Hannah's Blog

Master-Slave Mentality

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/10/28/iraqgallery.DTL

It's probably not surprising that after seeing yet another line of bound and blind-folded Iraqi men being led off by men with guns and then reading yesterday of the testimony in a Scottish court that our troops were ordered to consider every Iraqi a "potential terrorist" and to "shoot first and ask questions later," that the brain would conclude over night that it had witnessed the master-slave mentality before its very eyes.

Most people of conscience have probably wondered at some point in their lives how it was possible for our god-fearing European ancestors to take million of Africans captive, load them like cargo and transport them half way around the globe and secure them in enclaves where they would be held captive for the rest of their lives.

Well, we no longer have to wonder. It's happening every day. People identified by their outward appearance are rounded up, their houses are destroyed, their relatives are forced to relocate so no-one knows any longer who's where and it's all being done under the guise of removing "potential terrorists."

That's the master-slave mentality at work. It's the American version of original sin. Depending on which side you are on, it's the urge to dominate or the failure to comply. Moreover, it is a way of thinking that is sanctioned by our dominant religion--those who fail to comply deserve to die and suffer the pains of eternal damnation.

Of course, from the point of view of the individual enforcer of an order to "shoot first and ask questions later," being taken captive looks like a lesser evil for the victim. Indeed, the enforcer may well perceive himself as doing the "potential terrorist" or "potential runaway" a favor by simply putting him in hand-cuffs and blind-folds and taking him off to prison (read plantation) instead of killing him on the spot.

That's how the master-slave mentality works.

Posted by Hannah at November 6, 2005 05:19 AM