoughts on Ending of Book of Negroes

I really enjoyed Book of Negroes; I found that every chapter and character had relevance to the overall themes and ideas of the novel. The last paragraph of each chapter was always quite profound- typically worded beautifully and tapped into a deep meaning or idea. The end of the novel, on the other hand, was quite a disappointment for me.

"It is not such a bad bed. I have known worse. They can wake me with the news, when they come home." 

These were the  last words of the novel. Hill did well in showing the degradation of Aminata's mind, yet I wish these last words were more significant and impactful.

Hierarchy of Needs

Aminata’s longing for a home and a sense of belonging were discussed frequently throughout the novel. One example of this longing is on page 468, when Aminata is talking with Armstrong. 

"'And now you want to go home?' He said.

'It's what I've always wanted, from the moment I was taken.'"

 In our seminars, we discussed Aminata's desperate need for her home, for a place to belong. This brought us to discuss Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I was not familiar with this psychological theory, so I’ve dedicated this blog post to research on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The Hierarchy of Needs (image to the right) was first purposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Humans begin by attempting to fill the first level of the pyramid, which are the basic biological and physiological needs of life. Once that level is filled, the human moves onto the next level. Aminata is constantly searching for a place to belong. It seems that she is stuck on the third level.

 The Love and Belonging (third) level the next important need to safety and survival because humans are social creatures. We need people in our lives to share love and affection. This includes friendship, intimacy and a desire to have a family. This is also referred to as the social need. If this level is not filled, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety and depression.

Near the end of the novel, she finally let's go of her dream of going back to Bayo. "I let go of my greatest desire. I would never go back home. [..] Bayo, I could live without. But for freedom, I would die." (pp. 494-495) At his point, it seems she has moved past the Belonging and Love level of the Hierarchy, knowing that people do love her and she belongs to 'the traveling people'. This leads me to believe that she is, in fact, in or passing the self-actualization level. As she has all of the requirements for esteem needs, cognitive needs and aesthetic needs.

All information on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs was found on http://www.maslowshierarchyofneeds.net/

ISU Novel Selection

Through analyzing my notes and annotations, I determined that I was most drawn to the theme of dehumanization and the process of finding personal identity and the self in Book of Negroes. I started my research by scouring Oprah's Book Club website for books that interested me and spoke to the theme of personal identity. From there I began narrowing down my substantial list by looking at page numbers and using the Lexile Framework for Reading to determine reading levels. My favourite novel from Oprah's reading list was The Good Lord Bird.

I consulted my well-read family for novels that spoke about dehumanization, and was given a list of authors including Pearl Buck, Michael Ondaatje, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Patrick Conroy. I also looked at 'What Should I Read Next 'resource and looked at novels similar to Book of Negroes. Below is my finalized list of possible ISU novels in order of preference, and below the titles are descriptions of the novels and their relativity to Book of Negroes.

1) The Color Purple –Alice Walker

A novel written in 1982 following the story of a 14 year old African-American woman living in Georgia. She writes letters to God of how she is repeatedly raped and beaten by her alleged father. This novel explores the theme of self-identity and human development and explores the impact narration and writing has on the development one’s sense of self. This mirrors Book of Negroes, in which Aminata is struggling with her personal identity. Similar to Book of Negroes, The Color Purple includes the themes of racism, sexism and dehumanization.

2) The Good Lord Bird- James McBride

A fictional novel rooted in real life slavery events and is described as a descendent of the story ‘Huckleberry Finn’. The protagonist of the tale is Henry Shackleford, a young escaped slave that teams up with the abolitionist John Brown. This plot line is quite similar to that of Book of Negroes. As this novel is so recently published, very little information on themes is accessible, but as slavery is involved, it is more than likely that the themes of dehumanization and racism are present within the novel. It seems that this novel also follows the theme of self-identity, as the protagonist is forced to dress up in drag and live in a brothel.

3) The Good Earth- Pearl Buck

This 1931 novel is the story of a family living in a traditional chinese village before WWI. It gives the reader a glimpse into chinese culture, similar to Book of Negroes showing life in Bayo. The Good Earth focuses on the importance of simplicity and discusses how wealth and power is the destroyer of traditional values. This parallels Book of Negroes’ theme of slavery and desire for wealth and power push humans to do unthinkable things to one another.