Though America played less of a role in black slavery than did much of the rest of the world, its cruelty was not abated. Watching the skin tear on your hands while forced to pick cotton all day long under the hottest of sun exposures in the South was a nightmare, along with so many other chores delegated to slaves by wealthy white plantation owners (though we do not hesitate to mention that there were indeed black people who owned their own slaves -- a little historical fact conveniently excluded from the mainstream rant).
So I was wondering this weekend, what if I were an old white guy with a plantation? Well, I am an old white guy, but what if I had the means this year or next to go down South, start my own cotton plantation, but insist that it be staffed exclusively with white men and women, dragged in from the streets? And what if I could rule my plantation with brutality and all the physical punishment one might expect when slaves disobey?
If I accomplished all of this and became notorious for my plantation cruelty. . .
Would Black Lives Matter or other civil rights organizations sue me for refusing to bring black people into my plantation? Would they organize and march with foul signs in front of my plantation, screaming "UNFAIR" and "RACIST PIG?" Would I have as much trouble NOT bringing in black slaves as I would just for having a plantation in the modern era? And, as an aside, would anybody even care that I was abusing white slaves?
In college I took two philosophy classes. I doubt this is the line of thinking my radical professors would have preferred I follow -- but this is an interesting issue in an era when just thinking thoughts can turn expectations upside-down. But, anyway, I do love cotton clothing. . .
The DeBrief (see link) printed a piece regarding Northwestern University's findings that fraud in the scientific publishing world is rampant and poised to seriously injure the entire world of scientific papers endorsed by people and entities who might have ulterior motives beyond fair judgment. This dilemma is not new, but additional attention paid to its apparently wide and particularly intimate reach is essential.
Then there's the interesting case of the Florida woman who falsely treated thousands of patients as a licensed nurse until she was caught a few days ago. My question: Yeah, but did she do all the right things and did her patients benefit? There comes a point when finely tuned credentials and I part ways, and having worked in the medical field I can easily say there are times when I would have chosen a phony yet competent "nurse" over a physician who couldn't get out of his own way.
