Blog #5

Ola Omar
                                                                     Blog #5
        The quote that I have selected for reflection #5 is from The Seventh of March Speech. The quote that I have selected from The Seventh of March Speech is "that it is found merely in the right of the strongest; and that is an oppression, like unjust wars." (Shewmaker, p.121-130).
         The quote that I have selected means that slavery is unfair for several reasons, but I think that one of the main reasons why slavery is unfair is because the elite people or the people who have privileges over the rest of society are always the ones to influence things like slavery among their societies. That is what "that it is found merely in the right of the strongest" (Shewmaker, p. 121-130) means. The narrator is saying that there should be no group of people oppressing another group of any kind because superiority groups having that kind of power over certain groups of people is like a war where you know what group is most likely going to win. It is funny how when you ask the people who are the oppressors if they would like the unjust act that they are committing to be committed to them, whether it be slavery or anything else, they say no or they hesitate, but when they are oppressing other people that are not from their same class or race or background, then they try to find an excuse to justify their inappropriate behavior.  Slavery is also an act of oppression because slavery is a way to dehumanize someone and by someone I mean black people.
         For example, the masters of slaves are always white and the masters examine their slaves as if the slaves are objects before they take their slaves and how do they get the slaves as their own you ask? The masters buy their slaves at an auction as if slaves are property and when the slaves are bought by their masters, they are not even treated right. The slaves are starved, tortured through hard labor, and the slaves have to do whatever their master tells them or else they are severely whipped. Therefore, if slavery is not an act of oppression, I do not know what is. Slavery was also one of the reason why the North and South fought in the Civil war. The reason why slavery was a reason that the North and South went to war was because the South did not want to abolish slavery. The South starting The Civil War because they wanted to keep oppressing slaves for their own benefits is a great example of the narrator saying the slavery is an oppression "like unjust wars." (Skewmaker, p. 123-130). The South wanted to keep torturing African Americans which led the North to fight for African Americans by fighting in a brutal war where many lives were tragically lost and part of the lost lives from both the North and the South sides was because the South wanted to keep oppressing black people by continuing slavery. 
          I have selected this quote because I believe that the reason why the North is not performing their constitutional duties for the people who escaped to free states is because the government, the senators, the president, and the congress are the strongest forces in the U.S and they are oppressing people with their behavior today. For example, I believe that things like slavery and other horrible things happened in the past and are happening in the present because the strongest forces are either oppressing their people (like how the South oppressed African Americans with slavery) or because the people in charge of making America successful are not doing a very good job in governing America. The wealthy or white people being superior than everyone else is a pattern that I keep seeing. The government only really abides by the laws of the constitution for their own benefit. If a black man is not armed, but a police officer kills him just because he feels threatened by his presence, their is a light consequence, but if a black male robs a store, he has a harsher penalty. What the judges need to do is give a person the time that he deserves and not "establish a line of truth and justice for their own convictions.' (Skewmaker, p. 123-130).