Quentin Tarantino Is Nobody's Slave

"Django Unchained" continues to garner more attention, and we're not just talking about its Oscar nods. During a recent "interview," (Quentin Tarantino kept referring to it as a commercial) writer-director Tarantino got virulent when the reporter asked whether there was a link between film violence and real violence.

Because I refuse your question. I'm not your slave and you're not my master. You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not a monkey. --Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino told the reporter to "Google" him to find out his views about guns.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, some might praise Tarantino for not taking the bait about gun violence in film. Certainly, mentally healthy adults can make the distinction between fictional movies and reality enough to not use a movie as inspiration for a shooting spree. However, Tarantino did miss an opportunity to defend his craft. He could have talked about his inspirations as a writer and artistic integrity. Instead he "blew up" at the reporter invoking slave references and racist symbolism.

For a movie with an excessive use of the n-word, by some counts 110 times, Tarrantino's use of the slavery metaphor just seems like another attempt to shock the consciousness of the viewer. And for the simple fact that this is a post about Quentin Tarrantino and "Django Unchained," it seems like Tarantino's shock therapy is working to wake up viewers.

Read more here.

White House Aide: With These Republicans, "There'd Still Be Slavery Today"

During an MSNBC interview, NBC's Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd reported that a "very smart White House aide" told him that with the current tide of politics in Washington "there'd still be slavery."

That's a tall charge.

Todd posed the "Lincoln analogy" to the aide which asked about the similarities between Lincoln's fight to pass the 13th Amendment (outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude) and Obama's plan to raise the tax rates on wealthy Americans. 

This Lincoln analogy elicited a response that highlighted the disconnected politics rolling through Washington.

“You know, with this Republican — with the way politics of Washington are today, there’d still be slavery. Lincoln wouldn’t have been able to navigate the polarization between the media, between this ”--unnamed White House Aide

Read more.

Slavery: A Blessing in Disguise? Arkansas Representative Says So

Republican Representative Jon Hubbard of Arkansas wonders whether slavery was a "blessing in disguise" for African Americans. And this is only one of his many outlandish writings. Yes, he self-published a book Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative.
He wrote:

"… the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth. Knowing what we know today about life on the African continent, would an existence spent in slavery have been any crueler than a life spent in sub-Saharan Africa?"

Come again? Is second-class citizenship really a blessing in disguise? Does Representative Hubbard lack critical thinking capabilities or does he really not understand that Africa would likely be a completely different continent had its people and resources not been stolen, colonized, and demonized? 

Read more Hubbard's shenanigans here.

Slave Billboard Erected in Response to "Year of the Bible" Resolution

The American Atheist group posted a slave billboard in response to a unanimous Pennsylvania State Legislature resolution declaring 2012, "The Year of the Bible." The controversial billboard depicts a slave with a spiked metal collar around his neck, and it says, "Slaves, obey your masters." This quote is a reference to Bible verse Colossians 3:22.

Several groups including the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, the American Civil Liberties Union, and American Atheists are working to repeal Pennsylvania's "Year of the Bible" resolution, but many believe this slave billboard takes the message too far.

Because slave owners used the Bible as a justification for American slavery, many people believe the Bible is an outdated and inappropriate reference for the Pennsylvania State Legislature. However, this billboard in Harrisburg, PA has created much tension in the local community. Pennsylvanian State Representative Thaddeus Kirkland (D), believes the billboard takes the Bible out of context and depicts racism and hatred. 

Brian Fields, president of the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers claims the billboard was not erected to offend African American residents but as a history lesson. Fields says, “there were concerns about the portrayal of the African-American. It’s a classic wood carving of a 19th century slave.” Fields suggests, “If you are offended by the billboard, one should ask why you are offended? Is it because of the history lesson or because we’re being reminded of a darker chapter in our history? Or is it because the exposition of the darker aspects of the Bible?”


The billboard was torn down by anonymous vandals the evening it was posted and was quickly replaced by an ad for the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.

This "Year of the Bible" resolution was not the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' first foray with religious declarations.  Earlier in the session another resolution, titled "King James Bible Heritage Month," was also approved by the state legislature. After a quick search through the history books, Pennsylvania is quickly defeated as a trailblazer for using the "Year of the Bible" designation. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a Proclamation declaring 1983 as "The Year of the Bible" in response to a resolution passed by Congress.

Documentary: 'Slavery By Another Name' - Tonight on PBS

"Slavery by Another Name "resets" our national clock with a singular astonishing fact: Slavery in America didn't end 150 years ago, with Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Based on Douglas A. Blackmon's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, the film illuminates how in the years following the Civil War, insidious new forms of forced labor emerged in the American South, persisting until the onset of World War II."

The website is here.

Revisionist History at its Best: Tennessee Tea Party Says 'take the slavery out of American History textbooks'

American History without slavery? Say what?

A school board in Texas succeeded in whitewashing slavery in students' textbooks last year.  

[Among other revisions were the replacement of the term 'trans-Atlantic slave trade' with 'Atlantic triangular trade.']  

Now, Tea Partyers in Tennessee are attempting to accomplish the same goal.  The group wants to remove references to slavery altogether and, you know, the fact that the 'founding fathers' owned slaves.  

Spokesperson for the group, Hal Rounds, says that textbooks should focus more on the 'revolutionary' nature of the founders instead of any hypocrisy that might have taken place. 

The Tennessee group handed out leaflets that said:

Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States.  We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.

'Truth regarding the history of our nation' includes mass murder, smallpox blankets, and, oh yeah, slavery.  There's no need to clean it up or make it more appealing.   

I think that's impossible.  When I was in secondary school, the pictures of slaves in books featured them smiling and dancing in colorful garb.  Textbooks have progressed a bit in less than 10 years and now is not the time to take steps back.  

More on the nonsense here.

Do Schools Really Host Slave Auctions to Teach Slavery?

A professional genealogist suggests schools host slave auctions to show students how slavery felt. What a ludicrous idea. Click here to read the full story.

However, it seems teachers have been swimming in the shameful barrel to find lesson plan ideas. Remember the Georgia teacher who assigned the math problem: If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week? Don't forget another Georgia teacher who condoned the Slave Catcher v. Slaves game of tag. 

It's great that schools are teaching about slavery, but there needs to be an element of sensitivity involved. Slavery was no joke. Not then and not now.