It's that time of year again...

No, I don't mean the holiday season (although we're almost getting there), I'm talking about the time of year when we talk about slavery in my history class. It happens every year, in every history class. There is something refreshing about American slavery though.

Americans will have you all believe that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, but I would like to argue otherwise. Is working for someone not slavery? I'd like to point out, that if you have a "boss" you are enslaved.

Sure, traditional African slaves did not get paid for their work, and had to live in terrible conditions and got whipped and things; but they had a place to live and were given food, which is much more than a lot of people have today. What more could you ask for? It's nice to say you are "free" and whatever, but freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be. People today work to make money to buy food and housing- so how is that any different? Especially when we look at the not so distant past in the United States of industrialization and the massive influx of European immigrants.

There were some immigrants who made it all work for them and were very successful, but the majority worked in factories being paid hardly anything and living in poverty. And they had a good chance of getting limps cut off in one of those sketchy machines they worked with. I, personally, would rather be whipped that have my hand taken off by a dirty, probably rather blunt, machine- especially since doctors were not very good back then. That's just me though.

I truly do sympathize with slaves. I will eventually become one of them. I will probably graduate college and go on to work for some white man who will punish me if I do something wrong. Sure he probably won't whip me, but he could fire me. Which is worse- being whipped, or losing your livelihood? I just wonder if being ginger puts me at risk for racial discrimination...