DID YOU KNOW there once was a word used to describe the desire of black slaves to run away from their masters?
Did you know it was described as "mental illness?"
Do you know where this VIEW of runaway slaves originated?
Read on . . .
The purpose of this topic is to cause you to think.
During the time of slavery in America, there was a widespread belief among slaveowners: slavery was condoned and approved by God.
American physician, Samual A. Cartwright wrote a book titled: Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race.
In his book, Dr. Cartwright asserted the following: It is a mentally diseased slave who DESIRES to leave his Master and run away.
Cartwright identified this MENTAL ILLNESS: DRAPETOMANIA
pronunciation | drap-et-O-mAn-E-a note | Drapetomania first appeared in a pseudoscientific article by an American physician in 1851 as a “mental illness” that caused black slaves to try to flee captivity. . . the word is deeply rooted in racism, it derives simply from the Greek δραπετης drapetos, meaning “runaway (slave)”, and μανια mania
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This thinking is hideous by modern standards of equality, humanity and basic decency.
However--the same kind of false reasoning continues inside of JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES LEADERSHIP! It is not bent toward racial bigotry this time.
No--it is directed with the same sense of superiority and self-righteous justification labeling MEMBERS who LEAVE.
". . . apostates are mentally diseased . . ."Watchtower 2011 Jul 15 p.11
The Watch Tower Society views their members as "slaves" who should joyfully comply with the Governing Body's every command.
Obedience and submission are Jehovah's natural order.
Any slave who desires to run away is seen as an apostate who is mentally diseased.
In certain countries this is seen as a violation of laws against religious hatred.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/jehovahs-witness-magazine_n_985479.html
Additionally, any JW in good standing who treats the runaway member with kindness is not only encouraging the mental disease, but violating
Jehovah's natural order of how things should be.
According to PBS, Jehovah's Witnesses shun "as many as 30,000 members each year who refuse to live by the religion's moral tenets," as of 2007. Members who leave the group are subject to similar treatment.
RELIGIOUS HATRED and RACIAL BIGOTRY are red flags for a kind of reasoning process which should alert all of us to dangerous hubris.
Slaves were beaten and looked down upon as less than human. That's incredibly horrific to accept as normal practice among civilized people.
Worse still--it was CHRISTIAN PEOPLE who had somehow managed to view mistreatment as ACCEPTABLE AND MANDATORY!
The purpose of this Topic is to cause you to put these two kinds of SADISM into context as mirror images of a deeper problem.
Willfull cruelty authorized by God is ACCEPTABLE behavior!!
It takes little to persuade a Christian that the jihad of the Muslim terrorist is insane and sadistic. It would appear to be a no-brainer.
If you point out how deeply held the religious belief in Allah's Will comes into it---the Christian will dismiss such a statement as an empty, ridiculous excuse.
WE CAN ALWAYS SEE THE OTHER FELLOW'S "CRAZY."
WE CAN NEVER SEE OUR OWN.
So, what do we take away from this? We who were once Jehovah's Witness slaves have been "branded" as Apostates who are evil and mentally diseased.
This makes our former Brothers and Sisters feel perfectly justified shunning us. They will not even pray for us.
Self-righteous cruelty needs to be recognized as HUMAN CRUELTY in the same way OWNING SLAVES is now viewed by civilized nations.
I suggest we bring these two concepts into the argument for discussion each and every time shunning, disfellowshipping and labeling are raised.
What are YOUR thoughts on the matter?
Is it going too far to bring black slavery into the same wheelhouse as shunning and labeling?
YOU AND I ARE DRAPETOMANIACS!